Chimpazilla Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 previous decision Hi guys! Since this remix wasn't part of the mixpost, I'm submitting it now. Hope it passes this time. Contact Information Chernabogue, Tuberz McGee, Furilas, Mirby, Brandon Strader My userID is 17636 Submission Information Advance Wars Are You BadAss? Sturm's Theme -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en-7nzSphdk GBA / Taishi Senda Line-up: Chernabogue -- arrangement, lyrics, mixing/mastering (v1) Tuberz McGee -- lead and rhythm guitars Furilas -- bass, vocals (v1) Mirby -- lyrics Brandon Strader -- vocals (v2), mixing/mastering (v2) Chernabogue: Believe it or not, but this mix was supposed to be released on BadAss II. That means I've been working on it for almost four years. Countless collaborators participated to its creation, and I can't thank enough those who patiently helped me. Advance Wars is a series I enjoyed a lot on GBA, and Sturm always has been a problem, as the final boss. The music of those two games is really interesting, and Sturm's theme kept looping in my head -- I had to remix it. During this period, I was listening to a lot of Helloween (still do), and this remix is a tribute to their music that inspire me a lot. The metal fans may find out I was inspired by the song ""Are You Metal?"" by that band, and I decided to write a similar song for Sturm. All riffs, solos, synths, and stuff in that remix were written from Sturm's theme, while the structure itself is inspired by Helloween's song. As always, after the horrible MIDI arrangement, I contacted my recording buddies, Tuberz McGee and Furilas, in order to have live guitars, bass, and vocals. I also contacted Mirby to get a better version of my lyrics. After all, my English isn't the best -- vive la révolution! The first version was rejected by the Judges and cut from BA2, despite my best attempts to master the beast. And when Pieter contacted me to help him on BA3, I knew it was the time to finish it. Not so strangely enough, it was the last track we finished for the album (searching for a good vocalist, re-recording of the guitars that were lost in a data transfer, etc.) but I think we really did something epic. Thanks a bunch to everyone who helped -- especially Tuberz, Furilas, Mirby, and Brandon -- they were BadAss enough to keep Sturm alive. Now, enjoy this track and the rest of the album. \m/Mirby: Chernabogue needed better lyrics for this song so, being a fan of the series, I obliged and helped out, adding in more references to the games and the world in which they take place. It was fun to write.Bradon Strader: The universe conspired against me finishing this song but it's done, so enjoy it! Tuberz McGee: So Alex (the bae) asked me to do guitar things for a metal thing on an album thing and I said sure thing. So I loaded up the file and saw that he'd written some tough stuff so I actually had to practice, so whatever I guess that's a good thing right? Either way, this song is BadAss. Thanks for having me Alex <3. --------------------------------- Alex, can you clarify how much direct usage of "Are You Metal?" (or not) exists in the actual arrangement? Thank you, bro! -Larry --------------------------------- Hi LarryAre You Metal isn't directly used. My arrangement draws inspiration from it, but doesn't copy anything directly.Let me know how it goes,-Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 I remember this track - I thought this made a great anthem for the album. I never would've guessed it was supposed to be for the second album... Still works, though. "Are you badass? This album totally is!" *ahem* Anyway, interesting history aside, this was a pretty cool arrangement. I didn't have the honor of hearing the previous version of this, but the production on this one sounds fairly solid. Brandons vocals deliver, the guitar is pretty solid, the drumming works well in the style... It's a metal song, and it gives just what you need it to. I thought the lisp was oddly hilarious, for some of the vocals. It sounds intentional, and it works well enough for me. Some of the drums sometimes get lost due to what sounds like either overcompression or deliberate sidechaining. It's mostly the crashes that get lost - they sound like they fade out when there's a lot going on. It's not too big of an issue, but if you listen for them they sound a little odd. Interesting use of the source, in this. Using the source for the verses and solo, and using some more original content for the chorus (I don't recognize those chords from the source in the "Are you badass?" portions from the source). Fits really well together, though - actually makes me wish the source used that part. Nice work on the arrangement. Fading crashes aside, I think this sounds great. Great work on the resub! YES Edit: A quick source breakdown, upon popular request. Mix: 0:00 - 0:16 Source reference: 0:08 - 0:16 (Guitar part in the background is used as a looped pattern) 0:17 - 0:48 0:08 - 0:16 (Guitar part in the background is used as a looped pattern, sung over) 0:48 - 1:05 Didn't see source usage 1:05 - 1:19 Didn't see source usage 1:19 - 1:27 0:31 - 0:40 (Guitar part from source is arranged) 1:27 - 1:57 0:08 - 0:16 (Guitar part in the background is used as a looped pattern, sung over) 2:28 - 2:43 0:15 - 0:31 2:43 - 3:13 0:15 - 0:31 (Solo is based on squealing guitar in source) 3:13 - 3:29 0:08 - 0:16 (half, as the licks are used in the second half of each phrase - counting as half source used) 144sec / 240sec 60% source usage I think it checks out on that front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_NutS Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 This song oozes badass. Really cool vocals, they go from jack black to Lenny to black metal band #345, and they're great all around, I was pretty surprised about how well each range was nailed honestly. Guitars are chugging low and hard, and solos are on point. I don't have many issues production-wise, besides the drums getting a bit lost in the busy mix a few times. I'm not really familiar with the advance wars soundtrack, but after listening to the source once it was easy to identify it in your arrangement. The source already has a bit of a metal/industrial feel to it so I guess the adaptation was too hard to make but its a great adaptation regardless. Nice Work!YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted June 16, 2016 Author Share Posted June 16, 2016 Oh jeez. This IS badass, and also cute and funny (ssssh I didn't say that). Brandon nails these vocals, always right on pitch, and wow what a range.... from Cookie Monster lows to the canines-only-frequency screeching highs. What a great concept this track is. Guitar work is ace. A breakdown would have been nice because the track is relentless but this works in context. It is mixed and mastered really well. I don't think I heard version #1 of this track, but this one works for me! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaMonz Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 Ohh I remember hearing this track as a WIP on the BadAss 2 private boards! It's come a loooong way! This is definitely a naughty-bottomed track. The straightforward arrangement structure works very well with the style adaptation. Strong drums, nasty guitar chugs and gritty vocals add up to a nice metallic cocktail of badassery. As was previously pointed out, some parts of the mix could be clearer like the cymbals that tend to get lost a bit. Also, some slightly loose timings on the guitar around 2:50 or so tickled my OCD a little in a bad way. Although, those nitpicks are definitely not stopping Sturm from conquering the front page. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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