OCR04411 - *YES* Super Metroid "A Hunter's Epilogue"

[Liontamer]

Hi, I'm Torby Brand. This is my OCR submission for a Super Metroid remix.

 

Track Artists:

 

Arr., Keys: Torby Brand

Real name: Torbjørn Brandrud

Links: https://youtube.com/c/TorbyBrand

https://fanlink.to/torbybrand

 

Submission information:

 

Track name: A Hunter's Epilogue

Source Game: Super Metroid

Source Track: Credits

Track link: 

Comments:

This track was part of the 2021 project "Harmony of a Hunter: Returns" by Shinesparkers, the following comment on the track are in that context:
 

"Once again I've been blessed to participate in a Shinesparkers project! And for the first time, as a participating performer. I became a Metroid fan long before I was a pianist and music producer. This is the first time that I've truly gotten a worthy opportunity to express those two together. Because I entered the project at a later stage, there was added pressure to the task at hand. I needed to finish the track in time, but most notably, deliver a piece that was worthy of the source material and of the peers around me. I'm happy to say that in addition to making it in time, I was happy with my effort and that I gave it my all.

 

Super Metroid is not only one of the most iconic Metroid games, it's one of the most iconic games of all time! And so, to tackle this piece was no small task in my mind. The original track is composed of music that plays before the credits, during, and after. The chronological structure made it more challenging to arrange. I decided to embrace the idea of a faithful but expanded and "upgraded" piano rendition, while still carrying the essence of the game's ending.

 

Samus has just left Zebes when the original track plays, that's why I found it fitting to start up with a reference to Samus' theme that plays during the final fight. On the other end of my piece, I included a version of the classic appearance fanfare. Using it in a Metroid arrangement is far from an original idea, but I think the chord modification carries the mood change well, and it gave me the "beginning at the end" effect that I was looking for. Additionally I sprinkled the iconic Samus arpeggio throughout the piece for dramatic effect, whereas it only plays towards the end in the original. Most of the arrangement choices were made in the numerous, smaller decisions. Additional harmonies, flurries, added melody, staccato and legato balances and the dramatic changes in dynamics and mood. Adapting orchestral pieces for piano does inevitably mean stripping down the arrangement to some degree, but that does not make it necessarily easier in my view. It's challenging to make it compelling on its own, and to pick what to include, what to expand on, and how.

 

I wanted to highlight my passion for this piece, this arrangement, and for the franchise that brought me here. Thank you to everyone involved and to Darren for including me! Metroid will always have a place in my heart, and so will its music."

 

Best,

Torby Brand

[Liontamer]

It's a melodically conservative but solid adaptation to piano by Torby when you compare it side-by-side to better appreciate the textural changes. That said, I'm put off by the rigid sound of the rendered piano from the get-go. Rexy may have some insight, because this has been a frequent limitation of her setup; it seems like you could take a MIDI of this and re-render it with a sample that had more natural-sounding dynamics, but who knows how practical of a suggestion that is. Stuff like 2:24's more pensive and delicate section sounded more realistic, but that was very brief, and anything low or forceful exposed the limitation of the samples, so I'm stuck focusing more on how this sounds like it's in the uncanny valley instead of enjoying the arrangement and performance. I can't get behind this as is, Torby, but would love to see this posted in some form.

NO (resubmit)

[MindWanderer]

Larry's comments are on point.  The piano seems like it's missing harmonics, and doesn't sound quite right.

Also, some of the harmonies seem off to me, but I can't put my finger on it.  Maybe it's just unusual chords.  Hopefully another judge can comment.

That said, I don't think either issue is major.  There's a good deal of humanism there, and even though there's an odd tone to it, it's a solid arrangement.  Room for improvement, but passable IMHO.

YES

[prophetik music]

the piano tone is not amazing, but i didn't find it to be worse than others that we've passed in recent years. if anything, my complaint is that torby likes his sustain pedal a bit too much, which combined with the big blocks of fifths and octaves in his left hand results in some dense, muddy chord blocks. less velocity on those would have helped a lot, but it's not a dealbreaker. i think there's some level of quant on this also that makes it feel more robotic than it would otherwise have felt - again, i'd prefer it wasn't there, but i don't think it's a dealbreaker.

i think the arrangement is competent if conservative, and survives the adaptation to a single instrument quite well. the mastering is clear, and reverb and room tone both aren't overdone. i'd have preferred a better, more responsive instrument used, but this is over the bar.

 

 

YES

[DarkSim]

There is a strange sound to that piano that I spent the whole track trying to figure out whether it was being played live or not - I guess this is what we mean by the 'uncanny valley' of a performance. Perhaps it's being played live using a sampled instrument, and that's where the uncanniness is coming from. Either way, it doesn't sound bad, and the fact I can't tell 100% is surely a good thing.

The arrangement is conservative, but trimming everything down for 1 instrument and not having it sound too thin takes skill, and you've pulled that off here. Some of the faster left-hand work gets a bit lost (e.g. 0:54), but I like the consideration of using staccato right after that part, for a contrast. The triumphant section from 1:38-2:25 sounds good, although was that the wrong transitional chord at 2:11-2:12? Actually, listening to this section again, it's possible that the uncanny feeling I had about the performance could be that the notes are being played with a higher velocity than it feels like they naturally should be. As this triumphant section builds, it sounds like the overall volume is increasing, but the velocity of the notes (right-hand) is staying the same.

Regardless, I think this one does enough to pass. It would be nicer if the piano had a more pleasant, richer tone, but efforts have clearly been made to made this as natural-sounding as possible, with plenty of attention to dynamics and articulation.

YES

[Chimpazilla]

Nice adaptation of this source to solo piano.  It is quite conservative but has good personalization.  I agree with my peers that the piano does not have the most pleasant tone; it comes off as tinny, overly sharp, and missing some beefiness.  I especially agree with prophetik about the overuse of the sustain pedal, most noticeable during the big chords and builds; as more notes are dogpiled on top it becomes rather muddy.  I also agree with prophetik that there seems to be some quantization that is making the performance more robotic than it should be.  All of this does lead to the uncanny valley.  I can see how this bothered Larry enough for a NO vote, and I'm into borderline territory myself due to these issues, but I am in agreement with the other Js that the track is still over our bar.  The production and mastering are competent, and the mix sounds good.

YES