OCR01008 - Final Fantasy VII 'Of Transformants and Brevity'

[djpretzel]

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

[The_Clover]

What I love most about this piece is its ability to capture that exact same distant, creepy, dispondent feel of the original while presenting it in a whole new manner.

I love the guitar riffs, and the whispering, humming voices that at times said nothing, but were used as music itself.

At points this piece sounded very Diablo-esque during parts were it was almost all guitar. Which shouldn't be too surprising, as Diablo (especially the first) always tried to give that creepy feel. But of course, this piece itself has a bit of Diablo-like moods in it.

I'd say my only dislike with the piece is the ending. THe heartbeat is great, it's not the sound, but the fact it seems to cut off too soon. It get's loud, fades down, and then just stops. I might have done a slower paced heartbeat, gradually becoming slower until it stops.

And then sometimes the whispers seemed to not be completely in line with the rest of the music, but as I've only listened to this once, I'm sure it'll become more clear to me with a few more listenings.

Overall, a great piece. It's not really a song in the sense of what's usually put out there, because this piece has a more artistic feel, and it's been awhile since I've listened to a good piece of art.

On that note, this piece kicks ass, Van Gogh style!

[The Berserk Fury]

This mix sounds a little strange. I dont like it.

[AarowSwift]

This mix sounds a little strange. I dont like it.

This mix sounds a little strange. I like it.

[Psycrow]

He's different! Let's get him! *leads angry mob carrying torches and pitchforks*

Zyko had some unique and enjoyable stuff on VGmix, including "Woods of the Invertrix" and "Of Darkness and Legend"-- this is up there with the best. Sometimes I get the impression that he doesn't actually put much time or effort into his mixes, and sometimes that's good and sometimes that's bad, but this one seems a little more well thought than some of his others and is definately interesting.

Zyk I think you should do a little cleaning up to "Of Darkness and Legend" and submit it here :)

[The Orichalcon]

mmm not my style. I like the tune it's based on, but it's not really a song in my books. It's more like background ambience or something along those lines.

Still nicely done.

[Ramaniscence]

Once in awhile, a remix comes along, that captures the true essence of the original, and take it to a whole new level feeling and atmosphere, that you can really just say "Man...this should be what the in-game song was."

If I'm correct, and I'm pretty sure I am, this is the music that plays in the old cruddy run-down ShinRa Mansion in Nibelhiem. With this song you can actually visualize what it may have been like walkin' through the mansion. With the creeking floor boards, and whispery winds and what not. Most specifically, it adds a spooky, ambient sort of feel that seems like something right out of Diablo II.

This song gets....

:twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :nicework:

5 twisted smileys and a Nice Work Guy for good measure!

BRAVO!

*thumbs up*

Me = outty

[The Orichalcon]

If I'm correct, and I'm pretty sure I am, this is the music that plays in the old cruddy run-down ShinRa Mansion in Nibelhiem.

It's actually Vincent Valentine's Theme as far as I can tell. The music that played in the ShinRa mansion was an alternative to Sephiroth's Theme, with the Bells & heartbeat sound.

[tofugoast]

Yeah, it's Vincent's theme...By the way, am I the only one that thought the ending was appropriate? I kinda like the jarring effect; it's almost as if the heart just..stopped... :twisted:

I have to commend Zyko on being the first (if not the first, the first in a long time) to make a musical piece that actually made me think about it afterwards...almost as if I'd just listened to a story. I guess that is why I liked the ending; it didn't need to fade out, it needed an ending...and a creepy one. :wink:

Overall, this is amazing; especially on a technical aspect. Not sure if I'd listen to it repeatedly, but I definitely think this is an achievement.

[elroy]

It's totally different from anything i heard before from here, and i liked it lots. The low sounds did sound like whales except there were no high pitched screeches like whales do. But it's brilliant. I really dig experimental/alternative music that defies the definition of music.

[ella guro]

This is cool. Not much else I can say besides that. Nice guitar, nice reverby effects...it's definitely not something driving or uplifting, but it's great "flowy"-type background music that also kind of evolves like a story. Nice work, zyko.

[JTD121]

I'd really like to know what song this is a ReMix of...Anyone have any ideas?

mainva | aptigo | JTD out

[Eccles]

Yay Vincents theme!
Im not too keen on the intro, but when the acoustic guitar gets in, THATS when it gets good.

The humming is great and really captures the ambient feel of the piece.

Im not a huge fan of when the guitar gets filtered and distorted...but thats not there much so thats okay.

Im not too keen on the crunching either...not entirley sure what its supposed to be, but it doesnt really do anything for me...nor does the low groaning/rumbling.
In fact now as I listen through again the whole of the overlayed SFX dont do anything for me.

And the heartbeat fadeout is kinda weird too.

Im not entirley sure what to make of it...its not something I could sit down and listen to but it would most certainly be good for a horror game soundtrack or something.

Silent hill-ish comes to mind...so if youre into that kinda dark ambient stuff then go for this one, but I can see it being one of those tracks where you either love it or hate it.

[DaleNorth]

very very very very very coool, and add a few more 'verys' for originality.

I think this is great stuff. Cheerz to Zyko for pushing the envelope- and doing it rather well.


for every person that dosen't like it because its 'different', you'll have others like me liking it that much MORE because its different.

[Disco Dan]

Ever heard Joe Satriani's "Midnight?"

Listen to that. Then listen to this. Or maybe listen to them in the opposite order. Actually there's more form to "Midnight" but some of the arpeggiated chords are done in a similar fashion.

Anyway, this is a really nice piece of work. Really ambient, but not synthetic ambient, which is what I personally am used to when it comes to ambient music. Sweeping synth pads that dominate, and nothing very natural sounding. All of this is very different from the norm and it definitely conveys a mood. I've never actually played this game, but this particular piece is nice without the in-game nostalgia. Very cool stuff.

D

[Fieari]

Very cool.... the whispered voices really added a lot to this. Very creepy. And this peice contains what a lot of ambient peices lack... coherance, where every peice contributes to a larger whole in a very effective manner.

I haven't played all the way though FF7 yet, and it's been a few years since I've even touched it, so I can't remember exactly when this plays in the game, yet I still remember this theme. Was it played in a town or something? It sounds like an empty, lonely village kind of theme...

I like this a lot.

[Annoxus]

You know what...I can't really decide whether I like this or not!

It's totally unique, and the experience is unmatched by anything I've ever listened to ever, but the song isn't really that catchy. It's not something I'm gonna be like "Damn, I HAVE to listen to that song when I get home", but at the same time, it's gonna linger on my mind because I won't be able to hum any specific melody or remember any certain part of the song.

So what can I say? Nice work I guess! You've done something I haven't seen in any music for the longest time, and that deserves a congratulations.

[Aeolius]

Avant garde is right. This falls somewhere between Steve Vai and Luciano Berio, experimentally speaking. If you dig those two (and need an FF7 fix), get this. NOW. If not, give it a try. You'll never know what you're missing in the wide world of noise, if you don't try new things.

I give it a big, enthusiastic thumbs up.

[Veovis]

very very very very very coool, and add a few more 'verys' for originality.

I think this is great stuff. Cheerz to Zyko for pushing the envelope- and doing it rather well.


for every person that dosen't like it because its 'different', you'll have others like me liking it that much MORE because its different.

very true. love it. i'd like to see more originality like this around here.
and i'd love to hear more from zyko.

[Zarla]

I approve greatly.
I've liked what I've heard of Zyko's stuff before, so I knew somethin like this would be very different and very cool.
I think this really captures Vincent in a way. That sad feeling, da kind of distance...it's so empty and yet ya hafta look really hard ta see everything...
I mean, just da lines "Save me" "I don't want to be saved I want to be sacrificed" is meaningful enough as it is. I can imagine Vincent walking, wandering da mansion, eventually getting shot and captured and altered by Hojo...
I mean, it really captures Vincent's story in a song, I think. I really like it. It's so eerie and sad at da same time...gives me goosebumps.

[GravFLux]

Captures the mood of the song very well while taking it in a whole new rarely travelled direction. I like.

Grav

[UltimaAvatar]

well other than having to turn it way up to hear, it was pretty good, almost sounds like you recorded this and left pink floyd on in the background around the beginning of the mix. i liked it but its real hard to pick the melody out right away. but i gotta say the guitar sounded cool, great job

[The Xyco]

The first half of the track honestly reminded me off the "Gladiator" soundtrack.

The ending was VERY eerie as well

nice work, i liked it.

[DarkPrimus]

This remix is quite different. That is a good thing.

It is no easy feat to make an ambient remix, much less an awesome ambient remix.

As djpretzel said on the remix's page, it is very envocative of Pink Floyd. However, up until the 3:00 mark or so, I was also reminded of the also ambient (and quite cool) song from Cowboy Bebop, "Channel 23". I doubt many would agree with me on this point, but the guitar parts seem similar to me.

The ending, however, is just weird. The heartbeat is cool and all, but I would have preferred something to allow for a good looping of the song.

Still, all in all, pretty damn good.

[Dinobot 2]

One word "Unique"

I also like the way it picks up around 4:30.

I love an oddball mix.

[Omnitrix]

I don't like the moaning, it ruined everything for me

[Scythess X]

I actually first got this song from the Vgmix forums a looooong time ago, and I'm so happy it got to OC!!

I can't say much else that anyone else hasn't: Zyko took a creepy song from a creepy atmosphere with a creepy background and amplified it all into a very great remix. The very first time I heard it, it sent chills down my spine. The name also adds to the affect. Very creative, unique, and all around a beautiful piece. It's to date my number one favorite remix.

Very, very awesome work, Zyko.

[Majin GeoDooD]

Wow.. just.. wow.. I can't really comment on anything about it besides.. "wow"..

I'm so proud to be a fellow member of TeamVirgo :cry:

[Flamewave]

Wow. Impressed. Such beautiful textures used. The way it combined gave me the creepyish feeling I got when I first played Diablo those many years ago... Desolation and suffering, I suppose. Only better than the D1 soundtrack in many regards.


Great work. :D

[EtherealXero]

Yes! Very Diablo-esque! Oh yes. hehe. Reminds me of those years I played Diablo 1 and crawled around in those catacombs. Hehe.

- EX / mAnicmoogle

[Paragon]

"Not a song", haha, some people.

This is a work of art, it's immediately been vaulted into my top five OC ReMixes.

[Domukaz]

Creeeepy stuff going on here. Hard to pick out a melody, period, but very interesting to listen to...weird laughing/hacking sounds, footsteps, those whispers...perfect for a horror scene.

I like it while I'm listening to it, but not after...the aftereffect is weird--it's like I'd be insane to listen to it a second time, but I listen to it again and enjoy the ambient horror of it.

Put a happy song after this on the playlist. You'll be glad you did. This is not a cheery piece at all. That said, enjoy!

[OmNiExiZt]

This mix sounds a little strange. I dont like it.

*Helps Kenshin escape from angry mob using secret waterfall passage. *Turns to him and starts to agree.* I still don't know what the hell I'm listening to, I don't like it, (personal prefrence) the sounds are decent though. But they don't seem like they're directed in any way to make a song. I may not be experienced in making music but I do know what sounds like nothing to me. :?

[ice_man_exe]

I'm not quite sure WHAT to think.

[RabidTurtle]

Creepy, dramatic, and overall disturbing. An excellently crafted gem. The periodic haunting voices made all the difference.

A haunted Tristram, anyone?

[Nigel Simmons]

:lol: That voice gave me a good chuckle.

[DrumUltimA]

beautiful

[Mooseka]

I love this song beyond words. I was listening to this before I played FF7, then I actually GOT to Shinra mansion. I ran to my computer, turned the sound on my TV down, and listened to this song with it. Incredible.

[Gren]

!excellente!
muy bueno!

[whiterabbit28]

This actually reminds me of Pink Floyd's CD A Momentary Lapse of Reason. What I really love about this is it really makes you feel the pain and guilt in Vincent's twisted heart.

[rshinra]

Reminds me of Queensryche

[Isk]

Count Floyd says, "veddy skeddy!"

Vincent's original theme is creepy royale but this is what it should have been. I actually got kinda scared at 4 AM in a quiet, empty house while listening to this for the first time, haha. Wonderful work.

[zyko]

i wanted to extend my thanks to everybody who commented, reviewed and/or emailed me personally about this track. this was a very personal and intimate work for me and i'm genuinely warmed by such a positive response.

for all those wonderin, yea its definetly vincent's theme. the piece is about dark places and the things that lie forgotten in the morbid shadows of rooms and minds... as is the rest of the trilogy, i suppose but "transformants" more so
know wats funny? pink floyd and queensryche happen to be two of my most prominent influences and over the course of my life have been amongst the bands i've listened to the most. i'm thoroughly flattered by their mere mention; they are idols of mine.

again, thank you.

~weed

p.s. Part III of Trilogy of Dark Places will be this year's halloween indulgence... the track is currently titled "Of Disparity and Reason" and is the final installment of the halloween-themed trilogy. The first two installments were "Of Darkness and Legend" and "Of Transformants and Brevity"

[Dhsu]

Reminds me of your EarthBound Hotel song.

...j/k ;)

Naw, really, this is awesome stuff. I haven't heard "Of Darkness and Legend" yet, though...where can I get it?

[Navi]

i love this one. its so brilliant in an experimental way. when it first came out, i had it playing non stop all night.

[Bruk]

zyk0 is teh manwh0re!

[Debotron-6K]

spooky.

I don't want to be saved

[Bruk]

Yeah, this remix totally kicks ass. Extremely cryptic and soulful. I wonder why zyk0 hasn't submit any of his other stuff yet. =o

[Keishii]

when this first came out of the judges booth, i didn't like it, but i think that i just wasn't in the right mood to experience this different kind of music.

the song will have to grow on me, but i like it better than the first time i heard it

[Veovis]

Just finished listening to it again. God, I love this remix. Chilling to the bone, especially the voices. Just thought I'd mention again how much this remix rocks! 8)

[Eric Cartman]

This is some fucked up shit right here o_O aside from Mustins "The Atomizer" this is probably the most insane arrangement on the site IMO. The atmospheric nature of this is great, this has to be one of the creepiest things I've ever heard. The composition is already very depressing and creepy but the voices make it truly messed up. Very good stuff.

btw, now that vgmix is back up are you going to put the other 2 up?

[Bruk]

Does anyone know what the moaning voice says? I can only pick out a couple things, as well as the "Save me......please....." "I don't want to be saved, I want to be sacrificed".

HALP

[Infinite HP]

Mommy...I'm scared...

[Sir Alex]

This song reminds me of how easily FF7 could have been turned into a horror game, and how good it might have been. The guitar work is very nice, granted, but also somewhat repetitive - the real ingenuity of the song is the way it constantly changes. There's always a new element around the corner, always something novel and startling or creepy. I can certainly see why people said it sounded like Diablo, as the guitar is the exact same style Matt Uelmen used for the soundtracks to those games. The overall feel, though, is somewhat less fantasy than Diablo, and more dark gritty vampirish. The first half reminded me of the Hellsing soundtrack, actually. Just... yeah. This be a disjointed review. You have to listen to the song. If you haven't already, do so, now.

[Babysoft-chan]

Oh my... I'm only 2 minutes into this and already I'm in love with it. So sad and beautiful. And I can easily find the pieces of "The Nightmare Is Just Beginning". A remix of Vinny's theme! YEAS! I LOVE IT!

But seriously, I like how everything seems melded together, and the whispers... Totally cool effect! I strongly recommend that any Vincent fans listen to this, because this was done so well! Not only that, it stays true to Vincent's personality. Guilty, confused and mysterious.

I have got to say, this is one of my remixes. Great work! ^_^

[Xerol Oplan]

Any chance of getting a "script" of this? Every time I listen to it I notice some vocals that I didn't before, but I can't exactly pick out what's being said.

This reminds me a lot of Bruce Cockburn's "You've Never Seen Everything" off of the album of the same name(2002 i think). Except not as long.

[Oruroku]

This is probably my favorite re-mix here on the site...this is, really, the ultimate remix. So different, so unique... I love listening to this, it's like a story is being told. There are different scenarios for each switch of pace in the song... Masterfully done. A very good song to begin with, too.

[the frantic melon]

this is such an amazing piece! i cry whenever i listen to it- it's just so unbelievably sad, so hopeless. it sounds like a nightmare. it may very well be my favorite mix on the entire site.

i've been working on finding out all those little whispery bits, and this is what i've gotten thus far:

There's nothing left
Leave me
Trust me and live
Don't leave me
There is no hope
No hope
There is only today
Don't leave me here
Save me
Please
I don't want to be saved
I want to be sacrificed
Shut up

if anybody picks up more, please do post it!

[Archaon]

Shut up

I could have sworn it was saying "Shinra", not "Shut up". Perhaps it's just a different part that I'm missing.

[dj muffin man]

It does sound wierd and strange I have to admit that but it's just the style of the mix it's still good i think even if it sounds weird

[mecca\]

Personally I'm more of a strings/piano fan, uplifting type stuff [Aphrodite Oceanus/Pearl Song anyone?] rather than acoustics, bit too solitary for my liking; however I was a big fan of the game, and its not like I dont like my eerie remixes ("There was a hole here" is incidentally my favourite OCR on offer). Still, it's an excellent attempt at a remix that is undoubtably difficult to remaster since the original is so, well, original :)

[ForestAngel513]

Wow, very creepy. The ending especially. It's more like something in your head than an actual song. The voices sound like they're about to scream any second. I like it a lot.

[Bass Clef Man]

Very cool, definately a lovely soundscape. Just one thing though-

Diablo, anyone? 8O O.o 8O

[Being]

Argh. For some reason I keep comparing these tracks to some of Ennio Morricone's guitar work in "Il Tramonto." However, this piece is more like the 2-headed baby of Morricone and John Zorn.

[IC]

For the most part this is pretty good, very moody.

But what...is...with...that...hiss?!?!

Was it intentionally put in there? Why?

(Near) constant whitenoise has never been a good thing in my book...

[Domukaz]

I was listening to the Stone Roses, and I gotta say the intro to "Made of Stone" sounds a lot like this one arpeggio from this remix. Though they're completely different tracks, of course.

[Bummerdude]

This is a very different remix, and maybe just because Vincent WAS different, I mean he lied in a box in a basement and preferred it to be that way. liked the guitar in the beginning, very sad and thoughtful, also Vincent in a nutshell. The groanings or voices maybe ruined it some, but this a descent weird remix that deserves your attention.

[Dionyseus]

Awesome

[about:blank]

This is great, I love the ambience, this song really reminds me of "ballet for a blue whale" by Adrian Belew. The heart beat at the end of the song made me think of "Dark Side of the Moon". I can't say that I've heard anything like this on the site, and that's definitely a good thing, it's very original in it's own way. The last remix I heard that had zyko's work in it was "Invertebrate Retreat" and that was brilliant, yet, completely different than this song, almost an exact opposite. Very interesting experimental piece. My only complaint is that there was noticable hiss throughout the song, other than that, it's very good. 7.5/10

[Scufo]

Wow...

This is...definitely unlike anything I've heard here as of set. And as such, it's very cool. It's kind of more ambiance than anything, but I think it's done very well. The voices are both creepy and compelling at the same time.

Very nice.

[undinesfire]

Haunting...
This is more than just a remix...this is art.

[Lumina]

I signed up simply to comment on this hauntingly beautiful piece of music. There's something about this piece that has the ability to bring out a sense of fear, yet intrigue. I've listened to it a couple times now and every time I find that the twists in the song surprise me every time. The helplessness of the " Please...", the sudden gasps for breath, and the painful moans are simply spine chilling. Vincent was one of my favorite characters of Final Fantasy, and this does him more than justice. As an artist I find this piece extremely inspiring to my work, and it puts me in the perfect mood to paint a very dark and gothic painting. This is different, but also a masterpiece in it's own right. It's easy to see that a piece like this will create a love-hate relationship among listeners, but you can count me to the love end. It's artwork in the form of music, and it's beautiful my friend. Stunning.

It's also " Shinra", not "Shut up." Listen carefully and you can definately make out the "ra" that sounds nothing like " up."

~Lumina

[LegendofSymphony7]

I don't believe it. Nobody else finds ties to Tool in this piece? That's what I was thinking when I first heard it.


Very wonderful piece, zyk0. Please, bless us with more awesome music.

[jelloegg]

I love this song. I try to listen to it at max volume so that I can understand the voices before the ones at the end. Does anyone know what those ones are saying? I know they're saying something, I just can't understand them. :puppyeyes:

[DramaNoMore]

Nice... Niiice... I had nightmares like this. I like nightmares. They test our strengths. Like tough love from our minds. I think i'll keep this.

[mananetwork]

The song reminds me so much of the original Diablo. The song brings back great memories of the game. Whenever it randomly spawns itself on my playlist, I love listening to it

[bjnartowt]

It might just be an echo of "saved"...

[sefirosu]

Sacrificed... Get your mind out of the gutters, mate.

Also, I'd like to echo what a lot of people have said, This mix is really haunting and kind of creepy...

It somehow found its way into my sleepy-time playlist on my iPod and I remember having a terrible nightmare and waking up to the heartbeat at the very end.

True story.

[Final Hero]

Sefirosu is right - "sacrificed" is what is said.

And this is an extremely creepy piece... I could totally see it being looped and played at a strategic point in a haunted house.

[OA]

A really interesting soundscape, with some nice guitar work. Weird that I find this to be more accessible than a lot of Zyko's other stuff, and though it's not really a style I'd normally gravitate towards, but i'm always interested in what kind of crazy cool stuff he has cooked up, and in this case, I really connected. Definitely check this one out. :-)