Posted 2010-07-04, evaluated by djpretzel


Last but not least, to round out our Four for the Fourth Sonic quadrilogy, we've got Stevo "My Beard has More Facebook Fans Than You" Bortz with some Sonic & Knuckles action. I need to start getting ready for my OWN July 4th party, so I'm going to let Mr. 99 do most of the talking:

"This one is pretty straight-forward. It's about 70%-30% source/original ratio. The only big section that isn't an arranged version of the source (I sprinkled the bass riffs in the guitars as well as the lead synths, everything should be pretty apparent) is the breakdown section in the middle. One could call this a dance-rock-alternative-electronica-factory-metal song, but I just call it really fun music to drive and run to.

I was listening to the Sonic and Knuckles soundtrack at work, and I never really heard that far into it when I originally played it since I suck at Sonic, so I never heard this zone's music. It got stuck in my head and it wouldn't leave, so I started making a remix of it. Three days later, this is the result. Some mixes take a long time, but this one just wanted to be made, and fast. I had a blast playing around with the different factory/junk kits I could find, and some of the delay and stutter effects were fun to tweak.

I also want to say Larry Oji is the next Godfather."

Does that make me the current Godfather? I think Larry is more of a Luca Brasi to my Don, personally, but regardless of who's leaving guns and taking cannoli, this is a good mix. "Chromium" makes me think Google, but in this case it's all about straightforward, unapologetic rock. Like Stevo says, good driving music for a summer day - most of the mix is throbbing, kinetic rock & roll, but I also dig the metallic, industrious FX intro and outro, which add texture.

This concludes our posting of four mixes for July 4th, 2010. We might not be able to swing this EVERY July 4th, but this year - our tenth in existence - seemed like a good occasion. Awesome Sonic ReMixes from halc, PrototypeRaptor, Joshua Morse, and Level 99 - enjoy your holiday!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Crulex
on 2011-07-04 19:51:52

I honestly did not realize that I was about to review this exactly one year after it was posted. It just so happened to be next on my list of songs I still wanted to catch-up on and review. Anyway, the intro was awesome and I think the guitar work for this was brilliant. The whole ReMix is rockingly catchy as hell and the outro was pretty cool. As a lot of people have already said, it does get a tad muddy in places, but all in all, the pros outway the cons by quite a lot, so it's all good. Seriously, sweet stuff going on in this song right here.

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Marmiduke
on 2010-10-30 02:34:51

Hard-edged Sonic greatness. Definitely a winning idea, and it works pretty much every time its been attempted. This has an awesome take on the main source melody, which I think is pretty weak in its original form. The guitar work and the added gravel of the production give it a much needed kick in the ass, and the result sounds terrific.

When things get hectic, the sounds do envelop themselves, which does give a less than desirable effect. But aside from the fact that I can't help but notice that the heavier sections don't pop as much as they should, it really doesn't get in my way of enjoying this.

It may not be the best metal mix around, but it does enough right for it be in the same company as the best. Much more of a success than a failure.

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GrrDraxin
on 2010-08-07 00:48:32

Hello. I may not post much at all here, but I must say that this is an awesome mix. Though I may not know what "muddy" is defined as here, but if it's what I think it is, I think you could have solved that issue simply by adjusting the equalizers on each of your instruments used, and sharpen them with a bit more treble. But since it's already done, well, we'll just have to deal with it as is.

But that's not to say I think it's bad by any stretch of the word, oh no, I quite enjoyed it, and think it was fine just as it is. But, one must account for a very wide range of listening equipment each of us users have, and how different a song can sound on those systems, like the car stereo would have a better or worse sound than say, your home theater system, or even different brands of head phones and earphones, can sound vastly different.

Personally, I don't even use any kind of equalizer when playing music through my earphones because they have just the right frequency response ranges that take care of all the things the equalizer would normally, unless the song I'm listening to needs and extra boost somewhere, but normally that's not the case.

By the way, I use the Phillips SHE9500 earphones for my listening, and let me tell you, not only are they tough and reliable, they sound awesome with most everything I've listened to thus far. And they last almost forever. I've had my current pair for over 2 years now without a single problem, and my last pair lasted my just as long. So you know that's something in quality to be able to take what I've done to them and still keep performing great.

Hopefully we will hear more from you soon. I know I would be overjoyed to hear what else in audio awesomeness you can dish out with your next production.

Till next time, later.

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Martin Penwald
on 2010-07-30 16:14:57

Nice intro. Pretty fat low-end (e.g. 1:17 onwards); exactly how I like it. Very, very nice breakdown.

I can see where the people who find this (too) muddy are coming from, but personally, I'm not bothered by it at all.

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OA
on 2010-07-16 16:10:39

Stevo Level-up GET! 1173 EXP remain to less muddy production!

Level-up?!? Does that mean... you are now Level 100?!

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Level 99
on 2010-07-16 16:00:22
Some cool moments, and some nice chugs, but I kindof felt this one is half baked. :-(

The trashy junk kit sounds very cool and has some nice parts, and the intro in general was great, but once things got moving, the sound was pretty muddy, meaning nothing really punched out. The breakdown helped give it some character, but otherwise, I was left feeling that it needed more polish. Sorry dude. ;_;

Iz okay, my friend. This is actually what I like to hear if people have issues with stuff. Always room for improvement and this gives me a good idea of what I should look to do should I attempt to do this style again. It was pretty ambitious of me to incorporate all those differing layers together because each one had something to "say" in the mix, so I'm not surprised that some people feel that it's a bit muddy in areas. I'll do my best to improve for the next one, as always. Lots of people made the same muddy production comment.

And for everyone who's left comments thus far, thank you. It's always appreciated.

Stevo Level-up GET! 1173 EXP remain to less muddy production!

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OA
on 2010-07-16 15:35:19

Some cool moments, and some nice chugs, but I kindof felt this one is half baked. :-(

The trashy junk kit sounds very cool and has some nice parts, and the intro in general was great, but once things got moving, the sound was pretty muddy, meaning nothing really punched out. The breakdown helped give it some character, but otherwise, I was left feeling that it needed more polish. Sorry dude. ;_;

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Gario
on 2010-07-05 23:19:07

So (in my Opinion) make it more Heavier

Fix the main theme

and this remix need something else i dont know what

... (lol, sorry, I couldn't help it)

You already know my thoughts on it from the WIP forums bro, so yeah - keep up the great work :wink:

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letterONE
on 2010-07-05 20:51:02

I may sound stupid, but I find that this sounds like a mix of Blue Man Group, any other rock band, and a little bit of techno. That's about it.8)

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luhny
on 2010-07-05 10:37:17

to avoid any unneccessary copy/paste feelings, i will just go with: what Will said

*two thumbs up* thanks for sharing this one :)

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PROTO·DOME
on 2010-07-05 06:17:40

I have to say, Stevo got bloody brilliant awfully quick. Fantastic arrangment, I fully agree with Will when he says this fulfills the source potential. Sounds like something from the Sonic Adventure series actually.

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WillRock
on 2010-07-04 21:25:18

This one takes my pic for my fav of the 4 posted sonic mixes today.

This is a great example of taking a source that had the potential to be awesome but didn't quite fulfil it, and realizing that potential. Some might disagree, but thats my opinion here.

I agree that the production isn't the best it could be here, but its not anything that detracts from how awesome this mix is.

The arrangment is what really gives this one the punch into overdrive, its got a much better groove than the original which makes this a very satisfying listen.

Mr 99, I salute you :nicework:

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Geoffrey Taucer
on 2010-07-04 20:06:47

Awesome. Great guitar work.

Production is a tad muddy at some points, but certainly not bad enough to detract from the awesomeness of the mix.

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Inimitable
on 2010-07-04 18:25:03

I worked with Level 99 a while back to create a Rock Band custom for this track... It was fun, and I thought I'd post it here too if anyone else wanted to check it out.

If you've got a softmodded Wii, a 360 with Audition Mode, or Frets on Fire installed on your PC, you can play it yourself as well.

Again, awesome job on the track Level 99. :)

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MechaFone
on 2010-07-04 17:20:36

Folks, this may well be what the defining 'rock' remix sounds like. Well done, Agent 99. Well done.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Sonic & Knuckles (Sega , 1994, GEN)
Music by Howard Drossin,Jun Senoue,Masaru Setsumaru,Masayuki Nagao,Sachio Ogawa,Tatsuyuki Maeda,Tokuhiko Uwabo,Tomonori Sawada,Yoshiaki Kashima
Songs:
"Death Egg Zone: Act 1"

Tags (3)


Genre:
Rock
Mood:
Aggressive
Instrumentation:
Electric Guitar
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Sonic_&_Knuckles_Chromium_Asphyxiation_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
6,667,300 bytes
MD5:
3f5db5079180ecd9cb2ddbe26e1da1fe
Bitrate:
236Kbps
Duration:
3:42

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