Board 8 > [VGMC] d10: Deoxyribose vs Fear Not This Night, Snake Eater vs Shop til You Drop

(+) Yeah! (+)

Fear Not This Night
Snake Eater
Hidra Heteromycin

Deoxyribose is also pretty cool though.
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-[Deoxyribose]-
Snake Eater
Servants of the Scourge

Servants of the Scourge > Snake Eater > Hidra Heteromycin > -[Deoxyribose]- > Shop 'til You Drop >>> Fear Not This Night

-[Deoxyribose]-
Shop 'til You Drop
Servants of the Scourge

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-[Deoxyribose]-
Shop 'til You Drop
Hidra Heteromycin

Guild Wars 2 - Fear Not This Night
Metal Gear Solid 3 - Snake Eater
Ar Nosurge - Hidra Heteromycin

MATCH 1

Deoxyribose feels like a song I should enjoy, at least because of its style. It feels like a song that would be made if you asked Basiscape to make the Blue Reflection soundtrack, in the sense that it's this blend of electronic and other instruments. Yet, I don't really feel any emotions about this song at all. It has some things that, in theory, I could like in a song, such as polyphony and "epic," for lack of a better word, melodic lines. I just don't think it does any of those things particularly well. Or at least when they're all put together. It's certainly not a bad song, I just view it as something that's not the best execution of something that I could potentially enjoy a lot. That said, there's definitely songs from this game that I do like. Toxtricity mentioned In the Doldrums at one point, which I like a lot more. Maybe one day, I'll go through some more songs from this game to hunt for more stuff that I like.

Fear Not This Night is also not the best example of soft, emotional vocal songs, but I think I like it more in general than Deoxyribose. It has a nice, pretty sound throughout, especially from 1:27-1:41. Also, 3:16-3:30 is really cool. The initial shift to minor key is a neat change in tone, and then there's the second key change, which is super dark in a warm, uplifting song like this and I like it a lot. Probably my favorite part in the song, actually. This likely wouldn't end up as the song I vote for in most cases, but it is here! I think it's actually kinda nice to vote for softer songs for a change, since I do like those types of songs too, but I feel like I don't often get the chance to show that. I don't remember this song despite having played quite a bit of Guild Wars 2 in the past, but I assume it came out after I stopped playing.

MATCH 2

What a catchy, memorable song Snake Eater is! Especially the chorus. Not much to say about this song, it's a classic song that I like a lot.

Shop 'til You Drop has this turn-of-the-century computer music vibe. It certainly has its charm to it! Feels like you're in a club that still thinks disco isn't dead. But who cares if they think that, they're just having fun! And you know what, I can kinda appreciate this song too, even though it's not really my thing. Snake Eater's the obvious pick here, but I at least respect its opponent.

MATCH 3

I finally decided to finish the remaining portions of my Tournament of Champions favorites bracket after saying that it's about time I deal with all the crazy hard matches I left for myself, and my champion was none other than Hidra Heteromycin! This song's just so insanely good all throughout and is a super "me" song. Right from the get-go, it goes into all this stuff that I like in general. 0:11-0:34 is a killer lead-in to the verse section of the song. Particularly 0:11-0:22 of that part that just makes me go "wow!" Love the melody in the strings and the chanting there! The verse portions are very "anime rock" (wish I had a different way to describe it since it feels so much more to me than that lol) in a way that I really like. I mean, sure, you could describe the whole song as that lol but that's besides the point. Anyway, after that, once 1:58 hits, it's like Godsibb on steroids with all the vocal harmonizing going on (another very me thing that I've remarked on numerous times throughout this contest alone). The guitar solo at 3:07's also great. I guess it's no surprise that this ended up as my bracket winner! Even with several other songs not too far behind. It just does such an incredible job at demonstrating the kind of stuff I already consistently enjoy hearing in songs. Should've beat Sunshine Coastline in VGMC12 for the championship round. This might be a bit of a re-hash of my writeup on this song for BOST, but I don't care, this song is so good that it's worth saying this twice!

Servants of the Scourge, I think was my preferred Terraria Calamity song in the bracket last year, and definitely what I prefer over Scourge of the Universe. In contrast to Scourge of the Universe, Servants manages to keep my interest throughout with the different parts to the song representing what I assume are different bosses in the game. All of these parts being very good, by the way. Definitely a strong match, but Hidra's way too strong to even consider voting against it.

Hidra Heteromycin > Servants of the Scourge > Snake Eater > Fear Not This Night > -[Deoxyribose]- > Shop 'til You Drop

-[Deoxyribose]-
Snake Eater
Servants of the Scourge

-all of 13 sentinels's bracket tracks (no, not that kind of bracket-- like literal brackets, like the ones I'm typing this in right now) have a 'briefing' section, a couple of phases, and a 'results' section. for deoxyribose, even the briefing section has kind of a heroic feel, which I guess really tells you what you're in for. and it doesn't really hesitate-- 0:51 goes right in with the big yoshimi kudo chords. this is probably the most 'epic' bracket track save maybe -{EDGE OF THE FUTURE}-, which feels like it would fit a more climactic context. anyway this goes big and doesn't really let up, both phases carrying this pounding energy interspersed with singing and chanting and electric guitars. in case you couldn't tell who the composer was he does a very kudo thing at 3:04. and the whole thing is kind of a blast! it's a lot of fun. this also has the most seamless entry into the results section, which is nice. I can imagine this "MISSION COMPLETE" screen in sci-fi font with scanlines in the middle of the screen followed by scores and score bonuses and a big ol' letter grade. yeah.
-fear not this nice is night. wonderful. that's what I typed initially and I'm sticking with it. anyway this does a good job of what it wants to do-- the vocal performance is very nice, the arrangement is very pretty, and it's not super static even if it's not doing anything really unusual musically. the key change is nice, and the section starting from 3:30 is stunning and genuinely shook my resolve to vote for its opposition. I think the most accurate praise I can bestow on this track (and not in any ironic way) is that it delivers.

-I think that idea carries over somewhat to snake eater. it wanted to do a james bond pastiche, and it does it pretty well (especially that brass, and especially during the bridge). cynthia harrell does a good job with the vocals here too-- her performance carries that old school bond theme feel. this is cheesier than something like fear not this night, but also takes itself a bit less seriously. it's solid.
-no one can stop mr. domino. it's fruitless to try. that opening kinda reminds me of go straight. pretty groovy. I like the light touch (and a bit of panning) on the synth that plays the big chords early on, like they're synth brushstrokes. HERE WE GO
-close. tough.

-so when 1:58 hits in hidra heteromycin I realized it appealed to me in a vaguely familiar way. I thought about it for a moment and realized it appealed in kinda the same way I enjoy something like Mezame (though I don't like the speed metal-y feel of the guitar and drums here). on the other hand I like the filtered effect of shimotsuki's vocals in the verses. I think I enjoy parts of this but it can feel a bit too gratuitous, which can kinda get in the way of the dramatics it wants to express. I can do without that guitar solo.
-I was going to make a joke about how I heard this earlier in the round but actually this and scourge of the universe's intro sound substantially different. I gave this careful consideration again, recalling what I thought about it last year. impressions are still kinda similar-- I prefer the overall framework of the track to each sentinel's individual segment; W doesn't stray too far from the aesthetic of the track (I guess because this sentinel is the most like the devourer itself!), which makes it feel a bit tentative, and its beat in the first half is plodding, but it does a good job of maintaining the track's vibe; V has a cool intro but the kick drum gets way too overbearing in the second half; and S does some cool triplets and also has a pretty neat intro but its melody is the least interesting (I especially dislike the way it ends). more than anything else, none of them really have the room to breathe and develop. they get pretty short shrift. I think this is why I find I prefer scourge more-- it's more interested in developing one idea.
-also close

-[Deoxyribose]-
Shop 'til You Drop
Servants of the Scourge

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-[Deoxyribose]-
Shop 'til You Drop
Servants of the Scourge

Oh yeah whoops

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - -[Deoxyribose]-
No One Can Stop Mr. Domino - Shop 'til You Drop
Terraria Calamity Mod - Servants of the Scourge

Mr. Domino died because someone figured out how to stop him haha awhahah damn that's some sicknasty comedy right there
(;_;)

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-[Deoxyribose]- [8.0] < Fear Not This Night [8.1]
Snake Eater [7.9] < Shop 'til You Drop [7.9]
Hidra Heteromycin < Servants of the Scourge

13 (dna): wtf!! youre not isoleucine!!! the way this starts makes me angry but the main part where it goes like dooiiing synths and strings melody that part is very good. the rest is like Epic
guild wars fear: HI FANTASY MUSIC!!! this is what it sounds like when you see a piece of parchment scroll and then brown lines of ink start to appear on it and then it forms the shapes of continents and landmarks and then it gets colored in, music that sounds like somebody is painting a story for you because thats what it's DOING music

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i hate this match! it makes me punch my ears

snake eaters: WOW @_@ epic and big band...my favorite...i love fromage
no one can stop mr. domino: i can often get into it!!! a bit too much a certain vibe, but he's better when he's louder. got quite a few cool chords and words to say. 1:13 is the best thing to ever happen to music

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ar hidra: music thats from ar nosurge...i like violins being real and women having voices. oh wow guitars solo 0_o
3:51 is fucking amazing sory i like this part a lot its very cool music and GRRR....AT YOUR FACE until it isnt and then your in the praise and worship house
calamity servants: dm dokuro more like DUMMY dokuro becuz he put three songs into one song...wtf...i like the best parts of the song which is V (the middle guy)...W is very nice, but not as nice as S. S has a very cool like CLIMACTIC.. melody. the best thing about music is 1:50 and 3:42 and 5:38 where it sounds like sans hits you and you go back too the main song. thats my favorite sound in music

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i changed my vote on the second and third matchs 4895743534895 times. hope this is right maybe
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