ReMix:Final Fantasy VII "This Boss Are Sick" 4:03

I fancy myself a musical progressive, so gimme the prog, I'm ready! YOU better be ready over there, because jnWake & Jabo are ready to throw hands, axes, AND keys with their prog rock remake of Final Fantasy VII's main battle music! When it came time to start arranging for Dwelling of Duels one month, jnWake's stated desire to think outside the box with his source tune choice ended up in battle with his latent desire to rock out a classic:

"A synth-heavy prog. metal arrangement of "Those Who Fight Further" (the regular boss theme, also known as "Still More Fighting" and "Fight On!") from FFVII. So, about the arrangement. I made this for Dwelling of Duels' Final Fantasy month in November 2023. When the month started, I wanted to do something creative and/or obscure, but as soon as I sat down on my keyboards, my hands took over and started playing the FFVII boss theme and I was like "OK, we're gonna do this". After all, as much as I love trying to cover less known stuff, there's also value in taking a popular track and trying to make it your own.

Initially, I was going to make this a synth-only cover of the track (to separate it from the usual guitar-driven rock approach) and even wrote the entire arrangement like that, but DoD shenanigans led me to eventually recruit Jabo on guitars. We switched some leads from synth to guitar and added some rhythm guitars here and there, which honestly improved the track. It's not straight up metal all the time and instead switches from synth focus and standard metal, which gives it a somewhat unique flair, IMO.

Anyway, the track eventually placed #3. I got some feedback related to drum volume, so I made some changes and that's what you hear now! Hope you enjoy!"

Always honored to get improved versions of compo tracks for consideration; just goes to show that even a medal-winning compo piece isn't necessarily a wrap once the contest is over. Now, I don't always include lengthy source tune breakdowns in writeups (we always include them in the MP3 comments, when provided), but "Those Who Fight Further" is such a popular theme, so jnWake's thorough breakdown of both the source tune's distinct segments alongside his arrangement's is insightful for those who actively want to understand the differences from the source tune to the arrangement:

"Original track is pretty varied, so I'll try to make a detailed explanation to make judging simpler! Original can be basically separated into 5 sections:

A (0:00-0:24)
B (0:24-0:41)
C (0:41-0:52)
D (0:53-1:04)
E (1:04-end of loop)

Now, for the remix:

0:00-0:30: Based on A.
0:30-0:40: Chord progression from A.
0:41-0:53: Arpeggios from B over different chords.
0:54-1:04: Variation over the second part of B.
1:04-1:32: Variations over A (Jabo snuck "JENOVA's" melody in here).
1:33-1:55: Solos over the chord progression of A.
1:55-2:18: Riff based on bass from C.
2:18-2:32: Lead from C over a different chord progression.
2:32-2:54: Based on D, changed chord progression again.
2:54-3:17: Main melody from E, changed chord progression again. My fave part of the arrangement!
3:17-3:54: Melody based on the backing strings from E. Ends with arpeggios, just like the original (different arpeggios tho).
3:54-end: Repeat of the intro."

Sufficed to say, there's quite a bit going on! This quickly opens up with good proggy, synthy energy, which hooked judge prophetik music in from the jump:

"intro synths are just what i expected (and wanted, tbh) - i love the organ layered in there. track is pretty loud right off the bat. 0:30's groove shift is great and the guitar lead there is perfect. the arps going into a singing melodic line at 0:41 into 0:54 is very Octavarium-esque. the Jenova bit was a clever idea, and continuing to use the triplet-quarter motif through this section does a nice job keeping it moving forward.

solos are great and the subsequent ensemble work is a great contrast. 2:18's rising section with new chords was a great idea and again very DT-esque in the methodology. 2:54's a clever shift - both in how you used new chords and in the shift in the beat to a half-time beat for a bit to emphasize the broader scope of the backing parts. there's a recap for an ending and that's that.

as expected, this is dope. your arrangements have become a consistent source of fun in the inbox over the last several months. excellent work with a proggy approach that doesn't rely exclusively on DAS CHUGCHUG in the guitars to make something interesting, engaging, and intense."

I may not know Dream Theater's catalog the way prophetik does, but after Jared Hudson excitedly introduced me to Dream Theater's Scenes from a Memory more than two decades ago, I'm all ears for anyone's DT recommendations. Just adding one more comment on kudos on another cool detail by jnWake worth sharing: that was a VERY creative rhythmic change at 2:32. I definitely haven't heard the theme approached like this before! Not just a meat-and-potatoes cover, fellow judge Rexy said it was like she was gifted meats, cheeses, breads, fruits, vegetables, nuts... a entire spread of musical deliciousness:

"This approach broke down the individual segments of the theme and built upon each one in turn, all with a charcuterie board of concepts and interpretations. You've got parts where you overlay the melody over different chord structures, the sneaky Jenova cameo, a couple of sections where you kept the chord progression of the segments but went into brief noodling, and then you caught me off-guard from 2:32 with two key signature changes in a row - first into 7/4 for the D section twist, and then into straight 4/4 rather than 12/8 for the dive into the E section at 2:54. I'm very impressed with your scale of twisting the source while maintaining a solid structure overall.

It's also a well-mixed track overall, with clean performances throughout. I sensed some great guitar tones from Jabo's side, beefy Hammond organ action, and plenty of layered synth instrumentation complimenting each other. [...] Here, the entire production line wanted to sound like 90s-era Dream Theater, to fantastic results - and I can roll with it.

You got my approval, you two! It's a fun prog twist on a classic battle theme - mad props!"

Just like Rexy observed, the style and textures of the arrangement move around a lot, but it flows well from segment to segment and has fun dynamics. As with other epic prog rock, jnWake & Jabo have stepped up and shown out with a genuine tour de force, or in other words, this ReMix are sick. :-) Wonderful treatment of a legendary theme, boys!