OCR00969 - Wolfenstein 3D 'Nazi Requiem' [Archive]

Compyfox

04-17-2003, 07:34 AM

First of all, nice job.

Mazedude asked in one of the threads on the board were german folks found together if someone could listen to his remix and tell him if the speech from Hitler was offending. At this time I thought "A Hitlerspeech? In a Wolfenstein Remix? This will attract some trouble." You have to know that "Wolfenstein 3D" and "Return to Castle Wolfenstein" is banned in Germany not only because of using the Swastika, but shooting on People, Hitler and some other stuff too. That's why I was sceptic.

So I listened to this song and was impressed what he did out of the Opening Song. It's a nice balance of Electronic and Classic mixed with sad influences and the mindbreaking speech of Hitler. Even the speech was cutted perfectly, he felt that it was right this way and I have to agree. Unfortunately I don't have the original song in mind anymore to give more comments. But I also have to say out loud that Mazedude didn't want to offend anyone with this mix and that this is no Nazi propaganda!

To the speech itself. It seems that Mazedude catched a "audio arrangement" of different speeches from Hitler. I found out that the part at the end of the Song was from his speech in Berlin in April 1933. Another part seems to be from his later speeches while he used his propaganda more for War agression.

I guess the native german ones can hear out what he's saying. For all those who can't understand german, I wrote a translation from the file Mazedude was using:

*audience standing up*
The Fuehrer: "This all is... Heil!"
Audience: *heil! heil! heil!*

The Fuehrer: "I know it my cormorades. It was obiously often difficult for you. If you believe that a change is needed now, but he can't and again the roll-cast has to be set! It has to go on fighting. It doesn't go this way, you mustn't act, you have to obey *text fades out at this point*, you have to accommodate, you have to bow to the constraint."

Audience: *sieg! heil! sieg! heil!*

Audience again: *heil!*

Audience again: *heil!*

The Fuehrer: "The great time has started now. Germany has awakened now. We gained power now in germany. Now we need to gain the german people."

As I said earlier. Nice Job, perhaps we hear more from this kind of "mixing".

Illaminus

04-17-2003, 10:51 AM

I really like Mazedude's latest songs. They distinguish themselves from other stuff on OCR. Mazedude has definetly evolved to a great artist on OCR. "Nazi requiem"'s mood really moved me, just like "Spacestation..." did.

Keep the great work up Mazedude. :)

CXI

04-17-2003, 11:49 AM

This piece is amazing. I can just see a concentration camp in my mind when I hear this song. Well, what I think one would be like, anyway. This is extremely moving stuff. The hitler quotes are very chilling, used at appropriate times and mixed well with the piece. The repeated slow-downs, the places where the music would stop altogether and the ambience after the heavier sounding bits also added to the very deep and moving feel it had.

I'm very impressed with this one, Mazedude is only getting better, and for someone with his skill, this can only be a good thing.

wethamster

04-17-2003, 01:47 PM

WOW this remix is great, im gonna fire up my old wolfenstein, and gib some nazi scum, While listening to it. Dude the games gonna seem even better, with this great remix, playing in the background.

Demitri

04-17-2003, 03:13 PM

This one's been one of my fav's since Mazedude initially put it out there, and I've been waiting for it to get posted just to say how much I like it!

Don't know much on the technical aspects, but man, this one grabs you!

GREAT WORK HERE!!!

Ryan8bit

04-17-2003, 06:10 PM

Great work with a song that in the game loops over and over, and the loop is only like 5 seconds. I love the sound samples in there, because they add a realistic feel. If people were offended, then they are offended by history, not Mazedude (one of my favorite mixers on the site).

It's also strange, because this morning I was thinking of doing a Wolfenstein mix, and then I come see this one here. A good mix.

bloodydust

04-17-2003, 06:41 PM

oh. my. god.

i think this is now my favorite mix from this site, and for good reason. it COMPLETELY fits with the general mood mazedude was trying to put forth. this song really gives a feeling of the horrors of war. the clips of hitler truly fit with the song, and give you an idea of what the war was all about. there's a song by a thrash/black metal band (broke up over a decade ago) called anacrusis, and the song is called the twisted cross. it starts off with this truly dark, and crushing, long bassnote, and the entire first half of the song is easily some of the darkest stuff i've ever heard concerning the war. this tops that song.

i'm something of a history buff, and i plan to study history in college next year (as well as military science in the context of history later on). i JUST got finished reading a book on the occult roots of nazism, and there's an article in an issue of american heritage from a few months back about the american eugenics movement 10 years before hitler ever even heard of the nazi party. yes, i underlined that part on purpouse. the notions put forth by blavatsky and guido von list, and all their followers, are essentially the roots of the horrible concept of "ethnic cleansing".

world war 1, in my opinion, was just a war. yes, it spanned the globe, but it was really about german militarism going out of control.

world war 2... that was a battle between good and evil.

as far as the song itself, i'm not sure but i think i detect 2 wolfenstein songs- the title theme, and "enemy behind you", both creepy in their own right. it's true that there'll be some question of the wisdom of using the soundclips, but in my opinion they belong here. if i ever manage to get the equipment to make music videos, i'm going to pull together a bunch of old footage from hitler's speeches and whatnot, and use this song. i think in the coming years i'll probably get around to making a video documentary on world war 2, although what aspect of it i don't know. this song is going in there.

endblink

04-17-2003, 07:12 PM

Just want to thank CompyFox for the translation of Hitler's speech.

Thanks!

rebirth9283

04-17-2003, 07:30 PM

This is a remix you'd be hard pressed to complain about. To tell the truth, I approached this piece with a mentality of "can a good remix really come from Wolfenstein?" After all, there wasn't a whole big bunch of memorable music to that game, and what actually was there ran in five to ten second loops. how could anyone possibly do something good with that?

I'm glad Mazedude managed to do it. The array of sounds and samples used is very impressive. From the opening use of snare drum and piano to the closing use of the same, with all of the industrial-style material in between, the piece had what can only be described as "that special something."

As for the samples of Hitler: I can see where they would offend some demographics. But, truth told, they do add something to the piece. I say this for a reason. When playing Wolfenstein 3D, how many of us really remember that the setting is World War II? More importantly, how many of us, as we're running around maze-like levels blasting guards, really remember the cause behind the war that the game is based on? In general, how many of us, while fighting in a game, really remember the true objective of the real fight that took place in which real people gave their real lives to overthrow Hitler. The voice samples used in this piece, in a haunting fashion, bring the reality of World War II into what had previously been just a game.

I applaud Mazedude on an amazing remix, and thank him for, by using the voice of the man that personified evil, paying tribute to those who gave their lives to stop him.

ella guro

04-17-2003, 07:48 PM

Mazedude is one of the best remixers on the site, and I only know about 4 people who are more into the original Wolfenstein than I am, so needless to say I was psyched when I saw this remix on the WIP boards about a month back. Unfortunetely, after listening to it, I left with a sour taste in my mouth. Part of it is how I envisioned the theme to be - the Hitler speech at the beginning was great, but the french horn sounds rather odd - very legato and plain for a part that was faster in the original (the slowing down may be part of it...). The little touches like at :37 with the violin tremolo crescendos were great, but the lead instruments all sound a little strange - everything is slowed down, simple, and legato. It seems like there's almost a lack of emotion in the lead...and considering that this is something that Mazedude did, I was really suprised there.

The arpeggios in the background were nice, but I never thought that something as crazy as a Mazedude-style remix would really fit this tune. Wolf3D was a very simple game, and while it was kind of dark, it never really gave me the traditional feeling of World War II...it was pretty damn far-fetched, is what I mean. And it's not exactly the prime example of a realistic in a game. I always liked it because the levels were fun - not really that it gave me the emotion of seeing a Nazi concentration camp or anything (although episode 2 level 2 comes closer). I just pictured something minimalistic with tons of emotion for this piece. So yes, some of it has to do with personal preference.

But when I hear the horns blare loudly a simple rythym (...can't...spell...that...friggen...word), it seems odd everytime. I have no backgrounds in a band, so you'd think I wouldn't notice something like that. Furthermore, for being 4:29 and being as climactic sounding as it is, it really doesn't go anywhere from where it started. Part of that is just the nature of the original melody, but I would've liked a little more progression instead of --> Hiter, buildup, melody, buildup, different part, Hitler, melody. I just think it needed some more work...

EDIT: and to anyone who said that Wolfenstein's music was "unremarkable" or "unnoticable", you obviously haven't listened to some of the tracks in the game. They're simplistic, maybe, but there's a lot you can do with a simple melody (and the title track remixed here just needs some variation and good instruments to make a good remix out of it).

Zeality

04-17-2003, 08:20 PM

Listen to a professional German group called "Feindflug" for excellent examples of quote usage (Feindflug specializes in hard-driving techno, usually themed after WWII). Mazedude goes a bit heavy on them here.

Vesh

04-17-2003, 08:33 PM

Great, great song.

But I'm even happier that DJP mentioned Izzard in the write up. :lol:
lol, same here. =]

"No, I'm a f**ckin' squirrel!"

snarfoogle

04-17-2003, 08:53 PM

Nazi?
Hitler?
BANNED

But, damn, I can say this is one of the best mixes on the site.
Chilling.

Zeality

04-17-2003, 10:54 PM

Despite his crazed intentions, he was an excellent leader. It's not everyday that someone comes along and turns the largest depression in the world up-side down and manages to nearly take over Europe & Co. in a few short years.

ella guro

04-17-2003, 11:04 PM

Mazedude

04-18-2003, 02:56 AM

Hmm, well - given all that's been said, perhaps I'll say a few words about this piece myself...
Firstly, massive thanks for all the fan comments so far, both good and bad; I totally appreciate 'em and always bear them in mind for the future. That said, this piece right here wasn't intended to be one everyone would like, or even intended to be better than my others, but rather; it was a ton of experiments all at once.
To start off, I was kinda happy at the prospect of creating the first Wolf 3D mix on the site, as I really loved the game back in the day. I designed my own levels and everything... ah yeah, good times. And, it was the predecessor to Doom, which I've also covered plenty of, so it makes sense.
Secondly, I was responding to numerous requests. Some people wanted intense Nazi militaristic mayhem, some people wanted a sad and touching rendition of the War theme, some people wanted me to do something like Blood Bath (combining different game themes into 1 mix), and what I personally wanted to do was to dabble into the film-score genre of electronica-orchestral. If you listen to the Title theme of the movie "The Negotiator", by Graeme Revell, you'll be able to see how I kinda modeled this after that, loosely.
Thirdly, in conjunction with the style, I needed to experiment with my new orchestral samples. Having worked with real orchestras, I personally am not a huge fan of synthesizing orchestral material, because even with the best of samples it still always sounds fake. But, I got these new Gigasamples, and felt it was worth a try. Eh, parts sound good, parts don't. Ah well, it was a first experiment.
Also, I wrote this piece in 2 days. Sequenced it one night, post-produced it the next day. In retrospect, I shoulda taken a little more time to give the electronic beat a bit more variety, and the ProTools post-production isn't layered 100% to my satisfaction... but, ya know, for just a video-game remix, I'm not gonna make a big deal out of that. Maybe later I'll go back and fix that.
Regarding the usage of Hitler, well - actually, that speech was part of a bunch of war sound clips I gathered for a Rush-n-Attack mix I had in mind but never got around to. When writing this one, it just seemed like the perfect icing to the cake, so to speak. Huge thanks to Compyfox for giving me a translation - I was vaguely worried that it was going to contain some blatently horrible insults like "Death to the Jews", or something that I certainly wouldn't want to put in a released remix, heh. As it is, I'm fine with it, and have no quams about using it. As mentioned, it's merely History. On the same token, jabs can be made at American history that we certainly aren't proud of, so it's in no way a present-day National or cultural jab. And besides, Hitler was IN Wolfenstein 3D, so... it works.
So... there ya go, there's what Mazedude has to say on his own remix. It was a multi-level experiment, I and think I pulled it off pretty well. Not super-great or anything, but pretty good. For now, I like it. :)
-Mazedude
http://listen.to/mazedude

AndrewDeluxe

04-18-2003, 06:28 AM

sorry just testing

AndrewDeluxe

04-18-2003, 06:40 AM

I know this song has gotten great reviews and I am not lecturing or slamming artistic decesions here. But am I the only one who thought the Hitler samples were in bad taste? I recongized them immediately having recently watched "The wonderful, horrible Life of Leni Reifenstahl" (aka Die Macht der Bilder). If the context of the film is correct it is a pre-kanzler poltical speech in Berlin (1932, i think). The problem I have is that Wolfstein is a simple action game, that dehumanizes Nazis to comicbook-like supervillians, bascially ignores the holocaust victims (which is fine for a comicbook, unserious action game), but to combine that with a politically charged and "uplifting" Nazi propoganda speech seems wrong to me. I know it's not a glorification of Nazism, but I could see how someone might think it could be(especially with the pause and then cheer at 3'15). Listening to it without context, it isnt clear if it rejects Nazism or is a glorification of it. If it is meant to be neither than it shouldn't use such a poltical piece of propoganda.

I am not ripping on Mazedude, in fact I think the song is quite well done. I am offering an opinion and what i hope is a constructive criticism. I don't hail (a bad and I believe unintetional pun from DJ Pretzel) from germany (althougn I speak it) nor I am Jewish, I just think its bad taste and espeically since just having fought a war.

Dyne

04-18-2003, 04:50 PM

Great job Mazedude, keep it up.

Oh yeah, and about the whole samples of Hitler. Hey, as long as it isn't anything bad, who cares? Ya don't seen anyone complaining about either of the Hell March themes from Command and Conquer? And they use samples of it too.

Anyways, awesome remix, can't wait for your next kickass hit!

hakamanakus

04-18-2003, 07:09 PM

I'm no musical expert, I don't know what an arpeggio is, so I'll stick with the emotions this song plays out to me in my review.

I've never played Wolfeinstein, never been much of a fan for FPS in general. I was expecting a fierce, bloody track of music, but was pleasantly surprised by the emotion and melody. The speech parts added to the feeling immensely. This song makes me a little sad, it makes me reflect on human history. It get me reflecting on the human tragedies in the past, and how they seem so senseless. Very memorable. I understand that there will always be someone offended by songs that remind them of things they want to forget, but I feel this is in no way a pro-Nazi track.

Bottom line, this is a very well done work of art. If you're looking for a sad, melancholic song of history, download it now.

RiceLikeWhoa

04-18-2003, 07:33 PM

Very VERY nicely done!

Where you get the Hitler samples???

jwhyrock

04-18-2003, 10:49 PM

I have no idea how many people requested a Wolfenstein Remix, but I just requested one the other day so thank you very much. I had originally requested a Wolf 3D Jaguar remix, but for all I know they are the same melodies. It's been forever since I've touched the PC version.

The song is amazing. I think it's meant to be dark, chilling, and ominous. Without the Hitler clips it would fall short of that goal. For all those whining about it being in poor taste, don't listen to the damn song! Obviously the game is all about Nazis and Hitler, so why the heck would having a Hitler clip be in bad taste? And the reference to just having fought a war so the song is in bad taste, that's ridiculous. Get a life, and learn how to cope... Thanks Mazedude! You rock!

AndrewDeluxe

04-19-2003, 02:55 AM

Hey, you don't have to agree with me, but calling my opinion ridiculous is quite harsh. I can cope just fine, but the fact that you can't possibly imagine that someone might find it offensive, is surprising to me, even Mazedude said he expected criticism. Go around your town and blast that song to people, drive by american legeion, or some relgious commuinties and see how they like it. My guess is, they'll probably just give you some "ridiclious" opinion. As for Wolfstein, it wasnt as much Nazis as it was using an acceptable real life setting for making outrageous over the top bad guys to shoot up. Hitler, Nazis, giant mutants, and a guy with a chaingun in his stomach....yeah Wolfstein is a real history lesson.

ella guro

04-19-2003, 03:07 AM

As for Wolfstein, it wasnt as much Nazis as it was using an acceptable real life setting for making outrageous over the top bad guys to shoot up. Hitler, Nazis, giant mutants, and a guy with a chaingun in his stomach....yeah Wolfstein is a real history lesson.

Yes, Wolfenstein was pretty much a glorified cartoon. Hell, take a look at the pacman maze in episode 3, level 10. Not exactly the most realistic thing you've ever seen, eh? And yes, I never understood how it gave people an authentic WW2 feeling that's caused pretty much any remix of it to be orchestral and emotional piece of music with Historical quotations when the game itself didn't exactly have the most involved storyline or a super realistic feel.

But it was a DAMN FUN GAME, so you ain't gonna be taking any of my prized childhood memories playing it away from me...hehe. Seriously, though, don't worry about it. No one was trying to attack you.

Now, back to the reviews...

doodley

04-19-2003, 03:27 AM

Great song! i think it is very emotional and sad but yet militaristic at the same time. The hitler speech made the whole thing very dramatic. I don't know what it is but whenever you hear that guy talk you know he is just pure evil. Does anybody know what he is saying?

jwhyrock

04-19-2003, 04:35 AM

Ok I agree maybe I was a bit harsh. I meant that you have to take it in context. You do end up battling Hitler at the end. Him speaking just makes you hate him more. At least that's how I look at it. I never claimed the game was a lesson in history or realistic, but the storyline does revolve around Nazis and Hitler and some bizarre stuff they were into like zombies with machine guns in their chest. =) I honestly though can't understand why someone who knows what the game's all about and that it is obviously not geared toward pro-nazism would be offended. The point of the song is shock value and to promote feelings of dread and nastiness (IMO). Like I said before if it didn't have the Hitler speech it wouldn't have the same effect. Obviously I wouldn't drive down to a barmitzvah (sorry if I misspelled the word) and crank it up. This is a retro-gaming music community with people that have played the game and understand what the artist was intending. At least that's my perception on it. Either way I think it rocks, and I appreciate someone going out of their way to fulfill someone's humble request!

Kamikaze Noodle

04-19-2003, 05:14 AM

Not as emotional as it could have been with better samples, but a lot worse than it would have been without the Hitler samples. That is, the Hitler samples make it better. I liked it a lot, but sometimes it seems like it just doesn't have the impact it could. Oh well, it's still a GREAT mix. Keep up the magic Mazedude!

AndrewDeluxe

04-19-2003, 06:07 AM

Well, I will say this, Mazedude has some big ones, he has guts to put it out. I consider the song quite seriously, because I think Mazedude meant it to be serious, so I gave it much deeper thought and criticism then any other song I have seen on this site. Obviously, this is not a bad thing, a song that makes you think about it and creates discussion over it, is pretty amazing in itself. I'm not backtreading from anything I said, but Mazedude did a very good job in creating a song that makes one think.

Ronyn

04-20-2003, 11:08 PM

I agree with all of the praise given, but I just want to make one point. A "requiem" is by definition a holy mass, or a tribute form...meant for mourning as much as remembering. I don't think the music sends a bad message, but that title might...

MassMedia

04-20-2003, 11:52 PM

great game, great intro.
great piano, great industial sounds, good strings

2 rants from me.

synth trumpets are killin me, all other instruments are awsome.
fade out end?

Ryan8bit

04-21-2003, 12:52 AM

Ronyn

04-21-2003, 01:51 AM

A requiem is mostly a song written for the dead.

That definition is a bit truncated to be entirely accurate. But it still begs the question: Why would you write a song "for" Nazis? The more diplomatic way to phrase that would be: A requiem is mostly a song written "about" the dead. But that still begs the same question: Why would you write a song for or about dead Nazis? Mazedude's music answers this question well and in a positive way. So please, I hope no one interprets my comment as opposition, but calling it a requiem is a contradiction. I've never heard a requiem that was written to villify, in fact the very opposite of that is what every requiem I've ever heard is; I've yet to hear a neutral, informative, non-biased requiem. I won't argue the case any more; I think I've made my point. I'm just concerned that others won't hear what they should hear in this piece simply because of its title, which is needless to say silly (the listeners not the title).

Hessian

04-21-2003, 02:57 AM

i'm something of a history buff, and i plan to study history in college next year (as well as military science in the context of history later on).

You know that military science is an ROTC program, don't you?

world war 1, in my opinion, was just a war. yes, it spanned the globe, but it was really about german militarism going out of control.

I'd have to say that WWI was an example of everyone's military going out of control. Last year, I did a term paper about the assasination of Archduke Ferdinand and the Treaty of Versailles, and for the week while I was doing that paper, Germans, Austrio-Hungarians, and Serbians chased me in my dreams.

I admit that I have a bit of German pride (hence "Hessian"). However, I am ANTI-anti-semetic. I hate Hitler and anti-Semitic Germans, and I'm not a big fan of the Palestinians, but that's for a later discussion. I also hate Hitler because Rachmaninoff (a Russian composer who made me cry twice in the same song, pick up Vespers in the Classical music section of your local record store) died in 1943. I doubt he died because of the nazis, but the fact that that's when he died doesn't help.

jwhyrock

04-21-2003, 03:46 AM

Regardless of what "requiem" means or how it's interpreted it's a pretty damn cool name for the song. The tribute to the dead could be for the innocents or for the nazis. Just pick whatever makes you feel better and enjoy the dang song. =) I am almost fluent in German so when I get a second I'll try to translate the words that Hitler is saying. Sometimes it's tough though, because the accent and the language itself is much different now than it was then. Also it's a sound bite from an old speech so the clarity is tough. Remember though that a lot of the germans you're referring to were caught up in the whole war machine as well. Just because a lot of people were racist doesn't necessarily mean everyone was. The nazis weren't a race, but a facist political party. A majority of them were soldiers following orders. I think that the requiem should be for all of the deaths (except the evil racist bastards...).

G-Crazy

04-21-2003, 04:08 AM

Sorry, this is my first review as a member here at OCR, I just want to say that Mazedude's remix is an emotional masterpiece. Hitler did what he believed to be right for his country, you cant deny that he was a powerful speaker, in the remix you can hear the power in his voice. I'm pretty sure in the beginning he says something like "all say HAI", but I dunno for sure. Anyhow, despite Hitler's pros and cons the remix is great. Very touching....and militaristic. There's a great feeling of loss in the music.

Ryan8bit

04-21-2003, 09:00 PM

That definition is a bit truncated to be entirely accurate. But it still begs the question: Why would you write a song "for" Nazis? The more diplomatic way to phrase that would be: A requiem is mostly a song written "about" the dead. But that still begs the same question: Why would you write a song for or about dead Nazis? Mazedude's music answers this question well and in a positive way. So please, I hope no one interprets my comment as opposition, but calling it a requiem is a contradiction.

"Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead" was technically a requiem. It wasn't the Catholic holy kind, but it was a requiem nonetheless. A song for the dead that celebrated the Wicked Witch of the East's death. Not necessarily praise. It doesn't have to be praise to be a requiem.

Ronyn

04-22-2003, 01:44 AM

ella guro

04-22-2003, 02:14 AM

Please stop using the Review boards to argue about the goddamn title, people. Nobody's going to change it, and nobody cares about the inaccuracies inherent to the title. Discuss the song, not the title.

I agree with him there. Continue your discussion in a pm or something else, please.

Ryan8bit

04-22-2003, 02:42 AM

That's circular reasoning, you can't define it as a requiem just because it fits your definition. "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead" is technically a showtune. Please point me to your references that say it is a requiem; I would owe you an apology if this was true.

All I go off of is the definition given at www.dictionary.com. Nowhere in there does it say that there is respect for the deceased. It just says it's a hymn, composition, or service for the dead.

Ronyn

04-22-2003, 05:03 AM

???

Strange, I don't see Cuddly's post, oh well. I don't see how discussing the title is any different than discussing how much we all liked the game or how much history we all know, but I guess discussing a "pro-nazi" title is irrelevant. I am right on this, sorry to say, however hard it is to swallow or however little you care. Dictionary.com also defines a symphony as "An extended piece in three or more movements for symphony orchestra." but anyone educated in form knows that that is hardly adequate information to write a symphony. Such is the case with the form requiem. I really don't care that you guys find my protest irrelevant. If you introduced this piece as a Nazi Requiem to the public, they would instantly villify its composer, because in that context it sounds sympathetic to Hitler's regime. That is relevant, and I'm sorry I have to come out with it bluntly, but dropping subtle hints seems to have only angered people who can't wait to flame someone. If there's any sensitivity in your bones, please change the name of this song, pride is an aweful vice. I will post no more on the matter...

AgentRdy

04-22-2003, 09:07 PM

Wow... this was great. The original wasn't much... this mix brings back the good ol' days of Wolfenstein that Dad used to let me play when I was only 6 or so. I still remember the cool little zombie level with that crazy doctor. Fun game, excellent remix. Adds more depth than was capable on computers back then; I probably would have died on the game a lot more from lack of concentration if I had been listening to this during. Wow... sad and depressing, yet something I can still dance to! Great :!:

jwhyrock

04-23-2003, 01:45 AM

Not only is your little protest irrelevant, but it's obnoxious and petty. I'm not knocking this site in any way, but I would hardly say that this community is the "general public". We're all gamers and a lot of us have played Wolfenstein 3D. Those of us who have "any" knowledge of the game realize the game is about killing nazis not celebrating them. The song is along the same lines. It's a very sad and regretful piece powerfully emphasized by Hitler's speech. We realize you're ultra-sensitive, but you're obviously barking up the wrong tree. An artist has the right to entitle his works any damn way he pleases. In this case it was a very creative and powerful name for a very cool song. Tell me, do you boycott films like Schindler's List because they might depict a part of Nazi Germany. The war is over. History has already been written. Deal with it!

Ronyn

04-23-2003, 05:30 AM

Actually I'm studying for my history final as we speak. :) When you said the war was over I wasn't quite sure you were right but I checked my little booky-poo and lo and behold you're right. Yes, Schindler's list was a beautiful movie, I've played the violin solo for ASTA festivals. Yes, Wolfenstein was a fun game. I'm not sure how to respond to your post though, it doesn't seem that you understand what we're even talking about. (I gotta stop reading this damn thread, I can't seem to resist stopping people from flaming me for no reason; no more! Flame away!).

InverseRainbow

04-25-2003, 02:28 AM

To think, the background music used to be one of the songs I hated most out of Wolfenstein. ^_^; It's really amazing what a good remix can do. It's definitely a sad song but it still has some hopeful tones to it - I really like how it mixes that all together to give it a feel, and not just leave it as a flat, boring piece of music. This has inspired me to try my hand at a few remixes myself. ^_^;; That sounds stupid, I know, but hey - inspiration is found anywhere. Right? ^^;

05-22-2003, 09:14 PM

What a great song, though my friends may give me odd looks, as the first thing on my fifth CD is Hitler yelling. That aside, I like what was done with Wolf3d. This music is sad, not so much about-to-cry sad, but lonely and desperate, and I think that this mix captures the desperation of Wolf3D, the fact that you eat corpses to survive. Quite a good mix, I can recommend this one for a softer, slower pace.

Weirdboyscott

05-25-2003, 07:09 AM

I'm sure its been mentioned before, but good god I love the way the samples go with the song, it reminds me a lot of Hell March from Command and Conquer Red Alert, only orchestral.

wormstrangler

05-31-2003, 02:23 AM

This reminds me so much of the Evil Dead 3: Army of Darkness theme song.

Superb job.

metal_dragen

07-11-2003, 04:14 PM

I'm new to the board and the site. This will be my first post and first review.

After reading the comments above, I have to agree that this is an amazing emotional piece of music. The inclusion of quotes from Hitler's speeches adds a lot to the overall feel of the song.

The mix of orchestra and techno beats really drives the song. Perhaps my favorite type of music is this - one that mixes classical orchestra with techno/electronica. Graham Revelle and Rob Dougan are two of the more prominent in this style. You can convey so much more emotion with an orchestra, emotion you can't feel with a guitar, or a driving bassline. The song has a very sad feeling to it, causing reflection, and remembrance.

I believe that the inclusion of the Hitler quotes helps to put the song in context. We have this sad song, but what are we to be sad for? We hear Hitler's voice, speaking to his army, and we reflect about what that man did to the Jews, and the world, and we feel the emotion in the song.

I do believe that the use of requiem in the title is a bit misleading and may be even inappropriate. And that's all I'll say on that matter, as I believe it has been discussed to it's conclusion.

In response to some of the posts above, the mutants in the game, while extrapolative, and while the creators have taken some creative liberties with history for the context of the game, are based on historical fact. Hitler and his Nazi regime were experimenting with mutations, both genetic and chemically-induced.

If you are a history buff, and would like more insight into the horrors of some of this, I suggest you read the book Auschwitz, which was written by a Holocaust survivor and tells of his story while in that prison camp. He served, while in the camp, as a sort of aide to Dr. Mengele, who was Hitler's primary "research" doctor ( and I use the term "research" very loosely ), meaning that he was primarily responsible for the mutation experiments, in which he gathered sets of twins, little people, and other examples of naturally occuring genetic anomalies, in order to further his research.

Siegfried

07-13-2003, 09:51 PM

Hi this is my first time to, and I thought ill say a few words on this peace. Its a very piece because it is very moving and makes you think of wat A.Hitler did (if u rearrange those letters you get The Liar bit of info 4 u and its true, really he was) I wouldnt mind a remix of this remix without the speaches so I could listen to either I dont mind the talking its just sometimes I just want to listen to the tune on its own :P .
All in all a very moving piece

dig1tal

10-31-2003, 03:47 PM

that's some powerful shit.....great job!

AR81

11-02-2003, 12:42 PM

Impressive remix, quite epic, quite sinister due to the speech.
It shows how pro the remixer has gone and it would fit even for a movie.
Could he do some remixing of other tunes of the game?

The Orichalcon

11-02-2003, 01:01 PM

There were no other tunes.

chokst~1.bat

12-20-2003, 08:22 PM

Could he do some remixing of other tunes of the game?
There were no other tunes.
Sure there are. Here's some of the midis from Wolfenstein 3d:

http://www.angelfire.com/id/choksta/music/zipped/wolfmidi.zip

This song is so great, and emotional, and powerful, and great, and bla bla bla yadda yadda...
For the record, when I first heard this Mazedude track; I didn't like it, and it took me awhile to get past some of the strange mechanical-style drums (they would have been cool for one section near the end; but the whole song?), and how some of the extra stuff in the background was mixed together was weird (like that Young and the Restless style Piano that plays through the whole song; and the string arrangements that are introduced at 1:39). The high strings that also played in the original (0:46+) were really touching, but I found that they sounded a little too screetchy and/or whiny when they hit the really high notes.

There's obviously ALOT of creativity in this this song (if you listening to the original "Wondering About My Loved Ones" and compare), and it's great to expand upon short songs to give people more to look at; but I think this remix is kind of decieving... as it's close enough to the original in some ways that the additions sound more like they're trying to battle with the original stuff than blend in together with it. For some reason, parts like the bridge at 2:20 make me go "NO!!!! WHAT'S GOING ON?!? WHAT HAPPENED TO MY GREAT WOLF3D SONG?!? AAAAA!". I always had a vision of a lovely choir singing along to those high notes too, but having that timpany melody in the right ear was really nice.

The part at 3:15+ is awesome, and I think if the song was played more true to the original in other parts (like no panned robotic drums until 2:20; adding a different kind of atmosphere there in it's place... for instance) - than the ending section would have been so much more rewarding and crazy when you finally got to it. I don't know, maybe I'm just a crackhead and have no idea what I'm talking about... but I just wish this song focused on making the touching mood of the original more prominent than it was; atleast for some sections. But hey, I guess this is what Mazedude was in the mood to create... and I'm eternally thankful he did a remix of a Wolfenstein song, and put so much detail into his artwork; either way. So, thanks Chris; great work - I think! *scratches his head* lol. :)

I'm new to the board and the site. This will be my first post and first review.
Woah, that was pretty sweet venture into the remix and the history of World War II you wrote there. Thanks for that interesting read man! ;)

Protricity

01-17-2004, 07:16 PM

This song is the most powerful song I've ever heard. One of my favorites on this site as is Mazedude. All his shit is an inspiration.

Just great.

Scuba

03-06-2004, 06:45 PM

I don't know what it is, but this song scares the crap out of me. Possibly because of the clips of Hitler in it... one of those dramatic, adventerous songs, make's me look back on the past of what happened. In technical terms, this remix sounds very nice, the electronic sounds go well together with the more (realistic?) sounds in a weird sort of way. Very good work by Mazedude.

Dionyseus

05-07-2004, 08:27 AM

I love this remix, I can't believe I just learned about it just now! 5 out of 5 stars, 9.5 out of 10. The Hitler clips are too cool and matches the theme of the song perfectly. Make one about Stalin;)

Kaelor

06-23-2004, 06:24 PM

The ambience... definitely the most serious OC ReMix to date.

The most chilling part for me was at 3:15, listen again for it.

Jasoco

06-23-2004, 07:53 PM

This has been one of my most favorite Remixes for a long time now. Ever since November. It's absolutely moving and has such a feel to it.

It's right up there with the Beyond Good and Evil Frame of Mind remix. 8)

Royal Sovereign

07-15-2004, 05:18 PM

Deliciously creepy, implaceably melancholy...this mix is daring in all respects. Using clips from "Triumph of the Will" was an inspired touch, as well. As a World War II buff, I can tell you this mix gave me cold chills -- and that's a good thing. VERY well done!!!

Babysoft-chan

07-18-2004, 01:14 AM

What can I say? This was and is a terrific remix! I've even got my dad hooked on it. Placing parts of Hitler's speech in it created a perfect effect to the song, and makes me kinda jealous. ^^;; Anyhoo, I love this. Way ta go. ^_^

killthrush

11-15-2004, 08:47 PM

Heil Mazedude!

Very solid track overall on all levels. The Hitler samples were an especially nice touch. (Good lord, does THAT sound wierd coming out of my keyboard...)

It's not my favorite track on this site, but it's in my rotation no problemo.

8/10 overall.

Txai

11-29-2004, 06:45 PM

The most chilling part for me was at 3:15, listen again for it.

I agree...

This remix is very reflexive because of historical factors.The Hitler voice explains this...

Nice stuff. Good orchestra.

Green_Ogre

04-24-2005, 11:00 PM

Dude, that was fucking sweet. Even better than the game's version. I'm listing to it and at first I hear hitler, then I hear the music. And I'm thinking, Oh damn, this is gonna be good.And it was.
But I don't get the chilling part at 3:15

Verdox

05-01-2005, 12:42 AM

Incredible man, That brings back memories of playing Wolf3D.....Cant help but feal slightly mesmorised by this song. Only thing I want to know is what that gibberish was at 3:15 right before the music started playing again.

Zenth Relin

05-01-2005, 05:17 PM

Maybe I'm (tone)deaf or something, but I don't hear anything unusual (for the song at least) at 3:15. Two, deep strings, followed by "Heil Hitler!"

Charredbeef

05-27-2005, 06:46 PM

To me...3:15 sounds like a cheer.

*shrug*

But nonetheless, an awesome mix, gotta love his work.

Nilore

06-22-2005, 01:00 AM

I think the Hitler clips in this were a good touch.

Silvite Gafgar

07-18-2005, 08:56 AM

Good stuff. Anyone who finds the Hitler clips disturbing is shallow, I hate "that mass-murdering f--k-head" more than anyone else, and I don't find them disturbing in the least. They set an ambience that goes along perfectly with the theme of the song - the sorrows of war.

Also, Dionyseus is correct - someone should do a Red Alert mix about Stalin.

The Orichalcon

07-18-2005, 11:19 AM

I hate "that mass-murdering f--k-head" more than anyone else, and I don't find them disturbing in the least. They set an ambience that goes along perfectly with the theme of the song - the sorrows of war.

Also, Dionyseus is correct - someone should do a Red Alert mix about Stalin.

That's a fairly shallow thing to say. But you're right about the way they add to the ambience. After all, the voice clips didn't cause the holocaust, the man did.

FoxtrotTango

07-25-2005, 07:15 PM

This song was DOPE! You could visualize the soldiers marching down a ruined town, you could see Hitler giving his legions a pep talk, you could feel it in your heart. It was one of the most impacting remixes I've ever heard. Mazedude, please teach me just a minute part of your remixing knowledge, so that I may be able to become as great as you!!

Red Light District

07-29-2005, 05:14 AM

You sir, are daring.

FoxtrotTango

07-29-2005, 11:35 AM

Daring? Hahaha! I wish! I've been raised on video games & now they are all I know. I have a taste for cool music but I have no ability for making any. The reason I asked that is so that I may be able to at least find out more. If you don't ask, you won't get an answer!

DJ Pili

08-06-2005, 01:11 AM

With this song, I could actually picture Hitler (that public-car-driver-faced b******)giving speeches, and those Nazi soldiers in uniform. Actually, I like that uniform, but not its colours.

FoxtrotTango

08-06-2005, 03:34 PM

I like that hat with the spike on top. It's one of the coolest parts of the uniform. :D

Mernof

09-09-2005, 08:37 PM

Firstly: This post is just to plot down my opinion and I thought It'd be worth to do.
Secondly: Thank you for the translation of the audio used of Hitler.

I'll go on with this point (not really being coherent but bleh).
After all, there wasn't a whole big bunch of memorable music to that game, and what actually was there ran in five to ten second loops. how could anyone possibly do something good with that?

As I stumbled across the remix from John Romero's site I went across his Game Music page and pretty much taking any remix of any game I played. Scrolling down I came across MazeMan's remix. (I've looked around alot of OCremix and I've decided to get some background to the song).

As soon as I loaded the song on my media player I was introduced by the Heils of Hitler and the soldiers.
Piano is introduced with a marching snare. Mazeman used the next audio cut extremely well to then bring on the electronic drums, subtle strings and the dominant trumpet (which brings you the familiar melody which mazeman I presume worked the song round).

After using another heil from the soldiers, Mazeman introduces more strings to give more layering to the piece making it more of an orchestra still based round the eletronic drums. The strings emphasize emotion, the eletronic drums keeping the retro feel.

At 1:30 the single string note leads us back into the marching snare with the piano again using the audio clip MazeMan brings us back into the full song again. This time however the strings are more lifted and at the end of the bars the strings travel down and the tempo drops.

Once again the piano is introduced with eletronic drums, and the strings are a more creepy and eerie feeling to them. Building up again Mazeman I believe makes this part his own. Dropping the tempo again and bringing us back into the original song.
Leaving us to a sad ending leaving an agressive speech.

Like I said this post was just a plot of whats on the brain. If you read it thanks ;D

Pikeman332

09-11-2005, 07:34 AM

Brought Back memories I played Wolfenstein 3d as little kid and all those hours of joy came rushing back like a flood.

The Author

05-28-2007, 07:16 PM

It took me a lot of time to figure out how I felt about this song.

I wasnt that much into Wolfenstein 3-D as a kid. And frankly, I found the Hitler samples disturbing. Even with no knowledge of german, I could feel the power in his voice. It never made it to my permanent mix rotation until recently. I'd like to think I matured a bit from the first time I heard the song. Now it is one of my favourite remixes here because the song itself seems to grow out of the videogame music genre. It is a powerful song which include quotes from a very influencial leader.

Great work, and even though I took a long time to come around to liking the song, I really enjoy it now.

Doomguy

03-01-2008, 09:19 PM

The sound was very well mastered. I thought of it in my (WIP) Memphis Belle fanfic which follows Mother And Country's last crewmen. The only problem is...:arrow::nicework:
Hitler. Sorry to sound immature, but being a true blood American and listening to this song gives me a strange chill. Overall- Stupendous. 4.999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999 out of 5

I like that hat with the spike on top. It's one of the coolest parts of the uniform. :D
Actually, the Picklehaube (Pimplehead) spike was only used in WW1. It was silly because the spikes kept getting plinked by snipers.

Bozlifyme

11-11-2008, 01:26 AM

I remember this time my dad walked in while I was listening to this song and he started yelling at me saying I was a Nazi or some shit. I just told him to shut up and listen.

Marmiduke

02-20-2009, 05:25 AM

Well, I guess it was inevitable that the second most recognisable human being of all time would end up on OverClocked Remix. As of 20th February, no Jesus mixes. I guess some areas are just off limits.
As for my thoughts on the music, I actually enjoy it quite a lot. The emotion that a lot of people have discussed totally missed me, I have to say. I didn't feel much of anything. Maybe it's because I'm cold and bitter, or maybe because the thought of taking Wolfenstein seriously is laughable. It's just like trying to write a touching drama fanfiction based around the characters of 'According to Jim'. No matter how much talent is there, what's already been established remains imprinted. Also, the music seems just a little too upbeat and full to be considered heart-crushing or tearjerking.
That's not to say I don't like this. I really like it. I just like it for different reasons. It's a dark remix, but it's also slightly fun. Much like Wolfenstein itself. Just like in Wolfenstein, we believe Hitler himself could be behind every corner, down every corridor. But maybe, just maybe, he's in a mech. Tongue in cheek stuff like that is what Wolfenstein is all about, and there are traces of it here.
As for the clips themselves, I can't give a valid opinion on them. For a university project two years ago, I was given the task of cutting together a piece of music out of the Hitler speech in this mix and Korobeiniki (better known as the extended Tetris theme). I listened to the speech hundreds of time, and I'm sad to say I'm completely desensitized to its meaning. No fault of anyone's there.

I've written more than I wanted to, so I'll just say that as a sum of its parts, there's a lot of talent and a lot to enjoy here. But I also think the polarity in this board is understandable. Noone should be offended by anything in this mix, of course, but there are certain things that don't gel based on various issues with the subject matter.

metalsnakejuice

05-18-2009, 03:25 PM

Well I thought this song was brilliant from beginning to end.

Loning

06-01-2009, 06:25 AM

I've been listening to music on this site for well over six years. I always come back to this remix.

This song is very strong in portraying an image that is very powerful. It digs deep into your soul and forces you to remember the past and the images of war and power struggles. The dark theme helps to pull images from the game itself and also from our the history as it brings this piece to a vivid imagination that ties it to death and horror. The strength that this remix puts forth is what makes it a masterpiece, a wonderful piece of artwork in the realm of music.

Great work Mazedude!

Sir_Downunder

12-17-2009, 01:27 PM

Very depressing mix this one, and this truly conveys the sorrows that war can bring.

I found the voice in samples in this to be very strategically used, (of course, I'm trying to judge the mix alone. If I put my personal feelings into this, then I hope the is bastard is still burning in hell for his atrocities against humanity.) and the piano and strings really helped to give the feeling of almost overwhelming depression.

Very emotive, and a definite download.

Emunator

12-19-2009, 07:23 AM

I remember this time my dad walked in while I was listening to this song and he started yelling at me saying I was a Nazi or some shit. I just told him to shut up and listen.

I've been reading over most of the review threads that I've posted in so far, but this is the best comment I've come across so far :<

As for the mix itself, the voice samples are used tastefully to great atmospheric effect, and the rest of the mix is equally worthy of such profound soundclips. The samples are a bit dated but you can still get an appreciation for the kind of mood Mazedude was going for. The strings that come in around 1:40 really clicked, that was wonderful.

I really like this, it's one of the few instances where the vocal clips aren't a nuisance and instead actually contribute something to the overall meaning of the song.