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OCR01320 - Gauntlet III "Blue Wizard Is About to Die"


djpretzel
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I wasn't expecting to divide the audience like this.

To those who like it, I'm glad you do. I really feel that this track is 'done' - whereas I'm always eager to return to my other tracks, "Blue Wizard" I am happy to leave alone.

To those who prefer the VGmix version, then I guess that mix is for you. It pains me greatly to read Liontamer's NO verdict, as he has always been so supportive of, and positive about my stuff - I almost feel that I've disappointed you, Larry...

To those who don't dig this at all, you're missing out ;)

Cheers for all the feedback, pos and neg.

Binster

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  • 5 months later...

Honestly, I think Binster said it best...basically, if you don't particularly dig this song, it may simply not be your cup of tea.

Personally, I enjoyed the track very much. It's a little dwarfish in size (get it? Dwarf? Because the song is from Gaunt...let...yeah, ok)...but not all tracks have to be hugely epic, especially when the seed of the fruit isn't all that involved or lengthy.

With what you were given, I could see you pulling from other pools to spice it up...great. Two lumps of sugary scratches for my tea, please. Thank you.

In the end, I also felt it was finished...I mean, it is a remix...if you wanted to compose a more elaborate and lengthy track, you would have chose another song (or another game), right?

I haven't heard the bulk of your discography, so I can't make general statements like "this track is nowhere near your ususal set-bar of talent." Perhaps, that's a good thing...though I doubt that's the case.

I suppose, my one point of major criticism is:

Why "Blue Wizard is about to Die?" The track sounded more like "Blue Wizard needs Groove Badly"...that's all I can think of...I'm tired.

Good work

Mick

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  • 2 years later...
Yep. Way underdeveleped, short, and repetitive.

Couldn't disagree more. The melody repeats, but the textures are evolving and developed the whole way through. That's why it could manage only being 2:32-long.

This was one of the few judges decisions I've come to realize I was wrong in voting NO on. Whenever something passes in light of a NO from me, or the vote is close, I tend to revisit the mix to make sure my opinion hasn't changed. There've been maybe 4 decisions out of 1,600+ that I've ever found fault in, and this was one of them.

I believe I told Martin this a few years ago, but it bears mentioning again. I was spoiled with the older VGMix version of this track. When he subbed this version, the original synth playing the melody at :19 was pushed a lot farther into the back, replaced upfront with the funkier synth. I was too focused on how the older lead was fairly inaudible, and thus wasn't feeling like the source melody was used enough in that first half of the mix. Binnie was right in pointing out how the melody was there on that other synth, but it didn't click with me until after this got posted.

Martin had no hard feelings, and I'm glad all's well that ends well. I'm definitely a big fan of this one, and this does a great job adding a lot of beef and additional substance to Follin's original work. Follin has marveled before at the quality and skill in what some arrangers have done to his work; I can only imagine he'd feel the same way about this one.

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  • 1 year later...
  • 1 month later...

Snare is a bit too piercing, but otherwise this is a pretty slammin track. There isn't a huge melodic hook to grab me, but the rhythms are great, and the synths chosen are creative and cool. I love the distorted and gated synth, it adds an awesome texture to the proceedings, and has a really unique character to it.

Melodically it repeats a lot, but there are a ton of other variations to keep things moving along and progressing, as well as some really cool transitions. Even the sound clips, which are normally frownworthy from me are mixed in a way as to not be distracting, but more like a rhythmic background element.

I think the ending was a bit weak, and could have been perfect with a large build leading to the SFX outro that it had, but it wasn't so weak as to cripple the rest of the track. It took a few listens to really get into this one, but I can recommend it after closer inspection. Check it out, guys. :-)

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  • 3 years later...

This is just a fantastic mixer playing with his medium, and I find it pretty disappointing that so many people reacted against it back in the day, or just didn't seem to have a good time listening to it. Maybe it's that binster was a bit ahead of his time.

While some see a choppy, messy configuration of synth and distortion, I see a sophisticated ballet of rhythm. And while it's technically not the most bewitching mix ever, it deserves a lot of credit. And furthermore, I think it's just plain enjoyable to listen to... never boring, never stagnant, short but crammed full of technique.

Yes, it lack a certain catchiness, but by no means should that allow it to fly over your head.

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  • Liontamer changed the title to OCR01320 - Gauntlet III "Blue Wizard Is About to Die"

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