OCR01687 - Mega Man 2 'The Annihilation of Monsteropolis'

[djpretzel]

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

[Joseph Collins]

At first, I thought this was just another generic remix. Ya know... NESkimos or Minibosses-style. Guitars and heavy drums. Boring stuff like that. Then I heard the lyrics and decided that this was indeed worth listening to after all.
The lyrics seems to carry a message of loneliness, shining an altogether different light on Airman in general. No ego. No will of his own, to a degree. A force of destruction and a machine made simply to terrorize Neo Tokyo. (Or "Monsteropolis", as per the US manual.) This is what he was built to do. He wants to defeat anyone who comes near him...but he also wants the freedom his clouded realm seems to promise. He doesn't want to be a minion forever. He wants to fly. But he knows he can't have that, so he kind of snaps and just decides to carry out his programming in a rather extreme fashion.

I guess the song is a bit of a contradiction in and of itself if you listen to the lyrics, but it's pretty good altogether. I think it's worthy of a Japanese music video a'la "You Can't Defeat Airman!" or "Omoide wa Okkusenman" and I think it's worth listening to as well. Nicely done!

...now make a Springman remix. X3

[Knives]

Kinda reminded me of the Beatles for some reason. Cool remix.

[Dhsu]

I think it's safe to say this is the first time I've been moved by the lyrics in a video game track, arranged or otherwise. Bravo, guys, bravo.

[AMT]

http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?image=airman1rq6.jpg

This is an awesome song, the lyrics rock. The bridge at 2:40 is really well done, I absolutely love it.

[Scaredsim]

Oh YES, The megas !!! Awesome work here, that's totally how I could imagine lyrics on Megaman II. Rock on.

[SwordBreaker]

Nice, nice. Interesting lyrics. Nice singing. Meshes well with the Air Man melody. Love the screaming towards the end...very SOAD. Love the guitars and drums, guys.

Thinking of checking this album out.

[TheMegas]

Thanks for the kind words, all... we really appreciate the support. This album was a long time in the making, and it's awesome that people are really responding to it.

Just FYI, we've got more tracks up on the front page of themegas.com, plus an extra one at myspace.com/themegas. Enjoy!

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Wow, very clean and tight performance, nice lyrics, great mix.

[Palpable]

Sweet mix. I wish it popped out more, but I thought the new vocals added a lot to this, very personalized. Definitely checking your other stuff!

[BlueMage]

Hahahaha, I've got a less-polished version of this somewhere, when it was just entitled "Airman" and because I couldn't find it again afterwards, I simply attributed it to Random Emo Band. Good to have a newer version, with a name to put to it too.

Strangely though, some elements of the first version shine more than they do in this one. I note expanded lyrics though.

Good enough for me, it shall take the place of its predecessor 'pon my music devices.

[OA]

Great production; it's super crisp and great separation. Vocals sound good throughout, and the guitar playing is great, during the guitar solo, the fast run (you all know what i'm talking about) was played so cleanly I thought it was synth guitar for a second. Nice work guitar dude.
The breakdown was the best part, with the coolest vocal harmony,and the biggest hook in the form of the spoken part. Super catchy and very compelling.
My only real complaint is the comparably weak ending, but I think it works decently enough for the style, since it segues well into the deafening cheers of the fans who are watching these guys live.
This track is a pretty strong argument to pick up the entire album. Very nicely done. :-)

[Dafydd]

Haha. The singing wasn't... really to my liking, it felt like the lyrics had too many syllables to give the melody a good rhythm. But that megaphone thing was awesome. Lyrics deep enough to drown in.

[BardicKnowledge]

My copy of the album arrived today, and it's awesome -- I had to order it after hearing this track. All I can say is congratulations...it's brilliant work all around.

[Kizyr]

"Do you know what it's like to be built this way?
With only the power to push others away?"

Those two lines make the entire song worthwhile.

But yeah, this is an incredible song. I've been listening to it non-stop. Often vocal mixes have something that seems like it could use more work (vocal quality, lyrics, timing, etc.), but this one I think was great all-around. Not to mention the lyrics put a real different spin on Airman.

I don't think the song would fall into the emo category, though... unless it'd been about Cutman from MM1. ...too easy, sorry.

EDIT: Getting the album now... If their other tracks are even half as good as this one, it'll be well worth it. KF

[Platonist]

wehey!
another singalong OverClocked Classic!
the lyrics and arrangement in melody are superb :nicework:

though i would like to hear a properly mastered version of this one
the overall volume level is really low

anyway, nice first mix you guys! :smile:

[Black Mage]

The muffled voice in the some reminds me of The Protomen.

[ZealPath]

It's a great song and an amazing album overall. If you like Megaman music you owe it to yourself to grab the full album (for a measly $10), it's really quite excellent. I've almost always disliked when remixers try to add lyrics but these guys make it work, each "man" is given their own sort of bizarre personality and it doesn't come off as cheesy at all.

[Jaybell]

I will flyyyyy hiiiigh aboooove monsterooopolis!
And I'll raaain terror down on the general populace!

God, I love that section so much. The spoken parts are very well done. Awesome mix!

[Martin Penwald]

At first, the vocals came off as pretty emo-band-sounding to me, but after two or three listens, I got used to them and was able to appreciate the song fully. The guitar and drum work is very good, the lyrics are great, and the spoken part is brilliant.

I agree that the volume is too low, though.

[Kizyr]

The album came last Saturday. Man, I'm really glad I got it; I've been listening to it nonstop. The Annihilation of Monsteropolis is till my favorite theme, but Bubbleman's theme comes a close second on account of the lyrics.

I really hope The Megas plan to release much more stuff, and maybe submit more remixes, in the future. KF

[KogeJoe]

I thought the track was great.

That is, until I heard the lyrics...

:tomatoface::tomatoface::tomatoface:

It was all going real great. Nice instrumentation, familiar melodies...

But why do arrangers/remixers feel they have to ruin a completely good track by adding their corny lyrics? Couldn't they save it for original works?

I've already gotten a private message to stop bashing lyricists or I'll get banned. But this is as tame as I'll get.

To all those with bruised feelings, take a look at this:

http://ljconstantine.com/column9.htm

Nothing personal, it's just what I think, OK?

Just make good music next time. :<

[Liontamer]

I thought the track was great.

That is, until I heard the lyrics...

:tomatoface::tomatoface::tomatoface:

It was all going real great. Nice instrumentation, familiar melodies...

But why do arrangers/remixers feel they have to ruin a completely good track by adding their corny lyrics? Couldn't they save it for original works?

I've already gotten a private message to stop bashing lyricists or I'll get banned. But this is as tame as I'll get.

To all those with bruised feelings, take a look at this:

http://ljconstantine.com/column9.htm

Nothing personal, it's just what I think, OK?

Just make good music next time. :<

As soon as you went the "If it has lyrics, it's automatically ruined" route, it just confirmed your close-mindedness and the worthlessness of the comments. Saying "yeah, some good instruments...BUT WHY DID YOU RUIN IT WITH LYRICS?!?" and the even dumber "just make it good next time" is still an purposefully insulting and offensive review.

[Dafydd]

You could just complain about the lyrics themselves and not the fact that the song has lyrics. Lyrics aren't always bad. Also, this song would be pretty boring without them, since the whole thing is pretty vocal-oriented. Do you want to take out the vocals, or just the lyrics? Would you prefer humming?

[Dhsu]

To all those with bruised feelings, take a look at this:

http://ljconstantine.com/column9.htm
All feedback should include a "why." Whether it's what is working, and why, or more importantly, what's not working, and why, it's the why that actually is useful.

Do not rip apart a writer's work just for the sake of being deliberately cruel. No one learns anything if they're so pissed off they reject your feedback out of hand, and if you're grandstanding just to puff up your own ego, you're wasting all our time.

Why did you have to ruin a completely good thread by posting?

Nothing personal, it's just what I think, OK?

Just make good posts next time. :<

[TheMegas]

If you're not a fan of lyrics, you'll find 2 tracks on our album to your liking.

Unfortunately, those tracks clock in at 0:18 and 0:10 apiece. 'Tis a shame that the other 35 minutes aren't for you!

[Leliel]

I rarely feel the need to chime in on a song (q.v.: post count) but yeah, this is _extremely_ well done. I've never heard lyrics fit into a Remix as well as you guys have managed here. Eyeing that merch page now. Kudos.

[Antanaraxia]

To take such a familiar song and to have the stones to put lyrics to it, bravo. It just flowed and not once did I forget that I was listening to a VG song. Great mixture, I'm gonna check out the rest of your stuff.

[Tethys]

I just got that "I am my own biggest fan" joke. Classic.

[Elrinth]

I love this song :)
I'm not to fond over his voice, but it's ten times better than I sing so it's all great... The lyrics are really great at times and at other times, not as good.

- My fav part is:
"Do you know, what it's like to be built this way
with only the power to push others away"

The drumworks in the song could definatly be improved. The pace of it sometimes goes from slow to fast at a not so brilliant place.

As for the song as a whole: Highly recommended, and I just love it.

Their metal man remix also rocks ;) "Welcome to my level, my name is metal man, I throw metal blades from my metal hands. I dance around with style and finess, better watch out for these blades or you'll end up headless"

[Marmiduke]

This is awesome.
it definitely succeeds in creating a blaring rock rendition of a Mega Man classic, and also developing a lot of personality at the same time through the lyrics. I always find sympathetic perspectives of villians really interesting, so the mix (and the album) was always destined to be right up my alley.
While I wish the sound and the vocals could have been richer, what's here does the job well. It plateaus in intensity quite early, which isn't exactly a problem, especially since it is capped off with the terrific accompanied spoken section. It provides a nice ending and incorporates the build structure that the majority of the mix lacked.
I would say the end section is crucial in allowing this mix to be more than just well-produced rock with some conceptual garnish. I'm pleased that it's much better than that, as I'm sure a lot of people are.

[bjnartowt]

To me: I don't know how this ReMix achieves "being so emo that it's not emo", but it does. Every time I hear it, I want to dance and laugh at the same time.

[42]

As a semi-direct consequence of this, I went out and got the rest of the album and haven't regretted it. :razz:

But this (and the rest) are truly awesome songs. What I love is how they greatly expanded the robot masters' personalities, turning Airman into a pained being bent on destruction because of how his design curses him to live a life of forced solitude.

This is one of those mixes whose depth of enjoyment isn't just limited to mere musical arrangement but to the philosophical expansion of a personality of a character, in this case Airman from MM2.

This piece comes so highly recommended.

[rahmoon]

I heard the acoustic version of this...and I have to say, these guys are the real deal. I personally like the acoustic version better, just because it conveys airman's sadness remarkably well, but you really can't go wrong with either of these works. Good job, Megas! I hope you guys make an acoustic version of each album you release, the vocal work is really solid and I love the harmonies you guys throw down.

[Jaybell]

I hadn't listened to any OC ReMixes for ages, and just this evening I've been perusing random ones, and I stumbled back upon this one which I used to listen to all the time, and it still sends chills down my spine.

So: yeah it's pretty awesome