[GSM 2] Round 2 Voting

[DarkeSword]

Voting Guidelines

Teams were tasked with writing three mashup arrangements of two songs each, one from a Metroid game and the other from a Castlevania game.

In order to make your vote, listen to the remixes and, for each pair, choose the remix that fulfills the following criteria (listed in order of importance):

• The remix arranges both source tunes in an interesting and identifiable way into one cohesive piece of music.
• The remix is well-produced within the conventions of the genre.
• The remix is enjoyable to listen to.

Stream the remixes via Soundcloud or Download the Round 2 Remix Pack (MP3).

For your reference, here are the source tunes for each matchup:

Super Metroid vs. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

• Maridia (Rocky Underwater Area)
• Purification

Metroid Prime vs. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse

• Tallon Overworld Depths
• Overture

Metroid Fusion vs. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

• Environmental Mystery
• Marble Gallery

You can also use this thread to leave comments about the tracks. Remember to be kind and constructive. Thanks for listening, and thanks for voting!

[pixelseph]

This round is another hard one to vote! Both teams brought forth polished mixes and executed really creative ideas.

Infected Waters: Psytrance heaven! The gated vocal, triplet transitions, and distinct sections make this a wonderful listen. The Bloody Tears motif from Purification comes through strongly even with the syncopated line, and the Maridia theme holds tightly throughout the piece.

Pure Zebes: Enya vibes proudly on display! Despite having zero melodic correlation to it, this piece would feel right at home in RuneScape - I’m attributing that to the instrumentation (flutes and strings and pads over light percussion). Both themes are strong throughout; the 3/4 meter helps bring both ideas together.

Livin' Out Our Last Days: It's Metroidvania but if the Gorillaz did it! I love nothing more in a mashup than taking the structure of one piece and applying the melodic and harmonic content of another to it, and this track does exactly that - Feel Good, Inc is clearly the template here. I'm hearing Overture in the "theme"/verse riff and Tallon in the choruses. The organic instruments (guitars, bass, and vocals) are well performed, and the mix is tight.

Cruisin' Down Overture Blvd in the Depths of Tallon Traffic: Synthwave magic! That Tallon bassline rides through the whole piece and never once gets stale. Love the way the melody trades Overtune and Tallon back and forth, and the little chromatic splashes here and there keep the lead interesting.

Smoke and Marbles: Live jazz club sound! Great mix on the quartet throughout - the lead trade between piano and guitar on the Marble Gallery theme is brilliant. Bass and drums hold the groove tight. Environmental Mystery as the bridge is another brilliant choice for such a short source.

Gallery of Mysteries: Progressive metal time! Periphery and Tigran Hamasyan meet a sort of Darude vibe on the intro. Lots of time signature shifts for those wanting to count - 4/4, 5/8, 7/8, 5/16... math music nerds, get in the comments! Love the use of Environmental Mystery as the arp throughout the piece.

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Great job everyone! As with round 1, I can't wait to see these pass the panel!

Edited February 25 by pixelseph

[The Vodoú Queen]

Voted! ^_^

100% agree with Seph on every one of these, (so, ditto!) I wanna see them on dat Panel and passing!

I LOVED every single one of them, (and all of y'all are killin' it.) ♥

Looking forward to the Final Round! :D