Liontamer Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 (edited) Hi guys! What's up? Contact Information Chernabogue, Furilas, Tuberz McGee, Mirby Alexandre Mourey + others fflproduction.fr 20943, 21604, 44165, 23470 Submission Information Advance Wars 1&2 Are You BadAss? Sturm's Theme: Yoshito Hirano (I think) // GBA LINK: This mix is a project mix for BadAss Volume 2. "I wanted to pay tribute to the music of Advance Wars and to bands I love, especially Metallica and Helloween (and to the first volume of BadAss). Here's our line-up: - Chernabogue: arrangement, drums, synth and orchestra programming - Furilas: Vocals, Bass - Tuberz: Guitars - Mirby: lyrics It took MONTHS to get this big baby mixed but in the end it sounded very good to everyone, so I hope people will be badass enough to enjoy it! ;)" Feel free to ask if you any question. Cheers, -Alex Edited April 4, 2013 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 (edited) The arrangement concept was decent, so I'm gonna focus on the production. The opening sounded MIDI-riffic, but had some charm. Switched over into the rock stuff at :09. Thought the mixing on the snare left it sounding pretty weak. It had 0 punch to it, and all of the percussion just got swallowed into the abyss once the vocals arrived at :17. Needs some EQ love. Once the vocals come in, it basically sounds like the only 2 elements going on are -- the heavily-effected vocals and the guitar, then the drums quietly doing their thing underneath. So the track sounds swamped, yet the textures aren't cohesive and well-mixed. The mixing the whole way through wasn't where it needed to be. Even though you sent a 320kbps file (too high), everything sounds lossy like it was 112kbps, with all the parts just mudding together. For example, was that brass orchestration and bells I heard at 1:18? Could have fooled me given how muted they were. During the soloing at 2:43-3:13, why are the chugs louder than the lead guitar? I would have given that soloing the spotlight there, especially for the dynamic contrast. Furilas's vocals aren't horrible, but they need more energy and personality to them. The delivery's somewhat flat, so there's a disconnect from the tone of voice vs. the nature of the lyrics. The mixing and the effects used to thicken the vocals don't compensate for that issue like they should. Better effects/mixing might be all you need, but another take could help. I'm not saying the vocals need to be growly or screamo, I'm not saying he needs to conjur the imagery of Sturm, but the vocal performance isn't particularly evil or badass. The bridge and chorus lyrics were a bit cheesy as well, particularly the chorus, but a stronger vocal performance may draw attention away from that. Verse lyrics were cool though. You've got a decent base, but this came off way too raw and unpolished with the mixing and vocal performance. It's gonna need another coat of paint. NO EDIT (2/21): The snare drum still has no bite, and the percussion is just too quiet and muddy. The vocal mixing in v2 is definitely improved. It was so dry before, which killed it dead. Still the delivery still sounds weak during the choruses, even though there's some (much needed) vocal layering going on. The bells are also a bit more audible, but right now all I'm really hearing are indistinct cymbals and wimpy drums, with the guitar chugs just dominating the soundscape, so the balance still sounds wrong. During the orchestral swells (3:14-3:28), IMO the bells need to be much more powerful and louder. The drumkit needs a better sound, and the balance between the parts is still off, so the textures still feel empty, even though v2's an improvement. Edited February 21, 2013 by Liontamer commented on v2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 (edited) New version! Edited April 4, 2013 by Liontamer removed link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vig Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Heh. Very cool interpretation. Here are the issues I have. -The vocal is way up for a metal mix. The vocal is sitting up front at the expense of everything else, especially the drums. -The drums have way too much sizzle and not enough crack and punch. Tone down the highs, bring out mids and lows. Hear how much louder the cymbals are than the kick and snare? that ain't right. -The vocals are really cool, and I like the distortion as an idea, but the distortion you are using is too bright. Great track, just fix the mix. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Oof, distortion on the vocals is killing me. Very unpleasant. Larry hit the mark with the vocal crits. Not crazy about that performance. A bit weak; needs more personality and emotion. There's some orchestra stuff in the back there that sort of gets lost and sounds really weak behind all the guitars. Should take a look at that too. Needs some work I think. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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