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OCR01464 - Castlevania: Circle of the Moon "Time's Anxiety"


djpretzel
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Besides being a spectacular remix, this is especially interesting in that I really cannot pick out neither GL's nor Rexy's particular trademark styles in this piece. I can usually recognize either artist just by hearing a few seconds of any of their given songs. This time around, their talents mesh so well that it seems it was a fusion of two minds into one.

Very well done. Superb production values, a fresh new take on Clockwork, and it's quite catchy to boot. Something I could easily chill out to.

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So you're saying Rexy and Gray did the shakin', while you provided the (moldy) bacon?

Almost; I think he tried to smuggle the remains of his pubefro somewhere. :P

Anyway, yeah, for me this has been a long wait. For those unaware that there was another version out there, I initially had it written for one of RPGamer.com's "Splendid Performance" auditions, with Gray helping out on the rendering ever since I was stuck with Anvil Studio all summer (which explains djp's noting of the quantisation). Even Gray said he wanted to work on it some more after the deadline, and it took a lot of on-and-off time to even reach where it is now. It was worth the wait, I'm sure.

For those that like it, glad you liked it. For those that don't, glad you shared your opinion.

Now while this moment continues to bask on, I need to pull the remaining pubes out of the download... ;)

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This is one very spiffy tune I must say. It's kind of interesting, this is the only song on my playlist right now and I have it set to repeat when finshed and the song just flows back into itself. I don't know of any other songs that do that. Probably not the intention, but nicely done anyways.

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First big difference I noticed was that the original's ... laid-back, or at least, mellow tone (perhaps conveyed by the 'dryness' of the winds?) was missing .... this feels more ... awake, I guess.

The drum bit (rythym keeping?) really does do the title justice - it gives the impression of a clock's rythymic ticking, yet in such a way that it almost comes across as nervous.

More grand feel overall though ... the first version had, to my hearing, a very dignified feel, whereas this one is more upfront.

Ah, I'm glad the ending remains relatively unchanged :)

Great work Rexy, but then, I loved the original too :) Oh, and you too Gray, good stuff :)

Easy 7 (>85%)

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Circle of the Moon has always been underappreciated, both as a game and for its music. Personally I found that its musical style helped in forming a more unique CastleVania experience and it’s nice to see it shows through in this remix. What I’m getting at is this doesn’t sound like your typical CV remix, and that’s a good thing. Just like the game it creates a unique mood.

I never heard the original so I can’t comment on how it differs, but as is I love this remix. The percussion is very effective and the unification of tempo helps to bring out the theme. It’s not meant to be dramatic, rather more soothing.

Nicely done.

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This is good stuff. Seeing GrayLightning and Rexy both attached to it, I shouldn't be surprised.

I hear similarities between this and some of the other stuff I've heard from Gray (Mahabarath Highlands in particular, to a lesser extent Sacratus Bellator and maybe even AfterLife) - maybe it involves the same sound fonts or something? In any event, the similarity's not bad, I like all of those.

I can't easily draw similarities between this and Rexy's other stuff, except for the part where I like it.

I didn't think of Ray Lynch when I first heard this, but now that I see it mentioned - yeah, there's a bit of a similar groove. (I like this more than the Ray Lynch I've heard, though.)

I do think a bit more variation in tempo and less quantization would have helped...

It's possible I'm misinterpreting the term "quantization," but I like it. Given that the original piece is called Clockwork, and the remix title is "Time's Anxiety," I like the driven-by-clock-pulse feel that a lot of the piece has. If it came on too strong it'd probably be too much for a 6:14 piece, but as it is I'm a fan.

This is pretty damn good. I generally approve of the Rexy/GrayLightning combo and wish them success with any possible future endeavors.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Wow, I'm glad I came back for the April Fool's Joke. I haven't been here in a while, but I remembered April Fool's was yesterday and got to see the silliness that ensued. But what really caught my eye was a new mix from GrayLightning. After talking to him briefly, it seems as though the mix was mainly composed by Rexy, and GrayLightning revamped the instrumentation and added his subtle yet well-known touches on top of the song.

I really like this song. I haven't been listening to OC ReMixes lately, but this was really a breath of fresh air in comparison to all the Epic Metal I've been dousing my ears in (I've been trying to get a good feel of what metal is so I can compose it easier for a fighting game I'm working on). Listening to this song really made me realize what I've been missing out on while I was listening to non OC ReMix stuff. Anyway, on to the ReView.

The song starts out quiet with that bell synth. Then an oboe comes in with the melody. It sounds really good. When that next synth comes in, it reminds me a bit of a few Legend of Mana songs, though I can't remember exactly where they would be (I think one of them is the Mekiv Caverns song).

At 1:37, when the strings start arpeggiating, that really reminds me of an Ys I song, even the progression itself, though I can't put a name to it right now. Right afterwards there's the distorted bell sound, which totally reminds me of Temple of the Ancients from Final Fantasy 7 (another song I liked).

After that section, I really like the clocktower feel until 2:35-ish. At 2:44, I really like this part. I can't even put my finger on what it reminds me of, but I think it just sounds awesome and is not a bit out of place.

I really like how the bell-ish sound in the background really gives the feel of a clock ticking somehow. The strings are great, as well.

At 4:52, the song sort of has an anti-climax, but quickly recovers into a new subsection for the ending.

I have listened to this song so much, but I can't get enough. Damn it, Gray, why is it that every song you have a role in creating has this effect on me? I really like the instrumentation here and I'm not sure if it could be better chosen.

My only problem is at the end it sort of throws a whole bunch of new material that wasn't presented anywhere else, but even that works and sounds good. I really like the detache strings that hop into the mix every now and again.

2:44-3:05 is the highlight of the mix for me, though. I'm not quite sure why, but that part really seems powerful. I got it! It reminds me of a few of the songs from the OVA, Tsukihime (where Vampires actually play a main role, very fitting). I'm impressed that there are so many different elements crammed into one song. It really makes it full of flavor and interesting. I will continue to enjoy this song for a long time.

Good job Rexy and Gray, this is awesome, and a new favorite of mine.

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Hey, thanks for the comment on the track :) Your in depth coverage is much appreciated.

It's actually pretty amusing that you liked the 2:44 bit; I actually did something clever there as far as the arrangement goes for that part. From then til 3:28 I put in some (slightly liberal) easter eggs relating to Castlevanias 1-4. Only Gray seemed to know about that prior to the mix's posting; I was surprised no one really spotted it up until now.

I spoke with Liontamer on VG Frequency concerning the original version of the song just over 6 months ago, and I mentioned how it reflected some of my Summer experiences. That said, other musical influences I ended up feeling when incorporating some parts of the mix down included Chrono Cross (the opening progressions are almost remeniscent to the opening of "Time's Scar"), Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (the music box progression at 2:35 had a similar approach in mood to "Truth" from the game's score) and Starfox (5:22-5:39 has a chord progression that matches at least the first half of the map screen music; another track I've somehow grown fascination with).

If anyone wanted to know that, now they do ;)

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This one took a while due to my really busy schedule so I could only work on it in bits and pieces, much to Rexy's chagrin. :lol: I'm personally very pleased on how this turned out. Collaborating with Rexy was really fun and I'm glad that chance took place. Hopefully it won't be our last.

Thanks to everyone for the comments and your time.

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  • 8 months later...

I was looking through my old folders and found that I have the old version of this song which was uploaded to perhaps VGMix or somewhere, I don't remember. I have to say, I definitely prefer the old version. Collaborations can do great things but this one suffers for it. The simplicity and melancholy mood was sacrificed for fruitless (and somewhat obnoxious) embellishment. Also, a lot of the instruments were changed and I don't understand why. They typically went from high quality samples to lower quality synth.

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You're currently lucky because the original VGMix edit was hosted here among other entries in the third round of RPGamer.com's "Splendid Performance" competition from last year. Gray did the sound render on that version too (I couldn't do anything production-wise with a cheap general midi interface at the time) so don't assume that it's a "collab gone wrong" as falsely accoused (sorry to say that).

I thought I was more proud of this version to be honest, especially with the additional production embellishments and the abandomnent of an odd choice of using a low flute instead of a timpani roll in a few sections. In an essence, the arrangement in both versions is still at least 85% all me, yet in both versions Gray was there to help out in making the track come to life, no matter how long it took.

While the comparisons are being made (or lack thereof?), can someone tow Liontamer in here? I remember he played this on one of his VG Frequency "best of" shows, so he might know a little more of what's being talked about.

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