Liontamer Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 404-type recovery from awhile back. The song was only available from Soundclick in streamable form, causing the issue, so I finally got an e-mail copy from Brad. Don't have access to the original letter, so I'm just gonna give some basic info. If djpretzel still has a copy of the sub letter, we'll add it in. Artists: Level 99, The Prophet of Mephisto Mix: Final Fantasy 7 'Chosen' Description from Soundclick: This is a remix of Sephiroth's theme from FF7, featuring Stevo Bortz from VGMix.com. Heavy metal, with some electronica elements in there too. ---------------------------------------------------- http://www.tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/FF7_psf.rar - 305 "Those Chosen by the Planet" I liked the lil' electronic blips and whatnot ornamenting the introduction. A little cheesy, but nice warbly stuff starting at :24 as well for the buildup. Synth vox though fading in at :30 sounded very robotic and devoid of emotion, even though it was going for an eerie/haunting feel. Guitar work and drums at :35 was supposed to sound intense and really beef up the track, but had no presence behind it. It sounded to me like you were trying to have those instruments provide the power, but the levels were too subdued the whole way through. There's really not much in the way of a full texture being created here most of the time; track feels like it has a lot of elements going on, but doesn't fill out the soundfield at all. Percussion writing is OK, but should sound thicker re: the production, and less rigidly sequenced. Synth vox and bells have no meat on them as well. You need something else helping to fill the track during an empty section like 1:34-1:57. Oooh, cheesy voiceover at 2:06. I'll admit it doesn't sound terrible, but at the same time it doesn't lend much to the music and isn't mixed in well there. It's somewhat indistinctly mushing together with the music at the same volume. This (arguably) works better for the voiceover at 3:05 due to the specific effects placed on it, but it's still an issue there as well. Some tips on how to mix the vocal areas from the other Js would be appreciated. Fadeout at 4:07 is WAY too abrupt. The arrangement is ambitious and has potential in terms of being a nice industrial rock piece, but the texture needs to be further developed, and the production needs some major work to bring out the best in the sounds you're employing. Decent stuff so far, Brad and Stevo. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Orichalcon Posted May 8, 2006 Share Posted May 8, 2006 Very cool intro. The vox thing at the start is very haunting. You've set up a great soundscape here, and the arrangement idea is wonderful. Unfortunately I don't think you've pulled it off just perfectly yet. To start with the guitar, you have a nice grunge going, but it's so hidden in the mix it's almost inaudible. Boost that guitar up and let the listener be overwhelmed by that grunge. The drums are sub-par. I have that soundset too, and you've pretty much left it dry, so it sounds quite lame compared to the grungey guitar you have going. Put some non-fuzz distortion on it and pitch it down so you have a deeper sound to go with the guitar. The voice clips that you have over the top midway through are out of place, they're taking the focus away from the soundscape. I can't see how they really fit in. The vocals from around 3:10 fit in perfectly with the soundscape though, as it melds in with the guitar. The arrangement is great. Your main problem here is sound quality and mastering. You just need to push out the grunge sound of the mix, and fix up those drums and you have an instant winner here with the industrial/grunge fans (such as myself.) The ending is abrupt, you'd be better off fading the instruments out over the ambient soundscape you set up in the beginning than just stopping it like that. Fix this one up and resubmit it, 'cause it shows great promise. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted May 10, 2006 Share Posted May 10, 2006 That deep voice vocal clip is really poorly recorded and performed. P-pops, amateur enunciation, and weird pitch lowering makes it sound like a high schooler who couldn't get into the fall play talking through a Darth Vader voice changer with his mouth too close to the microphone. The other voice sample works a lot better and is pretty good. As for the song, pretty nice overall, but I'd have to agree with TO that the guitars need a deeper sound. Some stuff sounds a bit thin up top. Meatier sound would help. An good outro would be nice, especially since there was a a nice intro, but that's your call as an arranger. I think the ending is weak as it is right now. NO, but a fairly easy resubmit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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