OCR03287 - Sonic Rush "Darker Than Black"

[Liontamer]

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

[Black_Doom]

HOLY SHIT!! Sonic Rush!! Being a big Sonic fan, I'm extremely glad to see this game finally appear here! It's great to see more Hideki Naganuma's stuff covered as well, because this man is definitely a genius and he knows his funky business for sure! I also love Wrapped in Black a lot, so this remix is just plain happiness for me. Really love the flow here - hard-hitting groove combined with the funk & vocal clips from the original work just wonderfully! Mind-blowing work! You made my day, Asa!

[Necrox]

I like how this mix is distinctly modern yet doesn't become a borefest like much EDM. Great job in the mixing/effects department and your sound design is pretty sweet too. Good stuff. Think I'll give the source a listen too.

[Kruai]

PALPABLEEEE *shakes fist*   _{(jk love ya buddy)}

Thanks for the kind comments, Black_Doom and Necrox. I'm really glad you enjoyed it!

[KingTiger]

Great work, as always, Kruai! I've been waiting for a good Sonic Rush remix, so you've made me quite happy

 

SO here's some specific critiques:

POSITIVES: Great sound design, sequencing, and use of dynamics. Love the varying beats throughout; that - along with the varying synths and what not - really keeps the interest going throughout the song (no borefest for sure, like Necrox said). I'll echo what DJP said about the percussion arrangements being great - the drummer in me is proud  The whole track flowed well from start to finish; nothing felt out of place or forced in terms of song structure - awesome work.

 

As for negatives - I felt like the whole thing was a bit low-heavy; I know EDM is supposed to be that way, but IMO it's too much, and it brings down the otherwise fantastic atmosphere of the track. It was especially muddy in terms of the bass conflicting with the kick - they often occupied the same space, not so much that it was horrible, but enough that it bothered me. Next time, try sidechaining the bass to the kick just a little bit, to make the kick come through more, or try to notch out overlapping frequencies in one and boost the same in the other (the more challenging route, IMO). Also, if you're using a multi-band compressor on your master channel, turn the sub band down a bit. (I felt like the mids were too hot in there somewhere too, but I can't quite put my finger on it.)

In the section that began right before 2:20, the kick drum was causing the whole track to overcompress - I'm guessing it's something in the mastering. My gut tells me that you had the kick turned up louder to compensate for the aforementioned conflict with the bass, so in the sparser sections, the kick overtriggered the master compressor/limiter, causing this "pumping" sound that IMO sounds out-of-place in the context.

Around 3:50, a distorted synth pad-thing starts, and it sounds overcompressed, at times - not sure if that's a result of the mastering, as well, or if it's a compressor on the track itself, but it's causing it to sound overly distorted at times.

 

I'm pretty sure I'm nitpicking on some things. Don't take it wrong - I absolutely LOVE this beast of a ReMix. Keep up the good work!

[nitrozsz]

I also wanted to give the original source a listen after hearing this one. I can honestly say, compared to this arrangement, the original source puts me to sleep. That's how great this arrangement is. This sounds more appropriate for an EDM style final battle theme. It's a fun jam, while retaining the dramatic sense of a final battle scenario, especially from 2:38 to 3:19 when tension starts to build. I think my favorite parts were the percussion, and how you remixed the vocal samples. 

[timaeus222]

Is it just me or is that first snare at 0:28 - 0:36 slightly panned left? Kind of odd.

I still think this is really loud (much like 'Schizophrenic'), I'm not much of a fan of the rising saws starting at 0:44, the hi hats are a tad bit piercing, and the bass is surprisingly basic, but oh well. I like the amount of energy in this arrangement. It certainly hits hard, and sure, it's not really dubstep, but it still has similar elements that remind me of what I unfortunately don't like about the particular kind of dubstep that I don't like (rising saws, piercing production, loud mixing). I agree with Jivemaster that some more breakdown sections would have been nice.

I can see some EDM fans liking this, and you'd probably get a dance floor jumping, but it's not for me (and I usually love dubstep!).

 

[Troyificus]

Oh I dig this so hard! As with some of the other guys here I went back and listened to the original; it's an awesome track but it seriously isn't a patch on this remix. Your definitely-not-dubstep wubwub is sublime (dublime!) and the beat is as smooth as lubed-up silk. Your usage of the vocal samples works a lot better in your track than the original and I love the constantly evolving arrangement. Excellent work! [5/5]

[Accelerate13]

Holy crap! I have played this game and aced it 100%, this was by far my favorite track from the game, and this remix surpassed the original! I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm yelling, but this song is really nostalgic for me. I find myself humming this song to myself at random sometimes. I love it! 

[Crulex]

Never played Sonic Rush, but this theme was one that I've always enjoyed after I stumbled across it so long ago, so I'm glad to hear a ReMix that pushes it even further into the high-paced energetic EDM that makes it super amped up. This really takes me back a few years. Unbelievably happy that you kept a lot of the voice samples in there, as it is so hard to imagine the melody without them. Really good ReMix, well done!