Liontamer Posted September 3, 2007 Share Posted September 3, 2007 Remixer name: Ironhit Email: Gildarenn@gmail.com Remixed game: Castlevania Songs remixed: Poison mind,Wicked Child,Vampire Killer, Heart of Fire ---------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.zophar.net/nsf/castleva.zip - Tracks 9 (:00-:15), 4 (:16-2:15), 2 (2:16-3:17), 6 (3:21-4:57) Couldn't place the 3:21-3:43's portion but CHz made me aware that it was simply part of NSF Track 6 ("Heart of Fire"). I recognized the rest of the arrangement from there from the get-go. One bigger negative, the call-response between the orchestral strings followed by the flimsy guitar (e.g. 3:48-3:56, 4:00-4:07). 3:21's transition was also too sudden and didn't flow well. This has some good expansive spices, absolutely, but the writing plays it REALLY straightforward with the source melodies. A natural for any arrangement album, but could be more interpretive to make it feel like an easier sell. It's not that this is bad. It would have definitely been more than a no-brainer in ye olden days. But I feel like we already have a pretty cover-ish version of Wicked Child in "Wicked Six", and this has even less melodic interpretation value on that theme than that mix. Maybe it's just me. Overall though, I feel like this is still ok. Is it nostalgia bias from me? No, I don't have any bias toward (or against) the themes here. I've definitely heard these Castlevania themes enough to where they've very internalized, which makes it easy to initially dismiss the arrangement as too close. But I think it becomes a lot easier to justify the expansive approach here though once you side-by-side the arrangement with the NES originals. You get a much better idea of the additive parts, countermelodic writing, and instrument variation and how those were used to personalize the arrangement. Definitely interested in hearing other perspectives. I could be swayed depending on the point of view, but right now, I'm ok with this, and feel comfortable enough giving this a borderline YES. EDIT: Vote changed. See below. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 The production here strikes me as a little lo-fi.. kinda cheap sounding drums, general lack of high end (very obvious on a spectrum analyzer), piano doesn't sound great... the guitars sound fantastic though, inexplicably. Maybe you just need to upgrade your sample collection or go the extra mile with processing (EQ, distortion, compression, reverb, etc.) - or both. The closest mix I can think of for comparison is "Blue Balls". Similar approach, but that mix regularly made both melodic AND rhythmic variations to material from the source, as well as various minor embellishments and new writing to support the stuff from the source(s). While the production is solid enough, especially the most excellent guitar work, the arrangement is not up to par IMO. I'd love to hear a resub with more interpretive value. NO, resub The arrangement certainly strikes me as sticking very close to the originals. Aside from some basic added background riffs here and there, I wasn't hearing much interpretation at all. Some of the earlier transitiosn were a little rough, but as the mix went on they did get a bit more creative. The difference between this and Wicked Six is that Wicked Six at least had some interpretation in the form of added soloing. I was not hearing any notable additions here besides one or two background riffs on a synth here and there, the transitions, and the bit at the very end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big giant circles Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 The opening piano really gave me the wrong impression of what to expect here. I was pleasantly surprised when the guitar came in. Your highs are definitely buried somewhere beneath the shredding. And let me make it perfectly clear that this track is really cool. Great energy, and great guitar and drumwork. What's with the ending? Sounds like it got cutoff halfway through the fadeout. On the arrangement side, it sounds not really all that different than the respective source tunes. Definitely try to switch things up a bit, and not simply transition from one melody to the next. Deviate a little. Remember, we like reinterpretations more than we like covers or sound upgrades. Awesome song. But not quite up to par on the arrangement. Rethink your structure, add some personal flare to the general melodies, and resub this thing. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHz Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 Poison Mind (0:00-0:16) Direct sound upgrade from the source. Wicked Child (0:16-2:12) Direct sound upgrade from the source with additional rhythm guitar, background pads, and better drums. Vampire Killer (2:16-3:17) Direct sound upgrade with better drums, except for 2:24-2:31 and 2:55-3:02, which also have some rhythm riffs and background synth work. Heart of Fire (3:21-4:42) Direct sound upgrade with better drums and background pads, with slight melodic interpretation at 3:56-4:00 and 4:07-4:15. Original stuff during the transitions at 2:12-2:16, 3:18-3:21, and 4:42-4:57 is way too little, too late. There is almost no arrangement done to any of the sources beyond dropping in some better drums and shredding one of the voices. Transitions are weak also. This is basically four completely direct covers of the source tunes joined together, and nowhere close to the bar on the arrangement side. Cool though. Not saying your guitarwork is bad or anything, because you have some nice covers. But covers are not for OCR. NO EDIT: Amended the section on Heart of Fire slightly because I left out the only melodic interpretation in the mix. Meant to get that in there, but it slipped. Already factored it into my vote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted November 15, 2007 Author Share Posted November 15, 2007 Well I'm glad I have a new computer available to me with a good sound card, because I cut this one a lot of slack compared to what I'm hearing now. That's twice lately, so I joked that the panel should put me out to the glue factory. This isn't a terrible cover by any means, but in re-comparing this track to the sources, the melodies are mainly just layered up (which is what threw me off on my expansionist POV), so there's a lot more body to this piece compared to the originals, but not much interpretive substance. Any new countermelodic stuff was only there in passing, with CHz giving a good breakdown of both the additive and interpretive features. One thing I disagree on is the track's structure. Yes, the transitions are pure medleyitis, but they were smooth and didn't break the flow of the track at all. A more interpretive arrangement that had transitions of this nature would be fine, but development and interpretation of the source tunes is the major dealbreaker here. While the production quality was a bit crowded but otherwise fine enough for the bar, clearly most of the writing was near-verbatim with the source tunes, and there's not enough arrangement interpretation upon a relisten. Cool track though, Ironhit. We're definitely not saying this is a poor track, just not an interpretive enough treatment of the themes you arranged. I'd definitely be glad to hear you submit more material in the future, and I'm looking forward to it. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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