OCR00535 - Super Metroid 'Four Little Metroids'

[orkybash]

Super Metroid 'Four Little Metroids'

As a general rule, anything from AmIEvil is worth getting, and that definately applies to this medley of sorts, covering (surprise!) four Super Metroid tracks. And (surprise again!) all four sound great, perfectly in line with the mood of the game - at times ambient, and at times rocking. Not much else to say other than "Get now!"

[Xaleph]

This is a definate 10/10. Get it, great transitions, great appropriate voices, great rhythm, great overall feeling, great originality, great everything... get it even if you hate supermetroids =D..

~dj carbunk1e

[Ebonyks]

AmIEvil's masterpiece. It's smooth, origional, and just works so well together. Good job! 10/10

[Fieari]

Don't judge a book by its cover. Don't judge a movie by its posters. And for the love of all things pleasing to the ears, don't judge a remix by its title!

I must regret to admit that I did that last one. But now I repent! I repent indeed! "FourLittleMetroids" sounds... flat to me. It sounds like a bit of kiddie music... child's play. Not serious music. And so I never even downloaded it until today, when I decided I just had to have some more metroid music, and kiddie stuff be darned, I'd listen to it anyway.

This track is NOTHING like I imagined it from the title. NOTHING. If I was asked to say what one thing I would change about this mix, I would pick that you ditch the title and find something more appropriate. My friend standing over my shoulder suggests "BloodScrotum"... but I think that would be a bit over the top myself. Since the title is set though, all I can judge now is the music. And this... this my friends is perfect.

I mentioned I was looking for metroid music. The beginning of this little medley destroys any doubt that this might not live up to the name Metroid. The first thing I thought when I heard that slight throbbing noise at the beginning was "Oh crap... that's what a metroid sounds like in real life. I know they don't really exist, but that's what they sound like anyway!" If you've heard the fiendish creatures in the actual games, and then listen to this, you'll know what I mean. It takes the ESSENSE of what you hear in the games with limited sound processing, and turns it into something truly frightening...

And then it slowly puts in some shinning tones that I can only describe as "stars". In other contexts, you could call it crystalline, but this is metroid. We're looking at stars here. This put me right into the mood of the piece as a whole. Once I was irreversibly sucked into the piece... no... sucked into this WORLD, AmIevil evilly throws some distortion guitar at my head. The echoy... clangy... metallic sound thrusts the image of a rusty heap of a junker spaceship into my mind, complete with leaking pipes and cramped corridors. If there's a piece of music that can draw about the IMAGE of entering the first level in the first Metroid for NES, this does it. And there are these thud sounds that give you the sensation that there's something alive down there, and it's not friendly.

And then we get into the heart of the music! The scene is set, we've got a gun, a powersuit, and breasts*. We're going to kill some alien scum all the way to 2:40!

The action adventure music ends. Piano kicks in. Lonely, solo piano. Mournful. Creepy. Dark, dangerous. And then a flute adds ambience... sewer music. Brooding. Cramped. And you can SMELL the mildew and slime in the air. It's all put into this music right here. 3:35 brings sounds of your computer, scanning for life forms. Then, BOOM! Back to the adventure!

The scene is set, we've got a gun, kill the blasted critters!!

The guitar here really adds to the piece. Its shrill notes propel you through the soggy caverns with a forceful power that makes you (ok... maybe not you. But me at least) get up and run, shooting vaguely octopus looking aliens as I go!

I mentioned earlier that the only thing about this mix I would change if I could suggest it would be the name. That was while I was still listening to it for the first time, I was only halfway through. Now that I've gotten to the end, I have one more small thing that could have made this track better: an ending. As it is, it ends with some clicky noises that remind me of alien insects, which is good, yes... but I want a rehash of what we just went through. I don't want it to end right here! If you aren't going to add more melody, go back to the old stuff, and mix some variety in or something... and then let me down gently! You've started me on this epic journey and given no climax! I want a climax darnit! End it AFTER we've slain the evil space pirate hoards, not BEFORE!

Now I have to go find a song that has this mood, and contains a climax, so I can feel satisfied in returning to the real world. I was DRAWN IN dammit! Now I have to kill the bad guys or THE DAY ISN'T SAVED! Does anyone have any recommendations as to where I can go? Because for right now, all I can do is put this in WinAmp on repeat, and just stay here, never leaving.

Ah well... it's not such a bad fate, when you get right down to it. Endlessly blasting away the bad guys...

Here's a set of scores I made up on the spot.

Metriod Look And Feel™ - 100%
The "Oh Crap the Metriods are going to SUCK MY LIFE OUT!" factor - 94% (-6% because I'm sure I have that freeze gun around here somewhere...)
Epic Quest - 98% (-2% for not having swords)
Annoying Labyrinths - 70% (I beat metroid eventually... but that doesn't mean finding my way around identicle looking corridors wasn't annoying!)
Pnumonia - 80% (Damp sewers are bad for the lungs. Fortunatly we have breathing units installed in this suit!)
Big Guns - 100% (Oh yeah)
Title - 10% (ick)
Climax - 10% (there really wasn't one...)
Predicted Repeatability - Three weeks nonstop. Then it'll get played when WinAmp finds it on random.
Overall - Kickass!

*I don't actually have breasts. But Samus does, and that's good enough for now.

[krispy]

I lub AmIEvil's work alot, thatnks to him I have become an ambient fan and this is one of the reasons. It takes the holow feeling and lonnlieness of the game with an awsome piano and some rocken synthsand throughs it into a medley that is just awsome. If your an ambient fan get, if your a metroid fan get it, if your niether then get it anwyas I DONT CARE. Easily gains a 10/10 for me.

[Samus Aran]

Excellent remix! :)

Well, Fieari summed it up, really, but in not so many words:

When I first heard this mix I didn't like it all too much. I'm used to remixes being just "music!", so the beginning SFX kinda threw me off. But now I listen to it again and realize that it's perfect. Like Fieari said, that's exactly what a Metroid would sound like. ;) The variable pitches in the beginning add to the creepiness factor. Very cool. I think what AmIEvil did at 1:35 was pure genius: Layering the Metroid theme on top of the Super Metroid Brinstar (green area) music. It works so great. Brilliant!

Then, after all that active music, everything stops at 2:40 with the Rocky Underwater Area Maridia music. This is my favorite music in the game; if you want music to set a mood, it's this Maridia music. And it does. Very nice transitions, too. The poco roll. at 3:40 resembles a sonata or something, neat. :) And the ending music piece is really cool, it sounds like it could accompany the green area of Brinstar.

Overall, great mix, it does Super Metroid music great justice.
Personal rating: 9/10 :)

[skawttieboy]

I personally really enjoyed this mix...kind of a medley going on in a sense....which gives me, the listener, a feel for different parts of the game....I enjoyed this one a lot. Still do...great remix! :)

[Woffester]

Intro = 1337
You = n00b

p3ri0d.

[BrettUltimus]

The mp3 is good, I was really getting into it... then, something happened in Maridia. I can't put my finger on it, I mean, the music was good, I was in the music as a story book... Maridia is kind of where it started. Then the ending, I have no idea, that just pulled me out. I suppose it didn't match, or something of the sort. The beginning through Brinstar was a good touch though. I was in it, I really was. Good work. 8 out of 10 stars.

[Vig]

Great high quality stuff. my only complaint is that it really doesnt vary too much from the originals.

but it sounds great, especially the intro.

note: i dont recognize the last movement. wheres it from?

[Mario Buu]

Great...just great. Now I just feel as if I really DO have a metroid sucking at the back of my head. This peice is another simply stunning song. It horrifies you from beginning to end, making you want more. Its everything any song in any horror movie/game wants to be, plus more.

More then once when I was listening to this song did I look over my shoulder to make sure nothing was there, which, to my luck, there wasnt. If you ever want to know horror in the game metroid, you must listen to this song, it even gives you what the game couldent, the knowledge of what the metroids sound like. You feel as if YOU are Samus Aran herself.

Play this peice in the dark, for a truely stunning affect, making you wonder what is lurking in the shadows by your closet. Yes, this song truely does play tricks on you. This is another song by AmIevil that you MUST download...you have no choice in the matter.

You wont be disappointed either, and once you hear the song, you wont be thinking about four little metroids floating around any more. You'll be thinking of one, very LARGE, metroid, hunting you down, until of course, you find the save room.

[Samus Aran]

Great...just great. Now I just feel as if I really DO have a metroid sucking at the back of my head. This peice is another simply stunning song. It horrifies you from beginning to end, making you want more. Its everything any song in any horror movie/game wants to be, plus more.

More then once when I was listening to this song did I look over my shoulder to make sure nothing was there, which, to my luck, there wasnt. If you ever want to know horror in the game metroid, you must listen to this song, it even gives you what the game couldent, the knowledge of what the metroids sound like. You feel as if YOU are Samus Aran herself.

Play this peice in the dark, for a truely stunning affect, making you wonder what is lurking in the shadows by your closet. Yes, this song truely does play tricks on you. This is another song by AmIevil that you MUST download...you have no choice in the matter.

You wont be disappointed either, and once you hear the song, you wont be thinking about four little metroids floating around any more. You'll be thinking of one, very LARGE, metroid, hunting you down, until of course, you find the save room.

It's great to know I'm not the only one who really 'gets into' listening to songs like this... :mrgreen:

Seriously though... this is the coolest post I've read all month. 8) If I ever submitted a mix here, a post like this would undoubtedly be the greatest compliment... :)

[Valhalla_Steed]

YAY!!!! I like this medley. I would have to say though, it does kinda drop off at the end, although I do find the transition to Meridia to be simply stunning.

I always liked the music for that section of Meridia. I used to play this game and purposely just jump around shooting monsters in this area to listen to that music (I never actually got the good ending).

I think that AmIEvil did an excelent job on this piece. Oh yeah, I don't really know where that last movement is from either. Anyone know where this is from?

But overall, really well done. I must say that this song is for anyone who knows a good song when they hear it. It really captures the mood from Super Metroid. I didn't really have a problem with it's name either. Definitly worth the download, even over a (pardon the redundancy) slow modem connection.

Give it a chance and you will not be disappointed.

[MonkeyDRufee]

this is the first amievil remix i have listened to...and five seconds later i'm scrambling to get the rest of his songs. this is one amazingly well done song. metroid fan or not, this is a must get. a great submission to the music community. keep up the great work amievil.

[Domukaz]

Aesome, awesome, awesome. AmIEvil does it again with a massively immersive experience. I'm listening to the ReMix as I write this, because I find it hard to remember all that's great about any one remix. Love the pulsing throb in the intro, makes you feel like something BIG, NASTY, GELATINOUS, and HUNGRY is right behind you. The Brinstar section seems to sound more like Samus is exploring a ship that's wrecked but still dangerously active. More like she's dodging and hiding than fighting, in my opinion.

Then Maridia comes up. THE most ambient and creepy part of the remix. Sounds like it belongs in the Wrecked Ship, or a crypt. Computer noises. Here's the "Let's kick some butt!" part comes in. The computers have calculated the full extent of the wreck's infestation, and Samus is going after the Metroids with a vengeance! Left, right, missile! FREEZE, buster! Flip back, and let loose a barrage! Oh no! Here comes a Hyper Metroid! Will Samus survive!? Will she kill the Hyper Metroid? TO BE CONTINUED....

Obviously, the remix is very epic and immersie, perfectly nailing the mood of Super Metroid: frightening and exciting. Definitely one of the best mixes on the site for its use of SFX and arrangement to immerse the listener. Congrats once again, Mr. Evil!

[m68030]

You I got a kick out of listening to this mix after I had completed my
Maridia remix when I realized that we had used some of the same
patches, I belive.

Great stuff either way.

[NSR::Neko]

This remix is godlike. That's all there is to it...

The ambient effects and deep pads in the intro establish a calm mood, before it blasts you away with an action-packed Brinstar rendition, which calms back down to Maridia, and then jumps back into the action again. Really, this is a remix of epic proportions, and it should be downloaded by everybody... its just unbelievable.

And yes, it is somewhat horrifying if you really picture it deeply enough. ^_^

[kirbenvost]

Godlike indeed. 8) AmIEvil must get in some really dark moods to produce music with such.... evilness. Hehe, I suppose that's where he gets his name. :lol: Anyways, I love this remix, so dark and very, very cool... the beginning especially. :D Hehe, and the end. That was wicked. :o

Edit: hmm...upon further listening...the unusual effects and creepy little glockenspiely-melody sound near the beginning remind me a lot of Radiohead. And then it just breaks into that wicked bass and beat and that chorus-like pad. Awesome. I just can't say enough how cool and talented AmIEvil is.

[Millman]

I...I just don't know what to say. You all can thank AmIEvil for making me an OC fan in the first place. Right after the Legend of Zelda "Rabbit Join Cover", "Death on the Snowfield" was the second ReMix I ever d-loaded from OC. I didn't think AmIEvil, or any ReMixer could get better than that song...ever!

But I stand here today, corrected and dumbfounded. Four Little Metroids (which I downloaded because of the cool name, mind you)has to be one of the most innovative ReMixes at OC. With the weird metal saw "wooble" sounds in the beginning, followed by echoing bells playing those three infamous Metroid notes, I got hooked. At 1:00 when I heard that almost-vintage, record player, screech, I nearly cried. That, though very, very eerie, is beautiful! The rest of the song has a cool, groovy beat, nice changes in tempo, and covers four amazing Super Metroid melodies. This...if I ever visited Zebes, this song would definitely be playing in my head all the while. God-sent. Without a doubt this mix gets a 10/10.

[OstrichBoy]

I must say, I agree with all the positive feedback already said about this remix. It is definitely one of my favorites and we all owe AmIEvil for this great track.

A perfect 10.

[RimFrost the Tourianist]

very cool medley , and evil indeed ..everchanging themes from the orignal tunes which by themselves were great ...good professional stuff :wink:

[Graeme Shaw]

Seems to me the last movement is a VERY nice variation on the Chozo Chamber (whatever it's supposed to be called) music. You know, the ones where you get weapons and whatnot? Very very nice. Puts the capper on it.

My rating, 9.5/10--only because I too wanted to feel the killing of Mother Brain after rushing through the whole planet! This is my second post, I'm really only posting about songs that are incredible (and I'm going through every single OCR)

[schwagnah]

This feels so much like an adventure or action sequence in some futuristic movie. I like it a lot, but in my opinion, it is not even close to Aml's best. I think it has Hollywood production type values in it, and it would really work well there.

here, It's nothing special.

7/10

[jordex]

I think this is AmIEvil's best song on the site

The beginning really builds an atmosphere, then there's that interesting bass drum rhythm and then ah Wow! At 1:00 there's that effin' awesome sounding instrument!

But then it quickly jumps into a faster paced section

At 2:39 theres the nice suttle piano with a soothing flute. It starts to speed up at 3:33 with some cool electronic sounds in the back then a groovy beat comes in with an awesome melody

AmIEvil has done some songs that aren't too impressive but this is definatly not one of them. Kudos AmIEvil, too bad you're never around any more

[Liontamer]

Could have used more activity overall rather than this spartan approach. Beats coming in at 3:47 dragged this down, but aside from that, this was surprisingly impressive on the interpretation side.

[Audity]

Liontamer complaining about beats?!

Anyway, here are my thoughts.

The introduction is slow, but not annoying. I can say this because the whole song has some very cool parts that the listener is likely to anticipate throughout the whole song, as soon as he or she has heard it once or more. I can also say this because this song's intro is a really nice break from all these action-packed songs I've been hearing recently, making FourLittleMetroids just so happen to be suited well for being situated within an audio CD.

Either way, the whole song flows nicely. As for the eerie sounds & strings which approach our ears at 1:00, I can't really say they're incredibly awesome anymore, but they haven't gotten old after all these listens. It's likely the most memorable aspect, causing listeners all over to easily identify this song.

Starting the song, the first meaty section chimes at 1:35 in with Brinstar. Except instead of chimes, AmIEvil implements well-mixed, well-panned choir, and a pulsing/grating lower-ended spectrum, with its clear bass and percussion, and a barely noticable, strange electronicy bongo sample drumming to Brinstar's harmonic melody. Back to the voices: they sing high quality into my ears. Everything's synthesized, yet is the epitome of an OCR, sans liberality in the melody/progression (barely even needed, given the numerous structural and transitional difference). To no one's dismay, the song isn't over yet, and eventually gets to a point where liberality does get introduced, further sprucing up its structure. Keep reading to find out! (Or just listen to the song.)

The choir melts away, 2:05 comes in, and I'm not enjoying this mp3 as much, but what can one do! Oh, not much but maybe soften up the EQ a bit, and make it not so repetitious and grating with the piano, etc. Or even just make it cooler sounding! But wait, we are soon granted this request at 2:39 (cool transition here), sans (sans!) the coolness, with a true Maridia sound. In retrospect, it's a seemless transition, but, regardless, the piece is at a point where its conservative temperament begins to weaken my attention span. Mayhaps I should be grateful to this, due to it possibly being a plot construed by the Possibly Evil one? For soon at 3:32 my boredom will be washed away, and an excitement, ten times greater than any one prior, will shoot up my spine, at the same time straightening it as well as my mind....

...The tempo slows a bit, dynamics build, respectable, eerie electronics enter the planet's hallways, the speed returns to normal, a brief, beautiful reverb ripples itself within the walls, and we're off to the best section, 3:47. Play it loud, please. My only curiousity is why the bass stays the same. I wonder if subtle (progression?) changes besides the ones already applied (getting louder, etc.) could have made the song more moving.

Oh, wait, now play it really loud, because the song's best sample introduces (literally---it sounds like it struggles at 4:00, quickly breaking free to openly spray its funk) itself. Hmm, it's not much of a spray, but more of a super-soaker's cylindrically pressurized liquid flowing through a filtered nozzle. And that means something good I think. Now I'm wondering if this melody is from any Metroid game. 'Sounds like it is not.

The crime here is that the best sections are so short (however, I can make up for this by the fact that I can listen to this ending infinitely). I need more similarly unique samples! Unfortunately, we are soon met up with the weakest sample at 4:28, though it has its charm. I guess. At 4:31, the background chaotic noise really goes by noticed, ascending a potentially horrible sounding section up into an interesting flurry of semi-ending. Because I enjoy the whole song, it's fine to listen casually, partially due to the mixing levels of the combined samples. But when analyzing, I notice the same old bassline, and the same old melody, and an ending that could have been better-thought out. Maybe the author found out his true identity to be one of Evil tendencies after discovering a pandora's box of quality samples, and then decided he had better things to do with his time, like destroy insecure ReMixer's n00by songs. Truly an evil heretic.

Overall while listening, I am thrown back and forth between a groove and a deep-thought-ed peace of mind. But sometimes people need just the groove (with more chord-progressive variety)! And sometimes they need just the peace! But luckily most of OCR just likes Super Metroid, so why shouldn't they have yet retrieved such a concoction of mysteerie?

(Hah, it's pretty funny. Back in the day I used to have similar thoughts as other reviewers here, regarding the imagining of a surreal environment, while listening to this mix particularly. The conjured images were quite vivid, but now this ReMix is just a cool little song thing. Oh, well; so much for imagination. Luckily I still remember an image I thought of when listening to this song. If I had super artistic skills I could post an image for everyone! But I can't do that, yet you could say it was something akin to the ruins inside a recently sunken Titanic, except more grey.)

[HoboKa]

5 out of 5 stars and three thumbs up...er something like that

[Dionyseus]

Everytime I hear this song I'm reminded of Emotion Control from the Dune: Spice Opera album (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune:_Spice_Opera ), that must be why I like this one so much.

[OA]

Damn that violin is overly detuned- It certainly got my attention, but not really in a good way. It sounds like an especially reverbed and delayed recording of a kid just learning how to play. Things improve once the beats , synth, and piano come in, and the breakdown afterwards is good, but not super compelling. There is a deep ambience with this track, but overall I wasn't feelin it; I think that violin at the beginning colored my perception of the track too much. Sorry dude. :-(

[CaptJono]

I love the beat for the BrinStar section at 1:35 to 2:40, I've been looking for the full version of that song forever!
The whole song was put together very well, you can tell a lot of effort went in to this one.
Great job!

[SubNormal J3]

Another great classic Metroid ReMix. It compliments Yamamoto's already cinematic score. Love the opening sound effects and instrumentation. Great buildup at 1:30. Nice laser sounds at 3:35. I can't pinpoint the source of the last section, but it closes the mix well.

[Mr.Coneman]

My favourite track from the OST, and you have remixed it in a really imaginative and really cool way. Excellent work, the synth work in particular is very very tasteful.

You don't stray too far from the original, but you definitely took your own path. Excellent work.

[sergio]

Mr.Coneman, your comment makes no sense to me; this is a medley?