*NO* Final Fantasy 7 "Cetra's Last Cry"

[Gario]

• Remixer Name : Necko
• Mail : 

• Game : Final Fantasy VII
• Remix name : Cetra's last cry
• Original music : You can hear the cry of the planet
• Composer : Nobuo Uematsu - Playstation 1
• Original song link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBRAkpXTmCs

 

Link to the cover : 

 

Hello OCRemix,

For my first serious remix try, I wanted to do it in a genre I love and was not really common, black metal (or atmospheric black metal maybe).

I choose songs that I feel may be great when remixed in Black Metal. For my first I choose "You can hear the cry of the planet", a very atmospheric song with a repetition that you can also find in the black metal genre.

Anyway, I hope you like it.

Thanks !

Edited August 16, 2017 by Liontamer
closed decision

[Gario]

Wow, I actually really enjoy the acoustic work in this track, and the arrangement is quite good, to boot (if a little light on source, though I think I hear enough). I'm not going to pass this, though, due to the incredibly loud upper-mid EQs that punch through the track relentlessly when the music goes into overdrive; it is physically painful, in fact. Tone down your upper mids considerably and balance your EQ levels significantly.

The mixing in this is also an issue. While it sounds fine with the acoustic guitar alone, the addition of distorted guitar and drums has everything drown under that distortion. Bring down those levels, and bring those drums out better.

I like the direction taken on this, but I can't give it my thumbs up, for now. Take a look at those issues and see if you can improve the production on this; I here a pretty cool song under the issues, here!

NO

[MindWanderer]

Can't argue with anything Gario said.  Even when I have my volume set to where the acoustic sections are far too quiet, those upper-mids in the overdriven sections are indeed painful to the ears.  It's also clipping, especially but not only during the crashes.

I'll also add that the relentless, even beat of the drums from 3:52-4:30 far overstays its welcome.

But as Gario says, there's a cool concept and a great performance lying under here.  It mostly just needs a heavy hand at the production to let it shine.

NO

[Jivemaster]

There is noticeable wavering in parts of the track where the compressor can't handle the signal coming through. This starts at 1:10 just after the bass comes in - when the guitar returns its dynamics are very wobbly. The guitar parts that proceed to come into play get progressively loud from this point, which only detracts from the overall mix, rather than adding a sense of power that I believe is trying to be conveyed here. The lead activity occurs on the right channel more often, although this is balanced occasionally by other accompanying instruments on the left channel. Drums are drowned out through the majority of the mix, and need space to breathe, even for a guitar heavy track. The arrangement progresses ok, although I feel most sections go on for too long without much change. The outro portion at 5:20 was well done (if also a bit long).

This needs a revisit when it comes to mixing and EQ - parts are stepping on each other and creating a cloud over your mix, making it difficult for the listener to appreciate what you've done. Adding layers is a great technique but you need to balance these layers appropriately so you don't just keep getting louder and stepping over what is already there. I would also look at either value adding to some sections or shortening them in order to warrant the length presented here.

NO