Castlevania - Bloody Tears

[MartinH]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcKELb0KsMc

Before I started producing this I read about Dracula and wanted to base the atmosphere and content of this song on that. I know Bloody Tears often is referred to totally different scenarios in the games but... Well, this is my way right now.

I pictured his castle (the one in the background art), intimidating and terrifying (represented by the fearsome laugh at 0:29), I can't imagine the feeling if I should stand outside its gates and hear that laugh. I also pictured how lonely Dracula must be, and that he for almost an eternity has been a resident of that vast castle. Dracula himself says a lot about love and life of men in books and movies, how he envy the simple life of mankind and the short lifespan (Dracula has kind of eternal life) while he struggles against time and, most of all, against his own sanity.

I sampled a sound (at 2:01) of night crickets, humming monks and finally a church bell sequently to create a feeling of nightly calm, spiritualty and Dracula's nocturnal life which I think plays a part in Dracula's nature connected to his sanity.

The arrangement of this song has ups and downs, just like the sanity I picture within Dracula.

It has hope and despair - what if Dracula just try to live among us, with us and create a "normal" life, seek love and dedicates himself to whomever he loves. Oh, but he can't, the eternal life that he has been given just don't fit among us. And his knowledge of the past comes with deep prejudices and certain ways of how one should treat and behave. Can he adapt to the present?

It has anxiety and harmony - who can he love? Will he be forced to curse his loved ones with eternal life to commit to love and dedication? What if his life is a gift just as it is? The extraordinary abilities, eternal life and knowledge absorbed from ages ago until today. They are with no doubt useful. Can he make himself available to mankind without consequences or misuse?

It has denial and acceptance - Dracula always had two choices, he could shield himself off from the rest of the world, or he could accept who he is, and fight for himself to be a part of the world of mankind. But will mankind ever accept such a terrifying creature, so dangerous, but yet so polite and mature. His purpose and actions must be very clarified and transparent, but can he be trusted despite that?

To get more serious: On top of that, Dracula wants a Halloween party - every year, which my straight 4/4 beats in this song represents. The end of the song which is in half tempo represents how Dracula, despite all invitations sent, ends up dancing by himself in laserbeams, smoke and lit up candlelabras, high on drugs and wine, just floating through time within the walls of his castle in large halls.

[DarkSim]

Oh yes, this is probably your best work so far. Subscribed! I love it how you've also got this idea in your head for how the emotion of the song should feel when writing it - I think it's important to bear in mind such things when composing, as it can subconsciously translate into the music and make an impact on the listener.

Onto the specifics:

Once again I love the lead choice here - which synth are you using? It sounds great, and the harmonies work beautifully in the chorus sections. The source works really well in a synthwave style, and although you say you've chosen a straight 4/4 beat, you've kept it interesting for the whole chorus section from 0:48-1:02. The offbeat snares add urgency to the chorus, and that makes the smooth transition to the 4/4 beat in the verse all the sweeter. You've mixed up the choruses too, adding the lead harmony line for the second one to keep it fresh, and added some stronger glitch effects. I gotta admit the glitching did seem a little harsh in that second chorus - Around 1:34-1:35 it sounds a little too choppy for my personal taste. If I was being extra critical here I'd say you could clean that part up a bit by adding some smoothing to the stutter, or bouncing the audio off to a track and playing with the volume manually.

Moving on, the half-tempo part is super chill, and you're doing all the right things with the glitter and effects (love that synth at 2:22!). Then the solo kicks in and just caps off the track beautifully. I like how you decide to keep the mellow half-time beat for the rest of the song, too - a stylistic choice fitting the vision in your writeup.

Overall, I think this track is fantastic. It's got everything I would hope for from a video game remix. It pays homage to the source, yet has enough of your own style in it to give it a fresh new quality. I don't know how long it took you to produce (you do seem to be cranking out the releases quite quickly!), but I think there is room to improve the production if you were willing to dive back into this project. As it is, you'd probably have a good chance at getting it posted on OCReMix, however as it takes a long time for the judging process, I'd say it would be well worth putting a bit more polish on it before submitting. Looking forward to hearing more from you, and if you want any more specific feedback on this track, gimme a shout!