D06 Darkest Omen/Nostalgic Memories/Premonition/Top Gear Track 1

Please choose one of the following:

025 - Chrono Symphonic - Darkest Omen
198 - No Album - Nostalgic Memories
213 - Essence -Music of Mana- - Premonition
215 - OC Remix - Top Gear Track 1 (FinalNitro)



Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: 025 Chrono Symphonic - Darkest Omen
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: 198 No Album - Nostalgic Memories
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: 213 Essence -Music of Mana- - Premonition
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: 215 OC Remix - Top Gear Track 1 (FinalNitro)

Oooooooh, "Track 1 (Final Nitro Mix)" a good piece of old school stuff, but pretty dated now, with some thin textures and a lead that doesn't do enough to stand apart from the original. Man, Rayza could smoke this stuff for breakfast nowadays.

"Darkest Omen" was pretty nice, going for some good epic orchestral, with the brass and string writing doing a great job of conveying that energy. If only Chrono Symphonic was forced to use a instrumental set like this as the basis for the entire album, the end result (in terms of sound quality) would have been a lot more solid.

"Nostalgic Melodies" was basically a capable MIDI rip medley, with the SoM material being the worst offender while the other themes were shoehorned in later, and little else. Ok for nostalgia, with the SoE stuff being the coolest source tune choice, but lacking in substance IMO.

"Dragon Song" permanently eclipses any other arrangement of "Prophecy" that has or ever will come along. "Premonition" is nice for what it is, but the guitar instrumentation at the core of this one just feels like something that can't compare. It's still a fun arrangement of a solid source tune, and an easy 2nd place.

I liked these 3:
025 - Chrono Symphonic - Darkest Omen
198 - No Album - Nostalgic Memories
213 - Essence -Music of Mana- - Premonition
but ultimately gave it to Nostlagic Memories for combining many good sources tracks together, though they didn't stir away too much from the original intention.
Top Gear Track 01 wasn't bad, but the sound could be fuller, thicker.

025 - Chrono Symphonic - Darkest Omen
The mixer really tried to fill out this piece, and if the synth set isn't quite up to the "symphonic" monicker, it's close enough.

198 - No Album - Nostalgic Memories
A decent MIDI version of some nice tunes. Good as a medley even if the synthquality was a bit lacking at times. And props for the SoE arrangement, which is rather rare.

213 - Essence -Music of Mana- - Premonition
As I said a bracket or so ago, Essence is a terrific album, and this acoustic guitar-led track is one of its best, mellowing the song out while keeping some of its essential darkness.

215 - OC Remix - Top Gear Track 1 (FinalNitro)
Okay bit of techno that has a nice melody but is a bit tinny and thin at times. Not so big on the SFX either.

Again, my bias here is clear, but this is a strong match otherwise.

: 025 - Chrono Symphonic - Darkest Omen
: 213 - Essence -Music of Mana- - Premonition
: 198 - No Album - Nostalgic Memories
: 215 - OC Remix - Top Gear Track 1 (FinalNitro)

I am really starting to hate the original tune of Top Gear Track 1 (FinalNitro), but Rayza definitely added some variety to the sucker. Shame the melody's mostly intact, because even the faintest reminder of the source makes me want to throttle kittens.

Nostalgic Memories is not a bad medley at all. I kind of like it. Sound quality isn't an issue. Interesting instrumentation and mostly nice source tunes.

Premonition isn't too bad. Doesn't really feel like it has a whole lot of weight to it, but it's pleasant to listen to.

Darkest Omen is one of my favorite tracks from Chrono Symphonic. Nice arrangement to make a bold, rousing orchestral piece.

Chrono Symphonic - Darkest Omen
A very pleasing remix of Black Omen. I was engaged in it even leaving it in the background which definitely should say something about it!

No Album - Nostalgic Memories
In the Thick of It is a mana theme I'm averse to, but it shakes things up to be interesting enough later on with the percussion. I actually would have even preferred if it stuck to that instead of throwing stuff like Terra's Theme in there.

Essence -Music of Mana- - Premonition
Downloading it a couple of weeks ago, I loved how fresh and prominent the melody was. The acoustic guitar really adds a nice touch to the theme.

OC Remix - Top Gear Track 1 (FinalNitro)
I like it for being rather generic techno, which is not necessarily always a bad thing. I actually do not mind the voice samples and the zooming cars this time.