*NO* Thunder Force 5 "Enter Vambrace"

[Rexy]

ReMixer name:

bsolmaz13

 

Name of game:

Thunder Force V

 

Name of arrangement:

Enter Vambrace

 

Name of song arranged:

Steel of Destiny

 

Comments:

Thunder Force V has some incredible music and I thought I'd give it some love by remixing one of my favourite tracks in the game. The original Steel of Destiny has an amazing transcendent feel to it as you're leaving Earth's atmosphere while changing into starfighter 'Vambrace'. I tried to mix it up by giving the remix a driving rhythm and strong beat. It's something short and sweet where it still has the same transcendent feel, only now it's slower, moodier and grittier. Perfect for taking on the entire Sword Fleet.
 

 

Edited March 26, 2022 by Liontamer
closed decision

[prophetik music]

fantastic original track. a lot to live up to.

there's an opening arp with some sfx around it to get it started, and then around 0:30 there's a very minimal drumbeat that comes in. this repeated arpeggio quickly gets annoying - while there's some variation in octaves, it's essentially the same sound for 1:11 with no LFO or change over time in the timbre of the synth. there's a break at 1:12 with some organy sounds, but we're quickly back to the same arp tone quickly.

at 1:31 there's melodic content behind the arp, but the arp's still very much in front. there's a more intense section with the bass playing the arp as well at 1:46, and then a fairly sudden end. 

i think there's the start of a decent track here, but it's not there yet. first of all, if you want the arp to be the focus of your track, you need to mix it up more. 90% of this is one of two static timbres. shifting the arp between synths, adding changes to the tone via LFO'd filters or effects, or even just picking a tone that isn't so grating and in-your-face with no verb presence would help a lot. i will note that the arp is very much a background part of the original track, and you've got it as the primary thing that's in your face throughout - this really should be volumized down a lot, to let the actual melodic content shine out more. lastly, along those lines, the melodic content is really quite minimal in your version - you start it in the organ at 1:11, and the track plays this melodic content for less than a minute before going back to the arp exclusively. the choice to highlight the repetitive arp rather than the melody is clearly intentional but i'd say it's not to the benefit of your arrangement.

this is a start but it's not there yet.

 

 

NO

[MindWanderer]

I thought it was hilarious that the original track was some fantastic, dynamic metal synthrock, and the remix was lo-fi PC sounds.  Definitely not what I was expecting from either.

I agree with proph that this is mostly one very long arp with some accompaniment.  Balance is consistently putting the wrong elements in the forefront.  Even the "melody" (which is pushed to the background) is pretty repetitive; for such a long, dynamic, involved source, you've decided to use only a very small portion of it, over and over.

1:51-2:00 is the weakest part of all.  The melody and arps don't sound like they're in the same key.  The one thing going for it is that it seems like the only part of the whole thing that has percussion that's not the same kick-hat-snare-hat you have going everywhere else.

There are some good ideas here, but I'd go back to the drawing board and write something more engaging and less repetitive.  Then make sure the balance is correct, with the melody loudest and the arps and bass quieter.

NO

[Liontamer]

:10 opens with a pretty upfront electro lead, and the soundscape's already cramped, so the backing chords are getting drowned out; pull the lead back. Takes until 1:11 to get the main melody; not inherently a problem, just noting it, but you've essentially just got 60 seconds of melody for this brief piece. The ending also doesn't resolve in any meaningful way.

I think the sound design's sufficiently personalized, so I could actually live with the arrangement being this short. It's on the edge of what I'd consider fully developed, but it's there. That said, you definitely could get another 30-90 seconds of exploring some additional ideas from the source or just variations of the existing arrangement ideas. But I wouldn't say there's not enough substance just because it works with the main melody briefly; all types of arrangement approaches are welcome.

Production-wise, yeah, I'm not sure why the mixing's so grating/abrasive, but this could be toned down without undermining the sound. This is loud, but texturally this still feels thin. I don't think you need to change the arrangement, but the production/mixing could use another pass with all of the feedback in mind. Really cool source tune choice, and you know I dig your stuff, bsolmaz. Don't be discouraged from resubmitting this one just like you did with the Mega Man 4 piece; you're an extremely capable and talented contributor.

NO (resubmit)