CJthemusicdude

So good I had to review twice. The buildup at 3:18 is pure ear candy and the drop at 3:44 is what dreams are made of. This is music. This is art.

Today's remix review is brought to you by the letter V for vocoder. Before I get into the review, I wanted to preface and say that I am going into this remix blind, I am not gonna read any of the blurbs or other reviews so I don't have any other context clouding up my own review. I am very familiar with the FF7 OST so I have all the background I need to give this remix an in-depth look. "Hurry" was never a favorite of mine, it always felt like a necessary track for the OST, but not a stand out. It does what it sets out to do. Onto the review! I listened to the remix in one pass first without stopping to get a general view of the remix and how I felt about it. Overall, the remix felt like decent background music. The kind of music I would have in the middle of a playlist while doing chores or something. The remix fits the original well in terms of tone and how it is presented. I enjoyed some of the arrangement decisions made in regards to the original. The vocoder spoken word absolutely blindsided me but we'll get to that. The first 6 seconds of this remix are my favorite part about this remix. When that bass first kicks in, I was excited. The bass tone was fantastic. It was punchy, it hit right square in that good bass spot and set such a deliciously good tone. I was in it. i was locked in. And then we run into one of the remixes biggest issues in my humble opinion, the drums. We get our first taste of the percussion at :07 and it is IMHO weak sauce. I am admittedly a Drum & Bass style drums hater, but I will always give them a chance and will applaud and respect when it is done intentionally and well. I was just really not feeling the drums for most of this. The percussion from :07 to 1:22 felt so bland and uninspired. The high hats that come in at 0:25 drown everything else out percussion wise and they get real annoying real quick. The drums end up feeling like a miasmic wall of unnecessary sound. Some of this could have been fixed with some good ol DB changes imo. A big part of the original IMO was the panning tick tock wood block that occurs throughout, helping to emphasize the urgent nature of whatever situation our spiky haired friend had gotten into. In this version I DO hear a little baby wood block early on. I wanted to hear more of it, or more of a lot of the percussion but it's drowned out by the diva high hats. Thankfully in the middle section I can hear a kick and a snare and I feel a semblance of structure, but a little too little too late for me. The remix overall washed over me like a dense fog, and I blame the majority of that on the percussion. During the vocoder section the percussion IMO should have been far more muted or even non-existant. I did enjoy the synth that came in at 1:37, it mixed very well with the guitars (Which I also enjoyed.). 1:37 to 2:24 was some very solid stuff, I could totally get behind that as a baller instrumental/background remix. But then we get to... the vocoder. If I'm being honest, I actually do not mind the idea of vocoded spoken word in this remix. It provides a desperately needed break in the action and if tweaked a lot could work well. I myself have used vocoded spoken word/lyrics in songs/remixes past. They did not age well though (And they weren't really that great when I made them, lol.) The vocoder spoken word here is not a good fit AT ALL though. It has a couple major problems. One being how they entered the remix. There is a teeny little buildup of a "Whhoooop" at 2:24 and then BAM suddenly vocoded spoken word. It was so jarring that I had a physical reaction. I was so befuddled, it felt so out of left field. The bigger problem for me is the lyrics themselves. The song is called "Adrenalyne Kyck" and cements itself as an energetic and frantic sort of remix, so I already had a concrete vibe in my head of what this remix was going for. So imagine my surprise when a spoken word suddenly starts talking about the DEATH OF LOVED ONES. The lyrics felt so wildly out of place that I had to listen repeatedly to try and grasp what the flying fudge monkeys was going on... and it turns out to be a quote from Kitase regarding Aeriths death, a quote I was unfamiliar with until today. I think the quote is beautiful, BUT... (Side note: I take umbridge with this quote in its' relation to FF7. It is a beautiful quote on its' own, but like.... the quote says death comes suddenly and there is no notion of good or bad. Aerith (A clear good) was MURDERED by Sephiroth (A clear evil.). So I disagree heartily with that connection because there is a very clear notion of good or bad in that instance. Aerith didn't randomly trip down the stairs. She didn't get game of thrones'd in some morally grey area. She got murked by the most clear-cut antagonist this side of the Mississippi. It DID come suddenly and was a huge shock and led to some wonderful storytelling and discussion about death. I am thankful to this remix for introducing me to the quote.) So we've got this wonderful emotional quote from Kitase... and it is brought to us in vocoded form..... that is not a choice I would have made. The quote/vocoded form just feels WILDLY out of place in this remix. 2:49 - 2:51 was great, a much welcomed slice of variety and a cool transition. 3:30 til around 4:04 was very solid. The build up was actually quite good and I was excited to see how it would payoff! But at 4:04 it just abruptly cuts off like someone just unplugged the guitar. It felt like it was building up to some awesome ending and then just CHURNK. I listened to 4:02 to 4:05 like 10 times, it is just....bad. Just when the percussion was needed the most to help drive things home it just record scratches and the protagonist wonders how they got there. I don't mean to harp on the ending too much but it is really distracting, especially since the lead-up to 4:04 was really cool. So overall, while I am not the biggest fan, this is nowhere near a BAD remix. I fully support the artistry and anyone who enjoys this remix! Rock on. :)

The percussion in this remix is 🔥

This remix is an absolute gem and has stood the test of time. It packs emotion and fun into a tightly knit package of musical goodness! Great from start to finish.

I came here to pay my respects. This remix is legendary. It is incredible and always has been. I also downloaded a different version that you posted, which was also very good. It takes everything good about the original source and ramps it up to 11. I still have this remix in my library after all these years.

Wow! This was great! Thank you for making this awesome remix!

This is fantastic. Excellent production and variety.

This is really, really good.

I heard Alex's work on youtube already, I had no idea he submitted something to OCR. This remix is absolutely fantastic, definitely one of the best versions of "Attack on Dollet" out there. The transition around the 1 minute mark was expertly done. This remix injects a substantial amount of epic into an already epic source. Great job on this!

For what it's worth, I think this is cool! I really like the bass starting around 1:45.

Those first 30 seconds are nothing short of amazing. What an excellent way to start a remix. Cool wubs and even cooler arrangement! 😎

I have been summoned! Honestly, I'm glad I was because my original review was weak sauce. I couldn't really tell you the differences between this version and the one I heard originally, so this is basically a fresh review. In my quest to review as many OCremixes as I can, I found myself defaulting to giving a positive review to each and every review. I know how much of a difference even a small review or comment can make, and I wanted to be that positive force that encouraged others to make music! However, I have a very long and personal relationship with the FF8 soundtrack. And the Extreme is one of my favorite boss themes of all time. It is a soundtrack I am deeply familiar with and I'll be completely honest, I am not a fan of this remix. My original review was glib because I didn't say what I wanted to say. So my apologies to you for not leaving a genuine review. You are going to get one now though, definitely the longest review I've ever done on this site! (So far). I will try to be as constructive as I can with this review, and keep in mind this is all subjective opinion. I very much applaud and appreciate what you've done here and the clear care and passion you put into this. I'll start with what I enjoy. The transition to the spoken work/rap section from 6:00 to 6:24 was my favorite part of the track, those wood blocks were FIRE. The rap section and the spoken word bits in general were very cool. The intro soundscape was very enjoyable, specifically the first 30 seconds. and the usage of the FITHOS LUSEC WECOS VINOSEC source was very well done. On to my criticisms. My first one is the pacing of the remix. In my original review I mentioned that it uses the time well. Upon further review, I do not think that is not the case. Even though I think the intro is very cool, 3 minutes to ramp up into the energetic portion of the song is way too long, it could have been it's own remix and would have been great but in the context of a single remix it overstays its' welcome. I think a good minute could have been cut from the intro. Even though I enjoyed the rap section, it was way too short and felt very out of place, it really felt like it should be its' own remix as well. The long length of this remix doesn't really give me a good chance to latch onto anything in particular and kind of causes the whole remix to wash over you like a fog. My second criticism from a musical standpoint is that in the "Tension and Release" aspect of music, there was too much tension and not enough release. To start, after the song-length intro. We get to some energetic stuff starting at 2:52. That part was very cool, like many of the transitions in this remix. The rhythmic chanting voices, that super cool Buzzy bass.... the strings that come in at 2:58 were weak, but not a deal-breaker... but then it just kind of... shifts to 3:04 - 3:15. After all that build up and a cool transition it just kind of flops. I felt musically blue-balled, and it wouldn't be the last time. My favorite part of the original source is that epic climatic section that dives right into the somber piano/harp. It kind of encapsulates everything that makes the Extreme such a good boss music and a great representative of Ultimicia. However in this remix, I didn't get any of that. I felt like I got played at 5:04 and 5:26 and once again at 8:34. From a creative standpoint, I appreciate the subversion of the expectation, but as an enjoyer of the source, it felt incredibly unsatisfying. Production is a bit off as well. Everything felt kind of flimsy. Some of the lead synth instruments really needed some protein. (Especially that lead that comes in at 3:58.) The drums barely had any presence (Especially the snares) and tended to be very repetitive. The end result is that a lot of this remix doesn't really pack any sort of punch. Again, I hope this review doesn't discourage you. There are things I liked about this remix and would probably like more if this remix was chopped up into more cohesive regular sized remixes. Keep making cool music! 😄

That 4 note repeating pattern is very ear-wormy. The effects of the ear-worm are amplified by the excellent production of this remix. The intro and ending for this remix are incredibly strong. Excellent job with this remix!

This is definitely an underrated gem, I'm surprised no one has reviewed it yet! The instrumentation and arrangement are very well done, and I found myself enraptured in the remix for the whole runtime. It sets up a great atmosphere and I enjoyed listening to it! Excellent remix! :)

What a lovely remix! I listened to this on repeat without even realizing. This remix has a very nice soft feel which lends itself well to a background atmosphere. This was a treat and a half! Great job on this remix! :)