Board 8 > [VGMC] d14: IDOLA vs RE:UNION, Beyond the Darkness vs Hinagiku

(+) Yeah! (+)

Welcome to today's topic for Video Game Music Contest 14, a tournament of the best tracks from games, as decided upon by you, the voters.

Links:
Contest info - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VNrPnFRI7nJ4PqFiURBW0NWqxvXiuasoq8Sn_O169ss/edit#gid=320804650
Bracket - http://www.bracketmaker.com/tlist.cfm?tid=473292
Discussion and results thread - https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78524521
Bracket playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW9O9mntH1REnVI_W6yELaDP6Zac8b0Wq
ToC playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW9O9mntH1RE-TQMj19D0k5nm-0zeH12J
VGMC compability sheet - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lpX4faqnn_geI0y4i6MrZ2AXpV6SWXoWrIA6_eyx-yM/edit

Rules:
- Listen to both of the songs. Links have conveniently been provided for both songs. Even if Song A is your favorite of all-time and Song B is from a series you hate... Listen. To. Both. (If I have suspicions your vote is not based on a fair and impartial preference, it will be disqualified.)
- Ob

does this mean I can skip the first 0:35 of Metal Beat

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PIayer_0 posted...

does this mean I can skip the first 0:35 of Metal Beat

The song doesn't start until 0:35. The track starts at the beginning, of course.

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RE:UNION -Duo Blade Against-
Beyond the Darkness
Metal Beat
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IDOLA The Strange Fruits
Beyond the Darkness
Metal Beat

Songs today are not good


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steelchambers2

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Deemo - RE:UNION -Duo Blade Against-
Rewrite - Beyond the Darkness
Metal Masters - Metal Beat
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RE:UNION -Duo Blade Against-
Hinagiku

The start of RE:UNION had me rolling my eyes but then it delivered.
The instrumental to Hinagiku is cool at least

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IDOLA The Strange Fruits
Hinagiku
steelchambers2
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RE:UNION -Duo Blade Against-
Metal Beat

IDOLA The Strange Fruits
Beyond the Darkness
steelchambers2

Third match today was a pain to decide, on one hand you have Mr. Gonzales doing wonders on the GB, on the other you have an incredibly solid Amiga tune.
also best vowel is

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IDOLA The Strange Fruits
Beyond the Darkness
steelchambers2

Hell yeah the return of Strange Fruits. Think I have it winning bracket B! Shame for RE:UNION, which is pretty clearly my second favorite track here.

I've liked the other Rewrite songs in the VGMCs a lot more than this one. Unfortunately, I hate Hinagiku a lot, so it gets my vote anyway. Wish the songs in the first match had been split up...

Metal Beat is one of the worst songs in the ToC. steelchambers2 isn't the best either, but it's got something to it. Definitely feels like pinball, which is cool

IDOLA The Strange Fruits > RE:UNION -Duo Blade Against- > steelchambers2 > Beyond the Darkness > Metal Beat > Hinagiku
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idola the yummy fruits
hinagiku
metal beat

match 2 is super close i dunno.
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IDOLA
Hinagiku
steelchambers2

Phantasy Star Online Episode III - IDOLA The Strange Fruits at 9.9 is my ???th favorite song in the contest!! Fuck I love this song so much. I'd listened to Episodes I and II and loved them, but didn't realize there was more until Mycro showed me Modeseven's cover of it (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSa3uUMwv8s), and I was confused, thinking I had heard the original but for some reason never saved it. This is probably the song I seek out to listen the most often. It's just so. When the instruments fall out and the choir starts at 1:03 and the piano at 1:27 aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Also the characters in the video are named Castor and Pollux and star names are always good to reference (i don't care if it's also mythology shut up)

Deemo - RE:UNION -Duo Blade Against- at is my ???th favorite song in the contest!! This is a little more rhythmy than I think I expect from Deemo. Seems more like a generic song of a particular category of bemani music (or listening to it further, pop'n might be a better fit). Still not a bad example at all of that type of song. The ending makes me want to listen to .

Rewrite - Beyond the Darkness at 8.2 is my ???th favorite song in the contest!! This is "pleasant". I like the little horn sections. Honestly this song is anomalous in that I feel it could beat any of my favorites and I wouldn't be upset. You can't be angry at this song.

Lost in Shadow - Hinagiku at 8.6 is my ???th favorite song in the contest!! This is almost pleasant in the same way as Beyond the Darkness. It aims for an adjacent aesthetic, one I find more appealing. A vibe I'll dub "childhood mystery". If I had to guess the game's plot, I'd say that a kid discovers something intriguing and unknown, maybe something like an E.T. deal, and tries to investigate and explore it. The song tells me, or at least is trying to tell me, that the game is poignant and nostalgic. I'll give this song a lot of props for making me hear a story in it.

Metal Masters - Metal Beat at 8.1 is my ???th favorite retiree in the contest!! I'll master your metal...

Pinball Fantasies - steelchambers2 at RANKING SPOIELRS!!!!! is my ???th favorite retiree in the contest!! I can say I like it more than Metal Beat. It should be no surprise than Amiga > Chiptune for me
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IDOLA The Strange Fruits
Hinagiku
steelchambers2

IDOLA The Strange Fruits is my 28th favorite in the contest! Hideaki Kobayashi and really the pso series in general even the stuff the other composers bring (Hidekuni Horita is my new favorite thanks to vol7-8) is one of the most consistent sources of music that touches all the compositional areas I want music to touch. Crazy transposy chord changes with unexpected modulations here. As a bonus i tend to like pso instrumentation-wise too! In this case the instrumentation appeal is COOL SYNTHS and they fit well with the strings and overtly fake choir pads. 3:30 is SEX parallel harmony transposing those intervals around that sound like "some weird super mario galaxy song that no one talks about but is one of my favorite ones in the game" or something. pso music honestly sounds like "if super mario galaxy music was more 'prog' " now that i think about it lol. lots of moments with the triplet grid layered over the 16th grid having fun intersecting times. Always passes my observation how cool the change to 3/4 at 2:00 is, it's so subtle about it. So many of the chord change loops in this evoke this feeling of uncertainty, and I guess that makes sense because the changes themselves are literally not predictable, they're swirling all over the place. Strangely the thing that's always stood out to me the most about this one is the distorted guitar-like synth layer kicking it all off at :19, the 5+4+7 pattern excites me. I love stuff involving "5 16ths" as a length of a thing starkly separated waaay too much it feels SO COOL and the low piano hits accompany that feeling well. PSO MUSIC HAS COOL SOUNDS IN IT AND I LIKE THEM. Very inspirational music and I need to listen to every single thing in the pso series eventually. probably starting with going through vol1-6 of pso2 thoroughly because if i do i might be able to actually say pso2 is my 5th favorite ost without it being a fake description of a ost i haven't even listened to all of yet

RE:UNION -Duo Blade Against- is my 164th favorite in the contest! wow i ranked this uhhh, kind of low for "sounds like a rhythm game song"-style but I guess i can see why. the chord progression here is just really not my thing, too much emphasis put on 'predictable' things so then i find it really cheesy how highlighted those moments are as if they're significant with how expected they are I guess, ie :18 i don't like, lots of stuff like that. I like the breakbeat elements though oh wait those are only there for like 2 seconds. INTENSE ELECTRONIC RHYTHM GAME SONG WITH CRAZY XYLOPHONE AND COOL EFFECTs is a good genre for me but i have to actually like it compositionally and this i don't, basically. Still a 6 (the 6.x zone goes up to 165th!)

wow I love pso music !!!!!!!!!!!

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Beyond the Darkness is my 162nd favorite in the contest! This is pretty straightforward ANIME sounding thing. Sometimes I like that but this isn't a case where I do. I love the moments with the upright bass though those are cool, lightly jazzy elements in general are nice. cool piano comping in the chords. the predictability of the chord progression at the dramatic parts bothers me though like in the solo at 2:04, i know exactly what it's going to do before it even happens so i do not like it so that drops it from the potential higher slots in the ranking it could have for sure. whoa the chords right before 5:02 are cool

Hinagiku is my 16th favorite in the contest! I love LOVE this type of hypnotic repetitive minimalist looping stuff. Some of my favorite music in the world. Very steve reich-y. This hits a bunch of unrelated categories of my taste at once and I value it for that deeply. 9/16 time is cool, love how this explores a bunch of different groupings within 9 too, sometimes it's 3+3+3 (Which almost feels BOUNCY, and more like "3/4 with triplets at a different tempo" than the more mechanical 9/16 feel the rest presents), sometimes it's more like 2+2+3+2. The 5+4 layered on top of the 3+3+3 at 1:30 is GOLDEN. It's really trippy how the very first note you hear at least to my mind gets registered as the start of the bar, and it's gradual that as more layers come in I realize that was never beat 1 at all, it's actually the 2nd 16th note beat of each bar! but i can go through like half the song feeling it the first way, even after having listened to this like 90 times, it still toys with my perception and that's one of my favorite things music can do. Sometimes that sort of "false downbeat" "ambiguous barline" etc stuff wears off after a ton of listens have solidified a perception a certain way. I can't say this has fallen victim to that, and that's powerful if something can do that for me. I wish I could listen to Tin Soldiers from Neotokyo for the first time again for all of that rhythmic ambiguity to take its full effect, but I can't. but this, it's like every time I'm listening to it it's the first time I've heard it, it's very hard to find music I can react that powerfully to every time. I like the instrumentation, low quality vaguely dissonant sorta mechanical jagged chopped wonky tape loop full of winds, beneath contrasting more organic pretty singing, the slow introduction of bell-like mallet percussion and strings as it progresses fills the space gradually. AHHHHHHHH I LOVE THIS SONG

Hi

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Metal Beat (Metal Masters) is my 52nd favorite ToC entrant! I didn't used to be like this but these days I really have a hard time getting into every single fake demoscene european vgm song that sounds this condescendingly straightforward like i'm 3 years old and need to listen to the simplest possible shit with some stupid melody that sounds like it's stupid. Alberto Gonzales has music i like but this is not it. It's "technically impressive" and that's why it is not last place because I do care about cool soundchip use it's one of my favorite topics, but this has no semblance of music I'd ever want to listen to composition-wise. Only part I don't hate is the first 35 seconds. I can appreciate modal total-transposition chord changes I always talk about how much that's what I love most, but this is using that in a way that feels lazy, none of the melodic layers string together the total transposing chord changes at all and it's just the previous chunk of the song copypasted and then duplicated up by x# of semitones in a way that feels actively patronizing in its simplicity. This does like everything possible to make sure you're never lost and understand exactly what is going on in the music and that's the antithesis of what i want

steelchambers2 is my 33rd favorite ToC entrant! ok this is more my speed in a similar category. one of the more surprising retirees but I welcome it even if it isn't my favorite exampl

IDOLA The Strange Fruits
Beyond the Darkness
Metal Beat

RE:UNION -Duo Blade Against-
Hinagiku
steelchambers2

strange fruits is not a very strange songs I like strange songs but strange fruits is still pretty good w/ stuff like 1:35. Re: Re: Re: Re: Union has a fun tune with high activity and is pretty great. I marked this as "close" in my pre listening session but listening now it's not particularly close the Duo Blade Against stands tall

oh no beyond the darkness lies a number of aspects I don't really care for but at least :34 kind of recovers w/ a "cool" feeling vocalless section and then also 1:31 wait isn't that speed star kanade play that song instead that song is funnier. Really though this song is "alright" and I wouldn't say it's unpleasant to listen to but at the same time I'm not really all that interested in doing so. It's not my cup of tea (I don't drink tea) but it has bits that help recover I feel like there's a better word to use here but I'm not thinking of it. Hinagiku sounds like a weird song I like weird songs but the vocals particularly bring this one down. Like straight up I think I'd go hinagiku no brainer here if the vocals were straight up removed. But she's so slow and moody that I feel like it impacts the song stronger than Beyondarkness did. Hrm. It's like, the weirdness of the song makes me want to vote for it. But the vocals make me want to not even though the other song also had vocals! Aaah... Well ultimately when it comes down to it I'd rather hear Hinagiku again thanks to the weirdness of that backing music, let weirdness prevail!

oh gosh a game boy song in the toc I didn't realize this system ever had anything do good here. Why the heck is this gameboy up against amiga r1 who did this wow I'm actually angry about a match up. Really though Metal Beat is alright but it's pretty plain. Stuff like :51 is cool but overall this song is Just alright, no further. steelchambers2 is great all the way through with a number of different sections I can get into so even with my Anger of this match up it's easy going like really steelchambers has the potential of being my favorite song in the toc, especially since the only other one I thought could compete for that title for me doesn't seem to be in it hm maybe I was wrong and that it didn't retire that's a shame it should've. I don't know many of the songs from vgmcs12 and before so they could still beat that but from what I understand it's some what unlikely.

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"IDOLA" The Strange Fruits (60th) vs RE:UNION -Duo Blade Against- (62nd)
Beyond the Darkness (167th) vs hinagiku (187th)
Metal Beat [37th] vs steelchambers2 [3rd]

"IDOLA" Have the Banger Fruits god PSO stuff is just so clean consistently throughout the entire series run so far lmfao, the way the percussion stays slow and really PUNCHES at you through the beginning of the song and spends its time being POWERFUL with the punchy and then these flowing choir over piano sections and the flow is just.... so fucking CRISP its so CLEAN AUGH. Amazing song, but how's its competition? Unfortunately for me, Also fuckign amazing AAAAAAAAA call me a traditionalist but goddamn Ice doing "stereotypical rhythm game song" is already so damn good and then you PAIR HIM WITH LITERALLY MORIMORI ATSUSHI (who i love but also went berserk on siivagunner so fuck you atsushi but also i love you atsushi) and this song is just so fun!!!! both of these are pretty straightforward but effective and tickle my fancy in ways that i'm not normally tickled and GOD WHY IS THIS MATCH A THING. I DONT WANNA PICK i mean i will pick but yeah, very very good match i hate that it's a r1 one

On the flipside of a match I'm devastated is a Round 1 match, we have this match that I do not care for whatsoever! oops.... beyond the darkness is kinda cool sounds but also i've heard so many better "last episode insert song where the main girl is running in the rain to chase after the main protagonist and she CATCHES UP AND THEY STAND ON THE BIRSDGE AND KISSSES" songs and uhhh yeah it's. alright. hinagiku is... something. I honestly don't know how to describe my feelings about this song, the instrumentals sound like they're very cool but after a while it is revealed that actually they're kinda boring somehow!! Even though it should be pretty interesting cause it is JUMPING EVERYWHERE and I like the JUMPING EVERYWHERE!! But then I think about the vocals and it sounds like she is making mouth noise into the microphone and there is no reason for the noise to be made it does not do anything. I am very confused. It might seem... weird that I'm taking literally sixth-from-the-bottom here to win but hinagiku at least is interesting to listen to, and Beyond the Darkness is not. Wish RE:UNION was here oops

Metal Beat is not as crazy as I once thought it was!! I remember back when I would be like WHOAA THIS IS GAME BOY?? THERE IS NO WAY THIS CAME FROM GAME BOY THIS IS THE MOST ADVANCED THING EVER and now I know the entire Project S-11 OST exists so yeah there's that lmao. Still a very, very good song though even if it stays confined to its little cube of existance and doesn't venture outside it much. On the other hand we have steelchambers2, my one contribution to the retiree pool so far in my tenure since VGMC12!! Almost have Octopunch and Glass here as well but alas. (and DNF FW15C too but we'll see about that hehehe) steelchambers2 is basically the definition of why I fucking adore tracker music; hardpanning, limited channels with BIG SOUND because of sampled chords, fake rompler instruments with linear volume and pitch effects on them, god DAMN this is just. AAUUHGGHUG. This is currently my favorite song that is not yet an actual 10 but I think the time is nearing where I forgive my literal ONE grievance with the song (3:40 is a little too long maybe ehhhhhhh idk SEE IDK) and make it 10/10 #17 lol. Even if this loses here I am very happy that steelchambers2 was able to find success!!! I love it!!!!! Yayy aaaaaaaaaaaa WHEN THE SONG EXPLODES AT 4:16 I EXPLODE TOO I LOVE VIDEO GAME MUSIC

steelchambers2 > "IDOLA" The Strange Fruits > RE:UNION -Duo Blade Against- > Metal Beat > Beyond the Darkness >?< hinagiku

IDOLA The Strange Fruits
Beyond the Darkness
steelchambers2

An incredibly stacked day today! Best set of two matches in the main bracket so far, and I'd be SHOCKED if any four-pack in round 1 outdoes that. I don't expect even later round four-packs to match it! Both matches are difficult choices.

The ToC match is utter garbage in comparison. I ranked Metal Beat #144 of the 180 retirees, while steelchambers was #152. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I like steelchambers more here, though... lol rankings that can never be consistent! Honestly EVERY one of these tracks has a serious shot at being in my top ten in the entire bracket.

IDOLA The Strange Fruits (9.5) / RE:UNION -Duo Blade Against- (9.0)
Beyond the Darkness (10) / Hinagiku (9.5)

Eh, might as well talk a little about each of them, even though I SAID only one per day.

IDOLA the Strange Fruits:
Talk about the very best ethereal AND the very best exciting! Great intro... nice choral chords relative to the bass. It becomes instantly infectious at 0:13. Seriously I love the semi-arbitrary placement of the super low piano D-flats. Extremely harsh grindy guitar-like patterns that don't fit neatly in a meter. Percussion and way cool pitch falls from another harsh grindy sound gets added. Very acidic. Finally an orchestra gets added on top of it all, put on top of unstable harmonies. WAY TOO AWESOME. 1:03 brings an amazing ethereal sound (the slow piano triplets are PERFECT), but with those acidic drums still there, aw yeah. GREAT harmonies there.... WOW. Gotta love when everything drops out except the little piano lick before the exciting stuff comes back again instantly blowing your socks off again. I could go on but I need to get on to the other music.

RE:UNION -Duo Blade Against-:
Deemo! I love that music. I have this massively long track on Youtube that plays hundreds of Deemo tracks! This one is definitely one of the best I've heard, though. The intro nice, but then that Very, very high energy synth gets added, WHOOOAAAAA. Gotta love the xylophones at 0:29 when they double with piano... these are very in your face compared to when they get used in most other music game tracks. 0:34... it sounds like you get some kind of complex meter changes there, but there's actually...not! At first I thought it was It sounds weird because the syncopation is based on 16th notes rather than 8th notes... LOVE IT! (If you listen to it at half speed, it soiunds like standard syncopation.) Piano and xylophone chords at cool right after. 1:22 great virtuosic piano+xylophone combination there. I love that crescendo from 1:00-1:05 especially when that high energy synth comes in again. Maybe in terms of note choices and harmonies this music is fairly standard (there are some weird notes at 0:47... it's a cool little rhythmic insertion!) , but the instrumentation and energy makes up for it. Kind of like Infestation (Crabulon), but better!

Beyond the Darkness:
Finally, one of my nominations appears for the first time! Every time I listen to it, it seems to get better and better. It's rare to hear music that utilizes a heavy dosage of jazz AND is very emotional, but this fits that bill in spades. Oh my gosh Mycro and deo, you'd better not rank this like #150 or something! If so all I can say is =( I suppose first I'll talk about the singing (Runa Mizutani). What a great melody that emphasizes certain nice notes in a chords that really communicates those strong feels! I especially like the moment at 1:25-1:30 where the harmony changes like expected, but Runa sings the same little lick again... wonderful emotional moment there. I like the stuff after where it kind of cycles the circles of fifths (not exactly), too! (Kind of like Star Trek IV music that does a similar thing) Okay, now on to the rhythm section. The bossa nova style adds a nice amount of chillness. Everything about the rhythm section is just WONDERFUL. Big cluster chords on the piano. Bass has such a FANTASTIC swing to it. Very nice comping from the rhythm section all over the place, and when the music repeats the varied comping keeps it nice and fresh! It's all simply JAZZ in its basic goodness. Oh, yeah, and the strings make a nice addition... I like their fast scales. I just have one minor complaint: 3:20 has such a nice feeling of "finality" to it. I wish the track ended with THAT idea. Not that the ending is bad or anyrthing.

Hinagiku:
I came into the match expecting to vote for this one actually. But after listening to Beyond the Darkness again, it sounded as good as it's ever sounded to me, which is unfortunate for Hinagiku, because I LOVE this track to death. At one point I thought this might even be my #1 in the entire bracket. (maybe it still ultimately could) This is like Steve Reich or Philip Glass, but even better! The instrumentation is just FANTASTIC....I don't quite how to describe it, but it sounds like like toy organs. That may sound silly, but it sounds so GOOD! As for the composition, so full of POLYRHYHMS YAYYYYYYYYYY. It sounds like a 4/8+3/8+2/8 at the start. Then it becomes obviously 6/8 (repeated six times in a phrase), but it's so fun to listen to it all outside of the 6/8. The singing is perfect with how relaxed it is. The BEST part, is when the bells come in at 1:00... wow, it gives me the chills every time. Their sound is just AMAZING. The meter starts sounding mixed up again here, 4.5/8 among other things. I guess I'll let Mycro describe it all. =p


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Double =(

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tragic! at least *checks spreadsheet* cako flamander lem should be able to pick up the slack

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IDOLA The Strange Fruits
Beyond the Darkness
steelchambers2
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Deemo - RE:UNION -Duo Blade Against-
Rewrite - Beyond the Darkness
Metal Masters - Metal Beat

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RE:UNION -Duo Blade Against-
Beyond the Darkness

RE:UNION -Duo Blade Against-
Beyond the Darkness
Metal Beat

Very close first match, just in more of an unapologetically rhythm game music mood right now
DARKNESS vs SHADOW
METAL vs STEEL

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IDOLA The Strange Fruits
Hinagiku
Metal Beat

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Against
Hina
Beat
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IDOLA The Strange Fruits
Hinagiku
steelchambers2

Deemo - RE:UNION -Duo Blade Against-
Rewrite - Beyond the Darkness
Pinball Fantasies - steelchambers2

Match 1: IDOLA is pretty cool I guess, even if it's not my thing. It's kinda like Blue Reflection music, but a little bit better. R:U-DBA- I almost initial-nominated this, but my nominations were kinda cramped, but I jumped on this immediately when I saw this nominated. Great song here, favorite from the Deemo soundtrack along with Saika.

Match 2: Man, this is some anime Kenny G shit right here, love me some cheesy, sappy smooth jazz. Key music is always great. Hinagiku is also weirdly actually very good, even though it's not the sort of thing I'd expect myself to like. Closer match than I was expecting.

ToC: Metal vs. steel both of these are very good and I feel bad that I have to vote against one of these. I'm with deo, this steelchambers2 is a solid 9.9/10.

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FL81 posted...

It's kinda like Blue Reflection music, but a little bit better.

die
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Deemo - RE:UNION -Duo Blade Against-
Rewrite - Beyond the Darkness
Pinball Fantasies - steelchambers2

why is the first match in round 1 why argh.

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NFUN posted...

die

>:)

also sorry haste!!! :((((

Phantasy Star Online Episode III - IDOLA The Strange Fruits
Lost in Shadow - Hinagiku
Pinball Fantasies - steelchambers2

Metal Beat is not as crazy as I once thought it was!! I remember back when I would be like WHOAA THIS IS GAME BOY?? THERE IS NO WAY THIS CAME FROM GAME BOY THIS IS THE MOST ADVANCED THING EVER and now I know the entire A N I M O R P H S OST exists so yeah there's that lmao.

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IDOLA The Strange Fruits
Beyond the Darkness
steelchambers2

starting to get to the point where i'm actively dreading writeups so i think i need a break from those? i love describing music but i don't want this to feel like a chore. gonna keep it brief today - beyond the darkness jazzy good, i love alberto jose gonzalez, i'd prefer idola over reunion both are kind of meh to me. hinagiku's pretty alright - and i have discovered since vgmc13 that pinball fantasies is actually a pretty good ost i just don't like steelchambers2 for whatever reason.

IDOLA The Strange Fruits
Beyond The Darkness
Metal Beat


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IDOLA The Strange Fruits
Hinagiku
steelchambers2

A match between chill Japanese vocal songs? I guess Christmas came early this year!

Actually they're both only okay.

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RE:UNION -Duo Blade Against-
Beyond the Darkness
Metal Beat

IDOLA The Strange Fruits
Hinagiku
steelchambers2

IDOLA The Strange Fruits
Beyond the Darkness
Metal Beat
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IDOLA The Strange Fruits
Hinagiku
steelchambers2

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IDOLA The Strange Fruits
Hinagiku
steelchambers2

IDOLA The Strange Fruits
Hinagiku
steelchambers2

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RE:UNION -Duo Blade Against-
Beyond the Darkness
Metal Beat

really weak four-pack

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Thanks for your empathy P0 and deo, but.... there's no need for that! We all deal with that kind of thing. The pain only lasted a few minutes. I'm long over it! :^)

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IDOLA The Strange Fruits
Beyond the Darkness
Metal Beat

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IDOLA The Strange Fruits
Hinagiku
Metal Beat

IDOLA The Strange Fruits
Beyond the Darkness
Metal Beat

IDOLA The Strange Fruits vs RE:UNION -Duo Blade Against-: IDOLA has that weirdly trance like beginning and then it shifts into some serious battle theme. It sounds alright. Reminds me of the sonic unleashed day boss theme oddly enough. Anyway whats going on with RE:UNION- YOOOOOOOOOO IS THAT A CLOCK. I love it when songs use clock stuff/ other unconventional things in them. Sadly the rest of the song strays into the usual rhythm game territory so its a pretty big pass for me. Its a shame because this song had such a promising start but then dropped the ball so fast. If this makes it past the first round I guess I might end up voting for it.

Beyond the Darkness vs Hinagiku: Beyond the Darkness is... not bad actually. Its got a smooth flow to it that I like a lot. Chill stuff like this is always good. Its a bit repetitive but its the good kind of repetitive. The part around 3:45 is also pretty sharp as well, with the sax and humming combo. Hinagiku is cool at first but it just keeps going. I get the feel that the song is just "breaking" the longer it goes on which kinda sucks. Theres was some potential in this track but it just didnt use it.

Metal Beat vs steelchambers2: This is gonna be a tough match already. I already know how indifferent I am to both of these songs. Metal Beat is alright but its not amazing. Its something I'd probably hum to myself but never actually listen to regularly. Its not bad but at the same time it excels at nothing. steelchambers2 does the same where it sounds alright but thats really it. I guess I'd have to go with Metal Beat on this one, just because its kinda catchy i guess.

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Not doing detailed write-ups today because I'm multitasking, listening to the songs while doing other things. This first match is tough though! They're both so good.

This second match, however, isn't difficult at all. Hinagiku is pretty awful!

Metal Beat took an annoyingly long time to get moving, but once it did, it was pretty good, too.

RE:UNION -Duo Blade Against-
Beyond the Darkness
Metal Beat

RE:UNION -Duo Blade Against- > IDOLA The Strange Fruits > Beyond the Darkness > Metal Beat > steelchambers2 >>>>>>>> Hinagiku

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Phantasy Star Online Episode III - IDOLA The Strange Fruits
Rewrite - Beyond the Darkness

Metal Masters - Metal Beat
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IDOLA The Strange Fruits
Hinagiku
steelchambers2

-despite only two appearances in vgmc prior to this one (and also a boss battle music contest sometime between those two, I think?) I've always seen idola the strange fruits as a vgmc classic. its appearance in vgmc2 nominations (a post I recall with bizarre clarity-- from brayze, who also nominated dance of pales and tower of caelum in the same post) was my first introduction to pso music, and one of the tracks that stuck with me the most since then. its blend of dramatic strings, electronic percussion and eerie vox synth that combine for this almost crazed energy and tense dissonance just feels really indelible. an all-time vgmc favourite.
-reunion leans into some big rhythm game tropes-- quick chromatic piano runs and supersaw synth, and breathlessly fast, shifting electronic percussion, playing variations on a four-bar progression. the use of mallet percussion is kinda fresh-- adds a flavour somewhat atypical of other tracks in this vein. transitions like 0:47 are pretty cool, but the track still gives the feel of being well-travelled musical territory.

-beyond the darkness feels like a cut above more generic-sounding entries in this vein-- there's a more acoustic feel to the instrumentation, which I like, and a greater attention to detail in the arrangement, starting with the drum kit work in the intro and the way the bass is used throughout. the way the layers start to come in at 1:21, and the progression they move into before the chorus, is actually very pretty and evocative. the second verse lets the piano have some fun and changes up the rhythm a bit from the first iteration. that's cool! I like when tracks add this sort of nontrivial variation in arrangement between repeats. the bridge has some neat major/minor chord shifts and also has a nice buildup to the last repeat of the chorus. each verse-to-chorus section has a buildup, and there's an overall buildup over the course of the track that feels really well-done and has real heft. I also like the amount of effort put into ensuring the accompaniment isn't just playing constant second-fiddle to some overbearing vocal performance-- the different parts of the track get at least brief moments to shine, and generally complement the somewhat understated but pleasant vocal performance really well, stepping into gaps, playing counterpoint melodies. the more I hear this the more I dig it-- this is just plain better executed and more thoughtful than it could have been in a lot of subtle ways.
-hinagiku is totally different-- focusing on minimalism and shifting repeating figures. that's something I'm sure I've said a dozen times by now so you probably already know I like this kind of thing. the vocals-- really just another instrument-- sing a really simple three-note melody and are there to give the track a sort of focal point while some of the layers beneath are replaced or shifted around. the section at 1:00 is great-- imparts a real sense of wonder. afterward a bunch of the layers drop out and let the track hover for a bit before returning to the main melody-- this time, with more to it, but still fitting in very nicely in the framework the repeating figures create-- along with a small amount of additional percussion. that low triangle wave-y synth almost serves as the heartbeat of these two vocal sections and I like its effect.
-this is a great match. these two tracks express entirely different musical ideas, but neither rest on their laurels.

-I think metal beat rests on its laurels. not because of the 36-second intro-- I can deal with that. that buildup, though, for plodding quarter-note kicks, a really straightforward melody and progression, and basic one-semitone-up-and-down modulations-- I think it's pretty dreary.
-I don't love steelchambers but this match serves to highlight its more adventurous spirit, at least, even if I don't think all of its ideas work well. pretty cool sounds and a melody that meanders a bit directionlessly but has moments where it hits-- I welcome its attempt to try something, at least.