Davester2296 | DAR - Cyclic Divide { FULL ALBUM } | VOCAL VER. @DAR-Davester2296 | Uploaded December 2022 | Updated October 2024, 1 week ago.
At long last, the remake/redux of an album that I had originally made back in 2015. This thing's gotten one hell of a (deserved) facelift!
First off, I want to give a shoutout and thanks to Niko for being the one to suggest that I revisit this album. If not, this probably would've just sat on the backburner for a much longer time.
I had originally set off to remake this 8-song album back 2 or 3 years ago. However, after a few songs, I stopped since I felt like I wasn't quite ready yet to go all in on the album. Fast forward to the present, and now I feel like I have the experience to give this album the remake it deserved.
I wound up re-recording nearly all of the guitars, except for the dirty/clean parts I did on my Strat, as well as the acoustic guitar parts. Bass guitar is all new, since I didn't even have my bass back when I had first made the album. I've edited the drums a bit, changes to note velocities and placements, as well as different pieces/samples of kit.
I wasn't able to completely salvage the original vocals, so I had to record new vocals for all the songs. The original ones had issues due to how I recorded them back then (no audio interface, and poor choice of recording location). Worked fine for back then, but certainly not for the current mix. However, I did manage to layer the original vocals underneath/alongside the new vocals. I've also added harmonies/backing-vocals to all of the songs now.
In addition to the harmonies, I've also made some small changes/additions to some songs. Changes to basslines, and other guitar work. It was almost as if I was giving the cover treatment to my own songs, or something!
Anyhow, lastly, I spent some time trying to decide on the track order. I almost kept the original track order, but finally decided against it after moving the songs around.
As for sounds and inspiration, this album took a lot of inspiration from all the "pop-punk" and emo stuff that was popular during the 2000's. Of course, there's quite a bit of grunge and post-grunge influence in here as well. I remember wanting to try and find a balance for this album back then. I wanted to have the sweet and poppy kinds of songs, but I also wanted stuff with a darker tone, like "Addiction". I wanted there to be something for everyone to jam to. Thus the resulting mix of light and dark; sweet and bitter.
On a side note, I also decided to try revamping my signal-chain for mastering. Tried out new techniques and went about things a bit differently. Quite happy with how everything sounds!
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the album! ~DAR
INSTRUMENTAL VER: youtu.be/J-k_sh2KXLY
MIDI VER: youtu.be/_fABcT8scPc
BANDCAMP: davester2296.bandcamp.com/album/cyclic-divide
LYRICS: theofficialdavester2296.wordpress.com/cyclic-divide-album-lyrics
Links to Streaming services: [ PENDING ]
TRACK LIST / TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Realize
4:01 Waiting
8:39 Sweethearts & Lightshows
12:51 Always Right
18:00 Addiction
21:37 Fate
25:39 Remember
29:25 Not There
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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DAR's Cover-To-Do List: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DowH1EIjiLyeg29cFx-4XOWpr7-bl1Pwb2_OfVaQ1SE/edit?usp=sharing
Facebook: facebook.com/Davester2296
Twitter: twitter.com/Davester2296
Backup Channel: youtube.com/user/Davester2296
At long last, the remake/redux of an album that I had originally made back in 2015. This thing's gotten one hell of a (deserved) facelift!
First off, I want to give a shoutout and thanks to Niko for being the one to suggest that I revisit this album. If not, this probably would've just sat on the backburner for a much longer time.
I had originally set off to remake this 8-song album back 2 or 3 years ago. However, after a few songs, I stopped since I felt like I wasn't quite ready yet to go all in on the album. Fast forward to the present, and now I feel like I have the experience to give this album the remake it deserved.
I wound up re-recording nearly all of the guitars, except for the dirty/clean parts I did on my Strat, as well as the acoustic guitar parts. Bass guitar is all new, since I didn't even have my bass back when I had first made the album. I've edited the drums a bit, changes to note velocities and placements, as well as different pieces/samples of kit.
I wasn't able to completely salvage the original vocals, so I had to record new vocals for all the songs. The original ones had issues due to how I recorded them back then (no audio interface, and poor choice of recording location). Worked fine for back then, but certainly not for the current mix. However, I did manage to layer the original vocals underneath/alongside the new vocals. I've also added harmonies/backing-vocals to all of the songs now.
In addition to the harmonies, I've also made some small changes/additions to some songs. Changes to basslines, and other guitar work. It was almost as if I was giving the cover treatment to my own songs, or something!
Anyhow, lastly, I spent some time trying to decide on the track order. I almost kept the original track order, but finally decided against it after moving the songs around.
As for sounds and inspiration, this album took a lot of inspiration from all the "pop-punk" and emo stuff that was popular during the 2000's. Of course, there's quite a bit of grunge and post-grunge influence in here as well. I remember wanting to try and find a balance for this album back then. I wanted to have the sweet and poppy kinds of songs, but I also wanted stuff with a darker tone, like "Addiction". I wanted there to be something for everyone to jam to. Thus the resulting mix of light and dark; sweet and bitter.
On a side note, I also decided to try revamping my signal-chain for mastering. Tried out new techniques and went about things a bit differently. Quite happy with how everything sounds!
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the album! ~DAR
INSTRUMENTAL VER: youtu.be/J-k_sh2KXLY
MIDI VER: youtu.be/_fABcT8scPc
BANDCAMP: davester2296.bandcamp.com/album/cyclic-divide
LYRICS: theofficialdavester2296.wordpress.com/cyclic-divide-album-lyrics
Links to Streaming services: [ PENDING ]
TRACK LIST / TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Realize
4:01 Waiting
8:39 Sweethearts & Lightshows
12:51 Always Right
18:00 Addiction
21:37 Fate
25:39 Remember
29:25 Not There
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Make sure to Like, Share, and Subscribe if you enjoyed!
Follow me at:
(The Den of DAR) Official DISCORD: discord.gg/uEAfRWP
SUPPORT / DONATE: theofficialdavester2296.wordpress.com
DAR's Cover-To-Do List: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DowH1EIjiLyeg29cFx-4XOWpr7-bl1Pwb2_OfVaQ1SE/edit?usp=sharing
Facebook: facebook.com/Davester2296
Twitter: twitter.com/Davester2296
Backup Channel: youtube.com/user/Davester2296
![DOOM | D64D2 - Animated Specter [Cover By DAR] - MAP26 (D64 - MAP27)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aidzV7fs8KQ/hqdefault.jpg "DOOM | D64D2 - Animated Specter [Cover By DAR] - MAP26 (D64 - MAP27)
Short, condensed chaos, is how I would sum up this one.
I decided to just play this one straight, and keep it short since the level itself is small.
Only added some miscellaneous percussion here and there for impact, as well as a laugh sample from the one and only Vincent Price. Just felt fitting to throw that in there towards the end.
Those crazy leads also took me a little bit to get down, but I managed in the end.
Anyways, hope you all enjoy this quick cover! Were also finally nearing the last handful of covers in this marathon. 6 to go, and quite a few of the remaining tunes are slow and easy, so the marathon may finally reach its conclusion before the end of this month! ~DAR
.OGG DOWNLOAD: https://www.mediafire.com/file/w7q499ymggott0x/D64D2+-+Animated+Specter+(MAP26)+[Cover+By+DAR].ogg/file
Originally Composed By Dildomaster666
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![S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Call of Pripyat - Live to Forget [Cover by DAR] | 「 INSTRUMENTAL 」](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/b9t8jzf2iDM/hqdefault.jpg "S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Call of Pripyat - Live to Forget [Cover by DAR] | 「 INSTRUMENTAL 」
And heres the instrumental version!
Now, time to go over interesting things I had done for this cover.
Originally, I was going to have the guitar in the beginning be completely run through a phaser effect. However, as the cover neared completion, I wanted that rawness that came with just that dirty guitar strumming. So, since I was already experimenting with sending lots of things to aux channels in the mixer, I figured Id do the same for the dirty guitar. Then from there, I wound up turning up the volume fader for that phaser-send channel, until it blended with the main guitar track. In the end, I was able to get the cool phaser sound on the guitar, but retain that grungy sound that I wanted.
Oh also, Ive found myself a new replacement for Biggus Kickus (my silly name in projects for any big epic reverbed kick/bass drums/hits). Rather than my usual go-to in the past (something from some old Roland soundfont, I think), I decided to mess around with some of the samples that came with FL Studio. I also tried some different cymbals and stuff too (also stock FL Studio samples), those things sounded pretty nice when reversed and combined with Biggus Kickus.
On the topic of drums, I didnt really change too much, except for moving some snares to land on the 2nd and 4th beats. It just felt a bit better to me having them there rather than where they were before.
As for guitar shenanigans, rather than save the distorted guitar for the very end like the original did, I wanted to come out with them right at the first chorus! The originals guitar part, while it sounded cool, I really wanted to have more movement and articulation. I had tried recording what the original had done at first, but wound up scrapping that. I decided to riff around and came up with a part that I thought sounded pretty cool.
I also changed things up a bit during 4:39 & 6:28. I had a hard time trying to figure out what all the guitars were doing in this part and so I kinda made up my own thing that sounded close enough. The original had a lead harmony that kicked in halfway through, but I decided against having it since I was already playing something different, and thought that what I had worked fine.
Now, something that bugged me a little about the original was how it just suddenly ended. Because after that part, it was really building up and up, and then bam, its already over. I was like aw man, well, time to give this a DAR-style outro. So I decided to have that short piano interlude play. The piano part is actually what I had the piano doing during the chorus, but with everything going on, it really didnt get to have its time to shine. Anyhow, I then had the guitar kick back in to launch into the extended solo! Mixing in stuff from the first solo, and then throwing in some original riffing, then I finally settled back on playing the main melody. I really had a blast recording the leads, especially the bit that runs from 5:51-6:10!
Other than all that, the last thing would be the strings. I didnt really change anything with the string section, aside make them stand out a bit more (at least to me anyways). Which is something I like about having this instrumental version. Without the vocals there, the pretty strings get the spotlight now (especially during the 2nd verse).
Oh, and the cover was done a semitone/half-step lower than the original.
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy jamming out to the instrumental version here! ~DAR
VOCAL VERSION: https://youtu.be/pP1CL9XmBcQ
OPUS DOWNLOAD: https://www.mediafire.com/file/x67rc77z38v7ioo/STALKER+-+Live+to+Forget+[Cover+By+DAR]+[INSTR].opus/file
Originally Composed by Firelake
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![DOOM | Plutonia MIDI Pack - The Scarlet Citadel [Cover By DAR] - MAP29 | 30min-LOOP](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bhlnFBjmOZI/hqdefault.jpg "DOOM | Plutonia MIDI Pack - The Scarlet Citadel [Cover By DAR] - MAP29 | 30min-LOOP
@marcopiras7681 had asked if I could put up a looped/extended version of the cover, so here it is!
Wasnt too out of the way to do, especially since I had my ogg looptags to go off of for the loop points.
CREDITS:
Originally Composed By Hellish Godzilla
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![SLAUGHTERMANIA - Teaser Trailer [Cover Battlegrounds IV]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cQ3cNdNLDRI/hqdefault.jpg "SLAUGHTERMANIA - Teaser Trailer [Cover Battlegrounds IV]
Get your votes in before Dec. 22nd!: https://forms.gle/QTCzmdGPvMZbtkWT6
Man, I am SO excited for this. Ive had this idea for quite a while now. Ive been wanting to introduce Slaughtermania since shortly after the end of CB III! I put together this incredibly cheesy theme song too, back sometime during the summer (back when I was stuck on the FF7 Medley).
With SlaughterSphere acting as the chaotic qualifying event, the action becomes concentrated and more personal later on in SLAUGHTERMANIA!
Anyways, I hope you all look forward to this event!
-So... now, theres just one thing Ive gotta ask you all...
WHATCHA GONNA DO, WHEN THE SLAUGHTERMANIA, RUNS WILD ON YOU, BROTHERS?
~DAR
Crowd sound effect from here: https://youtu.be/tq-Bp_2FOGA
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![DOOM | Plutonia MIDI Pack - Seasons Of Insanity [Cover By DAR] - MAP07](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cWAdpGJ3DdM/hqdefault.jpg "DOOM | Plutonia MIDI Pack - Seasons Of Insanity [Cover By DAR] - MAP07
Time for MAP07s jam! This tunes got great energy, and kind of gives me DOOM 1 vibes at times (something from either Episode 2 or 3).
As always, I tried to stay faithful to the MIDI in the beginning. I had mainly changed up the bassline ever so slightly, just to spice it up a little. I also decided to open up once more with power-chords to suit the more aggressive start of the level. This was a pretty fun riff to play around with.
Now, around the halfway point is when I decided to start noodling. Threw in some new leads and bends that had a lot of delay and reverb on it. After that little appetizer, its time for the main course; the solo!
I still have some pent-up noodling that needs to continue working itself outta my system, so I had loads of fun making up the solo for this. Really loved playing and recording every bit of this solo, but I think my favorite bit is doing that descending double-tapped bit.
Anyways, hope you all enjoy the cover! ~DAR
OGG DOWNLOAD: https://mega.nz/file/4D9lVYCT#edRICfRwAav421efUjHS35zHCh1HE5UJXyYMRxUGaP0
Originally Composed By Russell Allen (MIDI Ver. by James Jimmy Paddock)
Final Doomer +:
https://forum.zdoom.org/viewtopic.php?t=55061
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![DOOM | Plutonia MIDI Pack - Always Watching [Cover By DAR] - MAP11](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cb31IXekL5w/hqdefault.jpg "DOOM | Plutonia MIDI Pack - Always Watching [Cover By DAR] - MAP11
Plutonias back on the menu! On todays episode, DAR gets horribly lost in the archvile labyrinth!.
For the longest time, I had thought I never played Final Doom until I started doing work for the Doom Marathons here on the channel. So to my surprise, the very first time I loaded into this level and entered the maze, I was like Oh hey, I remember this!. I dont know why I remembered this one level in particular, but I totally had a core memory unlocked kinda moment because of it.
I definitely remember getting all turned around in this level back then, and now, some 20-odd years later, things havent changed a bit!
Also, Ive been sitting on this cover for quite a bit now (it was just about finished back in September, I think). So my commentary on noodling and the music-side of things might be briefer than usual.
With that said, I really wished I couldve used my violin for the violin bits. I instead opted for my favorite set of violin samples. The reason for this coming down to a combination of tone and skill (or lack thereof in this case.). I think I miiiight have been able to get a tone that worked, but the bigger issue was that there was no way I was going to be able to pull off those double-stops (I think thats what they were called) on the violin. I think thats also one of the reasons I set this one on the backburner. I got stubborn about wanting to record a real violin for this, that I wound up setting it aside for way too long. The problem was that I never did get time to goof around and practice on the violin!
Violin part aside, I think the rest of the cover turned out quite nicely! I really had a lot of fun riffing around on the rhythm guitar parts, as well as noodling around for the usual DAR solo towards the end!
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy my rendition of this catchy tune by Lippeth! Also hope you all look forward to more Plutonia! I dread, (but also look forward to) doing the next track, Blood Rush. Man, that power metal is totally gonna kill me! I hope my shredding abilities havent gotten too rusty. ~DAR
.OGG DOWNLOAD: https://mega.nz/file/kO9QUS7R#LyrE2rv48ojQFx6VHLkodQyLOX1I4oLtrB1wF5sZm3w
Originally Composed By Lippeth
FinalDoomer+ (weapons pack): https://forum.zdoom.org/viewtopic.php?t=55061
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![Magical Chase - Waltz of Meditation Part2 [Cover By DAR] - 5th STAGE (Hell Fire)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/d8-4JGaluJs/hqdefault.jpg "Magical Chase - Waltz of Meditation Part2 [Cover By DAR] - 5th STAGE (Hell Fire)
Magical Chase - Waltz of Meditation Part2 [Cover By DAR] - 5th STAGE (Hell Fire)")
![Final Fantasy VII - Those Who Fight [Cover By DAR] - [Excerpt from FF7 Medley]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dKRSDFrgV6Y/hqdefault.jpg "Final Fantasy VII - Those Who Fight [Cover By DAR] - [Excerpt from FF7 Medley]
Since Niko was nice enough to loop together a 30-minute extended version of this, I figured I should also post the normal-length version as well.
Also, shoutout to ren, since he also suggested that this get its own video a while back!
OGG DOWNLOAD: https://www.mediafire.com/file/058du0wtdaqn6un/Final_Fantasy_VII Those_Who_Fight_%5BCover_By_DAR%5D.ogg/file
DARs FF7 Medley: https://youtu.be/CgFTQ8gsEfw
Those Who Fight [30-min extended ver. by Niko]: https://youtu.be/DGj7AlcluVY
Originally Composed By: Nobuo Uematsu (植松 伸夫)
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