Liontamer Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 Credits: Lead Vocals: Valentino Francavilla Backing Vocals: Susanna Gray-Jones Guitar, Bass/Drum Programming, Mixing, Lyrics - WillRock Artist Comments "What if Helloween covered Shovel Knight?" Honestly, I'm not sure where the idea for this came from, because this idea first came to me maybe 5 years ago. This is the first time I've done a video game arrangement with a main vocal part taking the lead melody, complete with original lyrics. There are no synths this time around, and I went full on quad time drums power metal with this one, which I've dabbled with in previous remixes but never gone all out like this. Plus, Valentino Francavilla, a vocalist so good he could give Bruce Dickinson a run for his money, absolutely DEMOLISHES this vocal part. He steals the show completely, and I don't even care because he's THAT good. I'm amazed he agreed to it. I also got my cousin, Susanna Gray-Jones, to provide backing vocals that were layered into a choir, and you can hear her most clearly just after the last chorus. I know a lot of people often say this of their most recent work while they're hyped up about something new and exciting they've finished, but I'm going to go out there and say this just might be the best remix i've ever done, and it just wasn't possible without the help of both Valentino and Susanna. I should probably do more collabs... Source usage notes: 0:36 lead guitar riff is actually taken from the source, it plays in the background during the main chorus section and I expanded on it a bit. 3:48-4:28 is taken from Cargo of Fineries. The rest is from High Above The Land. Should add up to 50% all in. Lyrics Observe the skies for the air assault The captain knight, he prepares for the flight Into the skies, to the heavens we go A battlefield cry, we prepare to die Swift as a bird, a magnificent cur Watch your back for his rapier attack The engines roar as it takes to the skies We’ve got to prepare for war And we will lose ourselves in the clouds Just like an eagle We will fight and we will fly For valour and hope we rise We will fly high above the land Shoot into the stars We will fight and we may die for all of mankind Jumping on platforms that fall from the sky Using propellers to court his ascent The gallant knight will traverse the terrain Through burdensome winds The sunset blares as the wind knight looks on He meets his foe, for they’ll soon come to blows Ducking through every attack that he throws The propeller knight he falls And we will lose ourselves in the clouds Just like an eagle We will fight and we will fly For everyone we try We’ll fly high above the land Shoot into the stars We will fight and we may die for you AHHHHHHHHHHH The engines roar As it takes to the skies We’ve got to prepare for war And we will lose ourselves in the clouds Just like an eagle We will fight and we will fly For everyone we try We will fly high above the land Shoot into the stars We will fight and we may die for all of mankind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted April 22 Author Share Posted April 22 Wow! And being a "Wings of Gold" fan back in the day with virt, I know Jake will enjoy this! Shit, is this an audition to do a Shovel Knight rock anthem arrangement album, because this is an amazing proof of concept. At 3:48, the guitar work took the intensity to another level; loved the layers/effects there. Triumphant! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 big guitar-driven opening. 0:36 the drums kicked it off and it really started cooking. there's a lot of lower content and the bass sits a little high, so it comes across as very lower mid heavy. the guitars and bass are very clear and the drums are saying fun things - definite dragonforce vibes when the vocals come in at 1:13. it's hard to understand the words that are being said, but holy crap, what a voice! killer range. the first few lines of the chorus are so dragonforce, it sounds like it's straight out of the joke commercial they made of their hits. track blows through the next verse and hits another chorus with some neat harmonic elements added. there's an instrumental bridge that hits at 2:48 that features the required rising 'ahh' vocal yell and guitar solo. solo is outrageous as is expected. there's some pageantry at 3:48ish in the guitar work with a bunch of layered stacks and some really fun panning work. track comes back around to the chorus one time before an extended outro featuring the melodic content and a solid 15+ seconds of glam slam outro insanity. what a ride! i love everything about the arrangement here. this maps so well to the style and your choice of collaborators was excellent. the track feels a bit weird in the low end overall, but it's mixed such that i can always hear everything that's going on, and it doesn't get tiresome to my ears after nearly six minutes of balls-to-the-wall rock. what a fun track. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted May 6 Share Posted May 6 Amazing arrangement as expected, and the performances are off-the-charts good. All guitar work completely slaps, drumming is insane, and Valentino's vocals fit perfectly and wow is he talented. Rock-anthem-arrangement-album material indeed, sounds so professional. I have some minor mixing nitpicks: bass presence is a little soft, and the high-end detail of the drums are somewhat washed out, kick is too quiet and there's something about the snare tone that is too boxy for my taste. This really is a wall of sound coming at'cha fast. But that said, there's no chance of this not getting posted, it is truly epic. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 F'ing insane dude. This feels like the kind of track you've been working towards for literal decades now, and you've found a vocalist who can really eat up this style of music. This is also some of the most high-energy technical shredding I've heard from you. Drum programming is nuts. Honestly, everything is cranked up to 11 here. This feels monumental, a milestone in your musical journey and one you should be very, VERY proud of. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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