OCR03975 - *YES* Sea of Thieves "A Shark Hunter's Tale"

[Gario]

ReMixer Name: DusK
Real Name: Dustin Branscum
Email: 
Website: http://www.itstartsatdusk.com
User ID: 24328

Game: Sea of Thieves

Arrangement Name: "A Shark Hunter's Tale"

Song Arranged: "Summon the Megalodon"

Platform: Xbox One/PC

Composer: Robin Beanland
 

Link to source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dG0DVnB0do
 

Link to remix: 

 

Comments: It feels really good to be remixing VGM again.
 

With this track, inspiration hit mid-game. I was sailing, pulled out the hurdy-gurdy, and this track hit. I could kinda hear the arrangement in my head right then, and immediately set out to work on it.
 

I wanted to really maintain that Golden Age of Piracy feel in the track; it had to be heavy, but still something you'd hear during the tavern scene of a pirate movie. Lots of staccato strings and a fiddle. At the end, I decided to fade it into a soft campfire scene, a drum and a whistle, just like the character that brought the shanty to us during the Hungering Deep event.
 

Anyway, I hope you guys like it! And if not, I look forward to reading Larry's essay.

 

Edited September 18, 2019 by Rexy

[MindWanderer]

Cinematic piratical grunge rock, not something I expected to be listening to today.  And yet DusK pretty much nails it (as one would expect).  Absolutely nails the feel.

That said, there are some misses.  The fiddle is much too quiet when it's used as harmony--I heard only a few seconds of it on the first listen, except for when it's the lead. I don't hear the hurdy-gurdy at all.  Some of the noodling goes a little off the rails, but never for long.  I have mixed feelings about the fade-out; it sort of sounds like the intro to a movie, segueing from the opening sequence to character introduction, so there's a bit of an excuse there, but it's still a fade-out.

None of the issues are really substantial, except that if you wanted the pirate-y instruments to be audible during the guitar-led parts, this would need to be reworked.  I think the arrangement works as-is but that subtlety is lost.

YES (but check-in with DusK to see if he wants to tweak it before posting)

[Sir_NutS]

Very cool track.  The pirate-y vibe applied to the metal arrangement somehow works very well.  Kinda reminds me of some folk metal bands from Europe.  The arrangement is pretty expansive albeit it does retread the main motifs quite a bit.

The production is good, with some unexpected stuff here and there such as the filtered buildup.  The mix is clean and the performances are solid, although if I had to nitpick I would say the lead guitar is a bit too dominant, but really everything works really well.  This may also be one of the few examples of a fadeout done well, IMO.  The song winds down properly and doubles down on the pirate-y feel of it all.

It's good to see Dustin remixing again and this is a solid comeback.

YES

[Rexy]

Shiver me timbers - this shanty gave no quarter! Dustin, ye seadog, ye ran a fine jig and battened down the hatches on this swash-buckling deck!

Alright, here's my thoughts without the pirate speak. The arrangement is conservative for the most part, but in addition to performing the theme, there are also fresh twists and turns like:

• The playing around with the first part of melody A at 0:22
• The original part at 1:42 that still kept to that buccaneer feeling
• The violin solo at 2:19 that added a little bit of tension before going to the melody C repeat
• That chugging rhythm guitar at 2:48 interpreting the opening notes, building a grand climax towards the ending segment
• And dare I say, the ending itself at 3:34 is adorable - a fade-out to a whistling local? That's not only a cool way to handle the theme, but it's out of the blue and caught my attention.

The production itself also feels clean, the guitars are still as heavy as I remember from you, and when the orchestra is in full force, there's an intense amount of work to make them ride over the top. The only nitpick I have, however, is that violin sample. The reverb makes it fit well among the other instruments, so good going there. But if this sound has any key switches, it's a good idea to experiment with them and give out a more realistic tone than this constant perfect medium stab.

Nevertheless, in its current form, I can see this on the front page. The arrangement is fantastic, production values are clearly over the bar, and the performance work is top-notch. I'm glad to hear from you again, arrr!

YES

[prophetik music]

ooh, this one is fun! the shanties in this game are all pretty easily recognizable and singable, so it makes sense that an arrangement would come easily to you.

i'm going to start with negatives, because there aren't many! there's a few weird notes here and there (these shanties are almost all in harmonic minor, not natural - so, G natural, never G flat like at 2:30 for example), but there's nowhere near enough to draw me out of the style. i liked the cinematic opening, but then you didn't use those (super fun) strings until the very end. i'd have loved to see them used more throughout than just a fiddle lead for a bit. MW hit on the fiddle getting lost when it's playing with everything else, and i agree that it could use adjustment there.

that said, those are nitpicks at best. this is a great, fun, energetic arrangement that features some clever ideas both in the ending and in some of the exploration, and it's well-realized in recording and mastering. easy vote for me!

 

YES!

[Liontamer]

My usually criticisms of Dustin's guitar performances sounding stiff are there, but the overall performance is still all sorts of solid and the other instrumentation works well. The backing guitar chugs sounded nice, and this was a nice fusion of electric guitar with some more classical sounds. Loved the fade-out transition into the whistling and SFX; really cool way to finish it!

/essay

YES