Board 8 > [VGMC] R16 D3: 1NF3S+@+!0N (Calamity Mod) vs Skyclad Observer (steins;gate)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Welcome to today's topic for Video Game Music Contest 13, a tournament of the best tracks from games, as decided upon by you, the voters.

Links:
Bracket - http://www.bracketmaker.com/tlist.cfm?tid=471679
Contest info - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17rEeB1_oYWgryWzIxOaZXw2a381gKGnMegjHCG_2OTQ
Discussion and results thread - https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77672812
Bracket playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW9O9mntH1RF28glW72G6s_5M1e4kcSxR

.
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.)
- Obvious contest rules apply (no alts, one vote per person, no rallying, etc.).
- Please make your voting options clear, rather than burying them in text.
- Each set of matches lasts 24 hours, even if the new one isnt up by then.
- Always vote on the versions of the song provided, not versions from different sources.
- If you know ahead of time that you're not going to be around and you want to vote in advance, post your choices in the discussion/bracket topic.
- Please do NOT post tallies/score updates in the middle of the match, as this has a tendency to directly influence matches.
- You don't have to vote in all the matches, but it'd be cool if you did!

.
Today's match:

Terraria Calamity - 1NF3S+@+!0N (Theme of Crabulon)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17IZjvr5c1I" data-time="

Steins;Gate - Skyclad Observer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-v_GL5ADT8" data-time="

.

Easy vote form:
1NF3S+@+!0N (Theme of Crabulon) / Skyclad Observer

.

Song lyric trivia: Roughness but is it a tight risk? Blows and combos, doubt if it might miss. Its a scene theyre prepared to set (to what?) They handle theirs and proceed to step / To the next phase and to the next stage. Given nightmares like Wes Crave. So violators, you best make way / For real troopers that have a future to save.
---

Steins;Gate - Skyclad Observer
---

1NF3S+@+!0N (Theme of Crabulon)
---

SCO

1NF3S+@+!0n - Theme of Crabulon

1NF3S+@+!0N (Theme of Crabulon)
---

Crabulon I guess
---

Skyclad Observer
---

Skyclad Observer

1NF3S+@+!0N (Theme of Crabulon)

1NF3S+@+!0N (Theme of Crabulon)
---

Steins;Gate - Skyclad Observer
---

1NF3S+@+!0N (Theme of Crabulon)

I love Burning Rangers, but I cant recall the song title right now.
---

1NF3S+@+!0N (Theme of Crabulon)

Skyclad Observer
---

Skyclad Observer
---

Skyclad Observer

crab
---

1NF3S+@+!0N (Theme of Crabulon)

Steins;Gate - Skyclad Observer

Skyclad Observer

1NF3S+@+!0N (Theme of Crabulon)

1NF3S+@+!0N (Theme of Crabulon)
---

Terraria Calamity - 1NF3S+@+!0N (Theme of Crabulon) - once again, my vote goes against my rankings.

Terraria Calamity Mod - "1NF3S+@+!0N" - Theme of Crabulon
Cool intro. I really love the off-beat chords at the start, with its desirable harmonies to boot (Im especially fond of #VI in minor). This is my least favorite of the TC music this contest, but its put together really well. The main melodies are a bit on the generic side and very tonic focused, which is probably the biggest weakness of this track. I used to have a MAJOR issue with 1:03, because of the oo-WAHs that happen in the background, which would give me a huge headache. Fortunately, after listening to it a few more times, its still not ideal for me, but its no longer headache-inducing. Still overall a nice section. 1:54 is totally GROOVY, with that electronic thingie. Wooooo! And FINALLY 2:03 2:05, the very last two seconds off the loop. I cant get over how AWESOME it is! Took me a while to figure out what that rhythm is its five dotted eighth notes starting on the fourth 16th of the last beat of the measure, and then ending on the final 8th note of the next measure. Oh, yeah, and the pincer-clicking is cool, too. Cant go wrong with that.

Favorite part: 1:54 2:05
Ranking: 11 out 16

Steins Gate Skyclad Observer
Pretty standard anime vocal music here. Nonetheless, the melody here is quite, particularly melody C (1:01 1:30) which helps it a lot. We got that classic cadence moment in more than one place (0:34 - :36 and 2:53 2:56) that I like very much. Outside of the three melodies, it doesnt have a whole lot. It does have a nice intro, I always love piano crescendos (which are of course, are impossible on a real piano, but with electronics, you can do whatever you want!), and it happens at the very end too, which is certainly a plus. Adding that extra measure with relative silence to avoid a simple 8+8 measure structure is always nice (1:00-1:02) especially for leading into the climax. The guitar solo is kind of meh except for the ending of it where it has one of those AWESOME fully-diminished dominants.

Favorite part: 0:34 - 1:02
Ranking: 10 out of 16
---

we are BURNING RANGERS!!!

Skyclad observer
---

1NF3S+@+!0N (Theme of Crabulon)

Should have been close based on my ranking (11 vs. 12), but I guess there's gap in there.
---

1NF3S+@+!0N (Theme of Crabulon)
---

1NF3S+@+!0n

Steins;Gate - Skyclad Observer

OPEN THE EYES
---

1NF3S+@+!0N (Theme of Crabulon)
---

1NF3S+@+!0N (Theme of Crabulon)
---

Steins;Gate - Skyclad Observer
---

Skyclad Observer
---

9. Terraria Calamity - 1NF3S+@+!0N (Theme of Crabulon) (6) (over Briefing, Dont Speak Her Name!; for Confronting Myself)

vs.

12. Steins;Gate - Skyclad Observer (5) (for Melody of Aqua, Full Steam VENGEANCE!!, Passing Through the Forest)

I don't know why Crab is beloved enough to retire; that's a song where the appeal is kind of lost on me. It's a perfectly fine and catchy little techno piece, but there isn't much there for me to grab onto.

Likewise with Skyclad Observer, although I understand the appeal here more. There's much to like with this song, from the ethereal fade-in to the always great Itou Kanako vocals. The song exudes this aura of mystery. But maybe it's a symptom of hearing it too much, but I just don't care about it. Like, at all. It's telling that I've voted against it every round so far, and that's a pattern that will continue here.

Vote:
1NF3S+@+!0N (Theme of Crabulon)

crab
---

Skyclad Observer

1NF3S+@+!0N (Theme of Crabulon)

1NF3S+@+!0N (Theme of Crabulon)

crab

sorry okarin
---

Terraria Calamity - 1NF3S+@+!0N (Theme of Crabulon)

Match-up analysis:

It was kind of hard for me to say much about this particular match even though the match itself is better than yesterday's, maybe because I just wasn't so inspired this time around.

Even though this is the first time this round that I knew the winner before listening to both songs, the actual match-up was much closer than I gave it credit for, maybe because I was overrating Crab/underrating Clad.

Infestation is a nice example of solid electronic music. It may not stand out as a super techno piece compared to others in its genre (for me at least), but being a fan of the genre myself I can definitely say that it has a lot of appeal regardless. The beat and melody sound kind of generic at times, but it compensates by having greater accompaniments. I mean, you obviously have your crabby pincer sounds to start with, but the rest of the sounds are what make this song great. The highest point of the song is clearly 1:53-2:06; the problem is that it's too short, and that there are not many parts that hold the song in a higher spot of quality since a lot of it is centered around a "low profile" kind of beat, instead of an intense beat, and I think that the only justifiable reason for this would be to make a battle theme that wasn't too overwhelming for a boss fight (if it is) at that point in the game.

Skyclad, on the other hand, still remains as something I said in past rounds: it's a song that sounds like it should have retired years ago. It's a really iconic theme for a really iconic visual novel (I mean, this is from the Umineko era!). I used to think this was an opening theme for an anime (and maybe it is), but even if it isn't it's the perfect theme for an anime. It has everything going for it: A fast beat to pump you up for the next episode, catchy singing/lyrics, nice instrumentation...

But why do I rank it lower? Well, as I've said the past three days, it just comes down to tastes, and I'm only bringing up such an obvious thing now because surely there will be some matches ahead that I don't think come down to just tastes (*cough*nosurge*cough*), but I'll save that for later.

Crab > Clad
---

1NF3S+@+!0N (Theme of Crabulon)
---

Steins;Gate - Skyclad Observer
---

1NF3S+@+!0N (Theme of Crabulon)
---