OCR04285 - *YES* Metroid "First Time Down Here?"

[Rexy]

Screen name: wildcaml

Name: Dakota Anderson

Email: 

 

Game: Metroid

Remix: "First Time Down Here?"

Song: "Kraid's Lair" or "Kraid's Hideout"

 

 

Since this is the first Metroid, I wanted to capture the feeling of entering Kraid's lair for the first time. As you descend into the dark, sprawling caverns, a droning, eerie tone begins. The energy picks up a bit as you explore, and increases further as you continue to discover and become more confident. In a moment, though, the alien life quiets, the halls become tighter and dimmer, your heart beats faster and faster until you find yourself in a pitch-black room, where Kraid himself suddenly explodes into action. The piece hits its climax as you try to fight off Kraid for survival. Finally, the track chills out a little; you're safe for the time being. However, as the music fades into a dissonant descent, you realize this isn't the end, and you wonder what otherworldly horrors further await you on the mysterious planet.

 

[Gario]

Shit, this is good - excellent sound design, great production, and an overall solid (if conservative) arrangement. There's some excessive silence at the end of the track (if I'm being generous with the release, at least from 2:50 to the end), but that's easy to clean up.

Why am I looking at this here when it could be posted on the front page instead?

YES

[Emunator]

I'm not quite as sold on the execution as Gario, but I will solidly agree that this is a unique, atmospheric electronic track that captures exactly the feel you were going for. When you go for a more explicit dubstep style at 1:34, it all comes together. Very tastefully done.

I love the saw chords going on at 2:03, but I can't shake the feeling that simply automating the volume to make it more prominent in the mix (which is what I'm assuming you did) wasn't the right approach, since it currently sticks out as unnaturally loud. A filter sweep with a high resonance or a riser sweep would likely achieve the same effect, but sound more natural.

 I'm also not in love with the snare sound in the first minute of the track; again, it simply sounds too loud and dry and it feels mildly distracting. 

Also seconding the notion that the track should probably cut off at 2:50.

All these things aside, this is clearly above the bar, but I did want to note some of these small details to keep in mind for future submissions. Nice work!

YES

[prophetik music]

i agree with emu that the first main section, starting at 0:30, sounds pretty hollow - the snare's real loud, the lead's kinda out there by itself, and there's not much behind it. it works because it's clearly a build-up to the big dub hit at 1:32 but it's not ideal. it's also fairly short, really, it's essentially a little less than two minutes of music. it still sounds pretty good across the board, and i like the sound design especially.

overall i'm probably not as high on this as gario is but it's solid and over the bar.

 

 

YES

[Liontamer]

The arrangement was interpretive primarily due to the very hefty instrumentation, coming off to me mostly like a sound design demo (not in a perjorative way). Really nice dynamic change at 1:18 for the chorus by initially stripping things down. Soundscape was obviously too cramped from 1:33-1:49 (booooo!), but it can slide only because the rest of the track was mixed fine.

Also not sure of why the chorus notes were essentially half-randomized from 1:49-2:20, as it didn't sound melodious or like it truly clicked as a technique, even after giving it several listens and acknowledging that it was more orderly from 2:04-2:20.

Not totally my cup of tea, but solid nonetheless (and it ain't about my personal preferences, now is it? ;-D). Fun take, Dakota!

YES

[MindWanderer]

Not quite house, not quite dubstep, pretty subdued for the genres.  I agree that the lead from 0:24-1:18 is trying to do a lot of work for a fairly thin, vanilla synth, and I'm also not thrilled with the timing of the vox starting at 1:49 (which is not random, but comes in between beats awkwardly).  And it could easily end at 2:42, much less 2:50.

But the strengths are strong.  The overtly dubstep portions work well, that house supersaw is delicious, and the story you were trying to tell comes across nicely.  I look forward to hearing more from you.

YES

[Chimpazilla]

I am digging this super low bass.  Ooooooo the growls are excellent.  The snare is quite prominent but not overly so to me. The soundscape sounds full and empty at the same time which is something I really like.  Great use of sfx.  This is such a unique take on Kraid's theme.  

YES