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OCR01447 - World of Warcraft & Guild Wars "All Nations Rise"


djpretzel
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Maybe it's just a bad sample or the attack's too high or something? We can't all just be imagining it, can we?

Or maybe we all just have shitty headphones that pick up shitty sounds (like how old car cd players pick up scratches a lot easier than more modern ones?); the actual mixers and/or judges on this site probably have more suitable aural equipment than us casual listeners. I'm sure this more likely the problem, eh?

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Ok.. just to prove it

The following screenshot is about 60s into the song. The clipping indicators are not red, and the maximum volume is not over 0db.

www.zirconstudios.com/GWWOW.PNG

Here is a visual example of the song waveform 15s near the intro. As you can see, there are no waveform spikes that even approach clipping.

www.zirconstudios.com/GWWOW2.PNG

Here is Wavelab's analysis results of the mix, just to make sure I didn't VISUALLY miss anything. The max volume comes close to 0db, but doesn't hit it.

www.zirconstudios.com/GWWOW3.PNG

Another analysis using RMS power instead. Also not in the clipping range.

www.zirconstudios.com/GWWOW4.PNG

It's NOT the song. There is no possible way it's the song. No clipping exists. Now, is there some sort of faux-distortion that has occured because of the way the sounds interacted somehow? Maybe. I'm not hearing it, but you might be. Just like someone posted in the WIPs forum that they kept hearing an AOL Instant Messenger sound effect in one of my WIPs, when it was actually a palm muted guitar.

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I'm not well versed in audio engineering at all, so i have no idea why this happens. I do know that when i run the song through CoolEdit, it comes up with 0% clipping...soo, yeah.....

Hmmm... ditto about the CoolEdit. I think it may just be a bad sample. Or, perhaps, The Wingless even intentionally created the sounds to stir up such a discussion!

Ok.. just to prove it

The following screenshot is about 60s into the song. The clipping indicators are not red, and the maximum volume is not over 0db.

www.zirconstudios.com/GWWOW.PNG

Here is a visual example of the song waveform 15s near the intro. As you can see, there are no waveform spikes that even approach clipping.

www.zirconstudios.com/GWWOW2.PNG

Here is Wavelab's analysis results of the mix, just to make sure I didn't VISUALLY miss anything. The max volume comes close to 0db, but doesn't hit it.

www.zirconstudios.com/GWWOW3.PNG

Another analysis using RMS power instead. Also not in the clipping range.

www.zirconstudios.com/GWWOW4.PNG

It's NOT the song. There is no possible way it's the song. No clipping exists. Now, is there some sort of faux-distortion that has occured because of the way the sounds interacted somehow? Maybe. I'm not hearing it, but you might be. Just like someone posted in the WIPs forum that they kept hearing an AOL Instant Messenger sound effect in one of my WIPs, when it was actually a palm muted guitar.

I'm beginning to believe you are correct (not that I would doubt a judge/ReMixer). I'm sure, as I've stated above, that what some of us are hearing may be some were audio transferance or something like that. It doesn't quite sound like clipping afterall; it sounds more like the hisses and pops you hear on warped/dirty records.

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Took me a good bit to recognize the WoW part. Ah yes, there it is. I was kinda hoping the first WoW "remix" would be an elaboration on the Thunder Bluff music <3

It doesnt feel Warcrafty at all though. I suggest anyone who aims for that should listen, of course, to their soundtracks (available somewhere on blizzard.com or worldofwarcraft.com for free download), but also to the soundtrack to the CONAN MOVIES! Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer, etc

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Conan the Barbarian

Yes. When I played WoW, the soundtrack always reminded me of Basil Poledouris's excellent score to the Conan series. The pounding heavy percussion, huge brass sections, etc...always conjured up images of Conan and his world.

I think GrayLighting could pull off an excellent mix in a Basil Poledouris style, but that's just wishful thinking (cough)

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I was compelled to write a glowing review, after I heard this fantastic piece. I don't know what all this talk about Gray is, cos Wingless has done a wonderful job.

I can't fault this beautiful piece.

The harmonies, rhythms, melody; it all fits perfectly together. The brass warms to your ears and the strings are smooth. Don't pass this one up, it's a must-hear.

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After listening to this mix a whole lot more, I've decided that it's totally awesome and one of my favorite Wingless tunes (though nothing'll ever beat Teardrinker). I've gotten used to the bad triangle sample (or poor encoding... whatever my previous qualms had been attributed to) and now I can no longer get enough.

I'm not sure if this ever even saw the judges panel... but, I s'pose, if you are the Wingless anything you create is guaranteed golden.

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I quit WoW a very long time ago, but I still enjoy popping in the soundtrack and giving it a whirl. You can definitely recognize the Stormwind theme in this, but personally it doesn't seem nearly as powerful without the choir bit.

The Guild Wars half sounds very nice, but I'm not as familiar with it these days as I would like to be.

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Well, so I come back to somewhat replenish my collection (lots got deleted by accident). I decided to just stick with the Wingless to give the bandwith a break.. 'sides, I always liked his remixes since I discovered them. And what do I see? A new one.

What can I say. I find it difficult to find the Stormwind theme, but heck.. do I care? This is a remix full of changes yet with a theme that holds it together.. like all of The Wingless' remixes. And it has this depth that makes me think it may be as deep as Zebesian Midnight (another favourite of mine) which allows for different interpretations during the times I'll listen to it. So, thanks for this new remix!

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
  • 5 months later...

My only gripe is that I wish you folks had gone a little heavier on the Stormwind theme. I can pick it out in there, sort of lurking under the surface, but 90% of the time its hidden underneath the Guild Wars theme...

... not that that's really all that high of a crime. Jeremy Soule is certainly a superior artist to whoever composed the SW theme - it's just that I wanted to here more of the competing product.

By the way, I love the ironic blending of these two games. WoW - the juggernaught, breakthrough MMO - combined with Guild Wars, the much-halooed 'boy who would be king' sequel-in-playstyle to Diablo II, that WoW's detractors claimed would sink Blizzard's product in a matter of weeks.

That, of course, didn't happen, but I love hearing these two rivals thumping along with one another in the same tune. It's like forcing Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter to duet on a piano.

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By the way, I love the ironic blending of these two games. WoW - the juggernaught, breakthrough MMO - combined with Guild Wars, the much-halooed 'boy who would be king' sequel-in-playstyle to Diablo II, that WoW's detractors claimed would sink Blizzard's product in a matter of weeks.

I don't know if you've actually played GW but okay.

Song is pretty awesome though. Wingless made a good guildmate, even though he always referred to me as "my lady".

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  • 1 month later...

I've played both these games (one much more than the other :) ). I do tend to hear the Guild Wars theme more predominately in the mix, and have trouble picking out the Stormwind part.

1:48 starts the best part for me. The background strings really give it some oomph.

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Definitely a mix to behold. Of particular note:

- The cumulative flavor of each successive instrument in the intro is like the sun dawning on a fresh, pleasant day, telling all nations to rise with it.

- 0:54 counterbalances the previous buildup with soft scale falls via fewer instruments before rising in incremental intensity at 1:35.

- The Guild Wars theme plays extensively in different blushes early on. Stormwind supplements one of its iterations at 2:37, crafting a melodically similar bridge. After a later grand build, 4:51 gently plays 1:36 of Stormwind to wrap things up.

- What really whets my appetite are the composite rhythmic strings. They give the loftier sections a feeling of movement, like when the GW theme shines in a noble light at 1:48, and they stay tense and busy when they're subdued or creeping into the fray, especially at 3:24-3:56.

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  • Liontamer changed the title to OCR01447 - World of Warcraft & Guild Wars "All Nations Rise"

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