Never Forget Her Name
Game(s): Fire Emblem Awakening
Reviews
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Heavy and fun right out the gateproduction is impeccableguitar tones are delicious. Master is a bit quiet for this kind of productionthough I guess I’m just spoiled by all the -6 LUFS metal songs in this competition. Arrangement progresses very nicely and keeps the really nice and balanced tones throughout. The string sample is kinda fakey especially when it’s exposed as a lead melodybut it’s a nitpick. Lead horn at 3:00 is very quiet and I assume it’s a vst? Yeahmy only real criticism is that some of the orchestral sampling sounds very unrealistic in this context and it’s also very buried in the mix (which is also probably intentional?)it’s not a problem in most of the piece but it’s noticeable whenever they’re used as melodic leads. Other than that the arrangement develops wellthe playing is great and the production is clean as hell.
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Lead guitar is a tad woofy for my taste but works well in the mix – especially with all the strings and horns fighting for that same mid space. Love the changeups to acoustic sections after the heroic metal bits. Holy fuck guitar solo at 3:16love that shit! Double kick feels a bit anemic in the section at 4:32ishcould use some automation to bring it a little more forward.
Great interpretation of the track overallanon!!
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Despite having never played Fire EmblemI can absolutely imagine that 2D battlefield and the little sprites moving up and down. PERFECTLY encapsulates the experience of holding the controller and sending your heroes to battle.
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There’s so much variety in this arrangement – this is how you do a 6 minute long arrangement that takes its time and savors the momentbut doesn’t waste any of that runtime either. The dynamics are incrediblereally solid rhythm and lead guitar performances here tooand the piano comes in at just the right time.
My only beef with this is the fidelity of the strings. The trumpet tone is fine even though I suspect it might be sampledbut the strings have a very synthetic quality to them that feels immersion breaking. If you need string VST programming done after the compo is overhit me up! 🙂
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This one’s got a bit of the DoD maximalismbut not too hard. It’s very well arrangedalmost sounds too busy but I think it stays just under that threshold. It’s a good mix. Lead guitar has that classic “guitar solo” tone that suits the perfectly. Acoustic guitar sounds real nice. Horn adds a nice touch. Strings sound a bit too sampley to my ears.
For me this track stays at like “maximum” level for too long with so many bits and pieces demanding my attention.
NEVERTHELESS. This is a very high quality entry that is executed very well. Only real area of improvement in my eyes is the vst strings. Everything else feels very purposeful and well done.
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Love the contrast between the loud sections and quiet sections. Acoustic guitar sounds fantastic in the mix. Trumpet could be a bit louder. The string VST is usually well usedbut in the sixteenth note scales it sounds a bit artificial – look into whether or not your VST allows configuring the articulation for those?
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This was a cool track. I think it was trying to do a lot more – could use a little more focus. Mostly if the drumkit was more traditionally “metal” it would have fit the rest of the symphonic metal vibe that this was giving off for a majority. If the kick in particular had a little bit more attack and scooped sound with plenty of 4-8k click we’d be in buzzzzziness.
Performances were rad and I love the arrangement.
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Nice clean introduction! There’s a lot of trading off here – from guitar to trumpet to piano to strings. I really like that trumpetactually. It’s like not quite in the front but it’s present and really adds to things. The mixing of almost everything close to front-and-center is a bit unexpected considering how many instrumentsand I’d consider if maybe you want to give them a sense of being in a room. Everything is clear and separated andbest of allquite dramatic!
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I pegged this on a different anon at the listening partybut after relisteningthe main arranger became clear. They deserve a medal just for getting this beast of a game (and soundtrack) into DoD. But the arrangement and performances are top notch as well. The love for the source is palpableand this greatly improves on it. It’s not just a metal or prog arrangementthe trumpet and acoustic guitar specifically give it a more eclectic feeling. I like the added murmurs and sound effectsbut I actually think the track could use more of that for dramatic effect. Specially the crowd noises could be a little more prominentimo. Other than thatthis is an amazing and melancholic entrythank you anon!
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HAWK SCREEEEEEECH! (I learned recently that the hawknot the eagleactually makes this sounddespite what TV would have us believe!)
I dig the drum sound for this. I don’t think I would like it everywhere but for this track it fits really well. Rock band is mixed well imo. I like the string mix in this actuallyI feel it’s where it needs to be to be audible if I focus on it but not competing for attention. Contrast that with the trumpet on the right channel which does ask me to pay attention to it sometimes when a different lead instrument is playing.The arrangement is sick and goes everywhere all the time. But not in a bad way! There are leitmotifs that provide the through line throughout all the changes. And the section changes feel excellent.
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I never played much FEbut the music has always been incredible. I really liked how you were able to have sections that has very different instrumentationbut still sound like they are part of the same arrangement. Also everything felt like it was played effortlesslygood work.
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Very nice songsolid oneall is played well and production is super good too
j’aime la clareté de l’acoustique
gg
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Get that Fire Emblem/JRPG intensity feel right out of the gate. Do feel like the drums are a bit too loud given the balanceand all the instruments feel a bit too quiet – especially the initial horn lines. Solo guitar and solo piano are much more balanced – but I do feel like even then the drums overpower a bit too much to get focus on the melody. Guitar tones are overall very clean. String section could get beefed up a bit too. The vibe shift around 2:40 is really well handledbut again feel like the brass/strings are getting swallowed up by the drums – I’m guessing those are all VSTs so maybe they aren’t balancing well against the live instruments? Going for the nice intense feel around 3:20 – really loving the overall rhythmic slowdownbefore shifting into the quieter vibe led by the piano and the acoustic guitar. Balancing with the brass/strings does feel a bit better coming into the 2nd half of this pieceat least up until the feel change around 5:00. Then really coming home clutch with the nice quiet ending.
OverallI really loved a lot of this arrangementbut I feel like some balance issues mixing the rock band vs the more classical instruments (or VSTs) held it back a bit – with some balance changes I think this would be extremely solid
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Oh man I love the source track. The biggest thing I’d focus onif you revisit thisis getting the leads more tamed so that they feel more cohesive. Automation may help with that. Crank that shit up to -6 LUFS (or whatever LUFS is suitable). Basicallyget the volume going and level the leads together and you’ve got yourself one hell of a banger.
Remixrewindreplay…
video game music
stays with us
every step of the way
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