Gario Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 Contact Information Cyril the Wolf Connor Pelkey https://cyrilthewolf.com 14582 Submission Information Mega Man X5, Mega Man X Drop the Facade X vs. Zero, Zero 1, Zero 2 My last few submissions have not had vocals, but when it comes to Mega Man I can't resist adding some power metal yells and over the top vocal layers along with the requisite corny lyrics. I've grown up a bit though, I was not afraid to take this song's key down a few semi-tones to make the vocals more manageable for me. I decided that layering six vocal tracks for the chorus as in my Mega Man Zero piece was not enough, so this has 11! (Insert requisite "turn it up to 11" joke here) The lyrics are just thoughts that are going through X's head as he's fighting his (formerly) best friend. On a bit more of a philosophical level it's mostly about Free Will vs Fatalism where X represents the idea that you can control your destiny whereas Zero is bowing to the purpose he was assigned by his creator. Interesting trivia: There's only one other vocal version of this song from a Doujin album back in 2012 for the 25th anniversary called "X-Buster" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5uN33IOTgk for the curious) which is utterly fantastic. I cannot claim to match it, though it did give me an idea of how to get the song a little less repetitive with the original portion at :58. I also wanted to have a noodly bass solo in there to break things up, as well as a couple extra musical references to both Zero themes from Mega Man X. I'm not the most technical lead guitarist, but I feel like it all comes together to make a polished piece. Lyrics: Destiny's call is just an excuse I don't care what star you were born under Remember then? The wars we fought together Why must we be defined by what's come before? Pre-chorus: For fate leaves us all burned in the end We should never be defined By where we were set into life Drop the facade it's always your choice Chorus: I don't want to fight but I'll kill you if I have to How many times has the world fell to war? They often believe that victory's predetermined but nothing is certain just hunger for more Bridge: Push back memories But I can't help but see The person I knew then As we exchange blows I feel my life flash before my eyes When I realized I had to raise my gun You started this for why do you run away If you're so unsure Then lets go back to us before Pre-chorus Chorus Why... Zero? *Solos* Chorus Bridge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted March 15, 2017 Author Share Posted March 15, 2017 Traditional metal goodness going down, here. The vocals sound reminicient of Iron Maiden. They have a tendancy to get a hair flat, but it's not nearly enough to break the track. Sometimes the lead guitar sounds severely lacking in the higher EQ area without anything else to fill that space (like at 3:14, for example), but it's not an issue I'd pass up the rest of the track on. Lack of upper EQ from time to time aside, I think this is a real great metal romp, and OCR can't get enough heavy metal romps on there. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 I'm not quite as stoked about this as Gario, but it's still very good. The lead guitar is significantly lacking in presence; it's nearly inaudible every time it plays along with what should be backing vocals (though fortunately this is never for long). On the other hand, the rhythm guitar is a little too loud when it competes with the lead vocals. Also, you on occasion have lead and backing vocals at the same time (e.g. 1:34-1:37), and as they exactly occupy the same space, they completely step all over each other. It's very difficult to accompany yourself with your own voice in any way other than word-for-word harmonizing; you need some sort of filter, EQ, panning, something to help separate them. The singing does get slightly flat, moreso further along into the track; by the end your voice sounds very strained. Gario's also quite right that lengthy portions go by which don't have much in the way of highs (e.g. 2:47-3:17); basically the whole instrumental break from the bass solo on feels lacking in highs due to the weakness of that lead guitar. I think this is extremely close, and I wouldn't mind at all if this passed. The arrangement is great, the performance is great. But I do think the levels need a little more love so everything can be heard more clearly, and to add some life to that lead guitar when it's carrying the whole show. NO (borderline, please resubmit!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 Oh man, I'm torn on this. Some of the execution is really great, and some of it I'm not not feeling. My biggest issue is that a lot of the lyrics sound really awkward because they are broken up strangely with the melody line. Along with that is that parts do tend to go a bit flat. However, the line in the chorus, "How many times has the world fell to war?" is excellent and gave me goosebumps, awesome work. A couple other areas come across really well, too, so it's a bit back and forth for me on the lyrics. I can also hear a bit of the guitar issue the guys are talking about. I'm not as bothered by it, but it is worth mentioning. After a couple listens I do think this gets the job done and the good aspects here outweigh the issues I have. Great energy overall and in your vocals as well, nice work! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_NutS Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 On 3/15/2017 at 6:16 PM, Gario said: Traditional metal goodness going down, here. The vocals sound reminicient of Iron Maiden. They have a tendancy to get a hair flat, but it's not nearly enough to break the track. Sometimes the lead guitar sounds severely lacking in the higher EQ area without anything else to fill that space (like at 3:14, for example), but it's not an issue I'd pass up the rest of the track on. Lack of upper EQ from time to time aside, I think this is a real great metal romp, and OCR can't get enough heavy metal romps on there. YES Greg knows what's up. Iron Maiden-like vocals, yes, but this is also as Helloween as it gets. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted November 8, 2017 Share Posted November 8, 2017 Good intro. The vocals fit fairly well and are genre accurate. Harmonies complement the main vocals and provide a good amount of musical variation, although the pre-chorus and chorus lyrics attempt to fit too many syllables into their respective bars, leaving an audible struggle from the singer to fit it all within the time frame. Arrangement was decent if somewhat straightforward. The bass break solo at 2:14 followed by the guitar solo shortly after contained some great variety and came in at the right time. The instruments, while regulated to a backing function most of the time, were played well, and were mixed appropriately at a reasonable level to not be overpowering or attention seeking. Presentation is solid. Overall I’m ok with this one, I feel the cramped lyrics during the chorus section did bring things down a notch and I feel this would’ve worked better if the lines were restructured to allow for better articulation. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted February 28, 2019 Author Share Posted February 28, 2019 Got an update from Conner - he sent us the WAV of it, and made a few minor changes (like re-recording cleaner vocals) to make it that much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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