ReMix: Super Metroid 'Norfair Deathmarch'
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- Game: Super Metroid (Nintendo, 1994, SNES)
- ReMixer(s): Mazedude
- Composer(s): Kenji Yamamoto, Minako Hamano
- Song(s): 'Norfair Ancient Ruins Area'
- Posted: 2001-07-14, evaluated by djpretzel
A really evil-sounding track that marches relentlessly forward, with excellent dramatic percussion. Badass tympani and orchestral snare and some excellent backing parts all surround what might be the track's only weakness, a lead melody covered by a very synthetic choral patch. A real chorus would have made this absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. Of course, most of us don't have access to a real chorus, so it's understandable that when a composer decides a part should have a vocal feel to it, certain sacrifices are made. Regardless, a well put-together and demonically driving piece, well-concieved.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the Excellent percussion married to pretty bad choir synth, which dates
this severely. It's actually kind of strange how if you replaced
that one sample it would have a totally improved feel, as the rest
of the soundscape is completely different. Every other sound used
in this feels cohesive, so an updated version would be really
nice.
Otherwise it's solid, except for the abrupt cut at the end.
- OA on February 12, 2008
Otherwise it's solid, except for the abrupt cut at the end.
- OA on February 12, 2008
Well yeah, as far as i'm concerned it's definitely got its fair
share of SNES nostalgia. :) I feel much of the vicious intensions
as shown by the backing instrumentation as well as the overall
atmospheric touch here. I do have my reasons in saying that this
isn't necessarily Mazedude's best work, although it does work well
if you're a fan of the game.
To broaden the scopes further, I have a full writeup for this mix:-
---
[i]Remix[/i]
For much of the mix's structure it has high recognizable tendencies taken towards the source; can be shown to be a bit too reliable to it but it still has its own moments to make it work out. Some people may feel a bit quirky over the execution here; in the original the shifting chord progressions in the opening half of the theme showed the melodic riff going up by 3 semitones each time, however Mazedude has gone as far as bringing it up by 2 instead. This could stir up some people, however I actually like the idea behind it. That has helped to show some added creativity when it came to processing the theme structure alongside the ending, but outside from there I couldn't find much else to catch the audience's eye. For that purpose the arrangement structure followed the target material a bit too closely, although the climatic ending structure did have a good attempt at saving it here. It definitely succeeded for me in concept, although if anything could be improved there I would prefer to see the strings fade out at the end instead of being cut off at the end of the file. Going through here, while this isn't the most brash of Norfair interpretations in concept some of the tendencies taken to vary the theme around has made it fare well as a pretty good but conservative incarnation.
[i]Creativity[/i]
Aside from the different structuring of the melodic progressions I didn't notice much that seemed to take interest to me through this side of the track to start off with, so that can be seen as a moderately disappointing aspect on that field. Fortunately, the sections link together pretty well in maintaining the original’s known vicious atmosphere even through its rather conservative variation format. However because of that latter point, there's not much to consider "fresh" given its cover-like status although some of the backing instrument choices have managed to help vary the instrument selection on that field. Even through here, repetition can be seen as a moderate quirk for some given that some of the rhythmic performances seem to struggle to vary too much, although for some that just want a clean arrangement that shouldn't be seen as too much of a problem. In terms of the tilt factor it may fit well if you're a Metroid fan and want more characteristic listening, although in terms of fitting for the casual listener's attention I've seen some stronger efforts from Mazedude. It's not bad though.
[i]Production[/i]
Some of the ambient percussive sounds chosen were very good for what they were, although what I think seems to spoil it here is some of the MIDI-like nature on some of the sounds like the synths and choir sample. In terms of sound clarity, the sound channels feel a bit muffled thus showing minimal attention to utilizing EQs; I also wanted to see more reverb onto some of the melodic sounds to make it fit with the moody atmosphere it was looking for but for much of the time the processing on the sounds is okay. What I think killed the track more than anything was the encoding; there was definitely a lot of material going on, but at 128kbps all the way through it was difficult to sense many of which being able to stick out at its clearest form. The sound leveling is generally okay for what it was in terms of mix presentation, although one thing that I found as a light qualm is towards some of the melodic and accompaniment instrumentation - it sounds as if much of them are competing against one another on which should lead the entire way. Mind you, the panning has been realized well with the percussion space granted throughout, although here I personally wanted to hear some bolder texture work to be able to see it fit. So while I can say the production techniques aren't the best seen here there's some interesting concepts to be able to fit in the menacing tendencies taken towards that stage of the game. Not bad.
---
Bringing the track into a nutshell, it's got its moments to appreciate for the Metroid fans at heart as well as being true to the feel of the theme. What I think brings it down more than anything is its quirky production qualities and the rather conservative arrangement approach here; not quite something i'd look for in a mix, but it's understandable given that it's 4 years old.
Nonetheless, I found it to be an interesting blast from the past to take a gander into from Mazedude, and who knows; maybe in the future I'd see into a bit more of his prolific material :) I hope he comes back with another mix or two soon.
- Rexy on June 15, 2005
To broaden the scopes further, I have a full writeup for this mix:-
---
[i]Remix[/i]
For much of the mix's structure it has high recognizable tendencies taken towards the source; can be shown to be a bit too reliable to it but it still has its own moments to make it work out. Some people may feel a bit quirky over the execution here; in the original the shifting chord progressions in the opening half of the theme showed the melodic riff going up by 3 semitones each time, however Mazedude has gone as far as bringing it up by 2 instead. This could stir up some people, however I actually like the idea behind it. That has helped to show some added creativity when it came to processing the theme structure alongside the ending, but outside from there I couldn't find much else to catch the audience's eye. For that purpose the arrangement structure followed the target material a bit too closely, although the climatic ending structure did have a good attempt at saving it here. It definitely succeeded for me in concept, although if anything could be improved there I would prefer to see the strings fade out at the end instead of being cut off at the end of the file. Going through here, while this isn't the most brash of Norfair interpretations in concept some of the tendencies taken to vary the theme around has made it fare well as a pretty good but conservative incarnation.
[i]Creativity[/i]
Aside from the different structuring of the melodic progressions I didn't notice much that seemed to take interest to me through this side of the track to start off with, so that can be seen as a moderately disappointing aspect on that field. Fortunately, the sections link together pretty well in maintaining the original’s known vicious atmosphere even through its rather conservative variation format. However because of that latter point, there's not much to consider "fresh" given its cover-like status although some of the backing instrument choices have managed to help vary the instrument selection on that field. Even through here, repetition can be seen as a moderate quirk for some given that some of the rhythmic performances seem to struggle to vary too much, although for some that just want a clean arrangement that shouldn't be seen as too much of a problem. In terms of the tilt factor it may fit well if you're a Metroid fan and want more characteristic listening, although in terms of fitting for the casual listener's attention I've seen some stronger efforts from Mazedude. It's not bad though.
[i]Production[/i]
Some of the ambient percussive sounds chosen were very good for what they were, although what I think seems to spoil it here is some of the MIDI-like nature on some of the sounds like the synths and choir sample. In terms of sound clarity, the sound channels feel a bit muffled thus showing minimal attention to utilizing EQs; I also wanted to see more reverb onto some of the melodic sounds to make it fit with the moody atmosphere it was looking for but for much of the time the processing on the sounds is okay. What I think killed the track more than anything was the encoding; there was definitely a lot of material going on, but at 128kbps all the way through it was difficult to sense many of which being able to stick out at its clearest form. The sound leveling is generally okay for what it was in terms of mix presentation, although one thing that I found as a light qualm is towards some of the melodic and accompaniment instrumentation - it sounds as if much of them are competing against one another on which should lead the entire way. Mind you, the panning has been realized well with the percussion space granted throughout, although here I personally wanted to hear some bolder texture work to be able to see it fit. So while I can say the production techniques aren't the best seen here there's some interesting concepts to be able to fit in the menacing tendencies taken towards that stage of the game. Not bad.
---
Bringing the track into a nutshell, it's got its moments to appreciate for the Metroid fans at heart as well as being true to the feel of the theme. What I think brings it down more than anything is its quirky production qualities and the rather conservative arrangement approach here; not quite something i'd look for in a mix, but it's understandable given that it's 4 years old.
Nonetheless, I found it to be an interesting blast from the past to take a gander into from Mazedude, and who knows; maybe in the future I'd see into a bit more of his prolific material :) I hope he comes back with another mix or two soon.
- Rexy on June 15, 2005
A good remix, makes me want to play the SNES again. Have to nitpick
however that some notes are incorrect (in the descending sequence
by the lead instrument at 1:22 and 1:53).
- macboy on May 24, 2005
- macboy on May 24, 2005
Kind of reminds me of "Be Prepared" from The Lion King...ah yes,
those were the days...*ahem* umm, right...the mix. Its a great
redition of the original. I like the way it fades in. Kind of gives
a feeling like you are the character bearing witness to a humongous
army that doesnt know of your spying.
Samus walks her way through Norfair, then hearing something faint, but compelling nonetheless. She moves toward where the sound is coming from and comes to a small vent about a foot in diameter. She can see a large hall beyond the vent. In this hall, she witnessed the rallying of a massive army of space pirates, presumably preparing themselves epic battle in the near future. Some of them were banging on huge war drums, and others seemed to be chanting in a tounge unfamiliar to Samus. Her blood started to quicken as she realized she was in for the fight of her life.
-short part of a short story by Knightz OTR (sorry if I seem like a ham, this is one way that I show I really like a mix)
- Bren on April 3, 2004
Samus walks her way through Norfair, then hearing something faint, but compelling nonetheless. She moves toward where the sound is coming from and comes to a small vent about a foot in diameter. She can see a large hall beyond the vent. In this hall, she witnessed the rallying of a massive army of space pirates, presumably preparing themselves epic battle in the near future. Some of them were banging on huge war drums, and others seemed to be chanting in a tounge unfamiliar to Samus. Her blood started to quicken as she realized she was in for the fight of her life.
-short part of a short story by Knightz OTR (sorry if I seem like a ham, this is one way that I show I really like a mix)
- Bren on April 3, 2004
8O Holy crap. The minute I first heard this, I was shocked. This is
a great dark and sinister track. It's probably what they would play
if they space pirates captured Samus and were planning to execute
her. Definately going on my burned CD. 9/10
- Falcovsleon20 on March 3, 2004
- Falcovsleon20 on March 3, 2004
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, delicious, or that could be the pizza i'm
eating, but the song was good. Dark and moody, a keeper.
- Sammy D on June 23, 2003
- Sammy D on June 23, 2003
There are alot of reallt good Metriod remixes on this site but this
remix is only rivalled by DreamsInRed in my opionin. I can't decide
wich one is better so you should download both immediatly.
- ChickenFavoredCheesewizzy on April 20, 2003
- ChickenFavoredCheesewizzy on April 20, 2003
A REALLY AWESOME REMIX!!! Sometimes you listen to a song and you
think by yourself, damn I would had made the song just a little
different so it would rock even more. That's the case with this
remix. This is how the ingame sound should have been!!! Excellent
job!
- Prono on April 2, 2003
- Prono on April 2, 2003
I'm completely reminded of the baddies and their BGM in Lord of the
Rings when I hear this. Yeah. Villains. Totally cool. 8)
- dragonrider13 on January 23, 2003
- dragonrider13 on January 23, 2003
I found this on KazaA, which lead me to OCR. Very nice. One of my
personal favorites.
12/13
- Tongue-Tied Poet on January 15, 2003
12/13
- Tongue-Tied Poet on January 15, 2003
In retrospect, this is a good remix. However, now with the release
of Metroid Prime, combined with all new experience for Mazedude, I
would love to hear a revamped version of this (in better mp3
quality too please!). :D
- Kaleb.G on January 15, 2003
- Kaleb.G on January 15, 2003
Blew me away.
Now I want a recording of a real orchestra and choir doing this.
- NSR::Neko on November 27, 2002
Now I want a recording of a real orchestra and choir doing this.
- NSR::Neko on November 27, 2002
Definitely a creepy overture to the dark recesses of Lower Norfair.
This is Super Metroid's creepy and strong march at what is probably
it's best. A bit thick, though - I would have loved to hear a
section or two where the rest of the mix drops away, leaving the
creepy choir patch (which is very close to the sound of the
original, a nice touch) standing alone. Then, when the drums and
timpani kick in again, it would add to the effect. Still, awesome
rendition of one of Super Metroid's greatest tracks.
- mDuo13 on July 13, 2002
- mDuo13 on July 13, 2002
I agree: the title is excellent. I particularly like how you slowed
the tempo down ever so slightly, to let the mood sink in a little
more. The snare also adds to the "Death march" feeling.
Otherwise, I agree with Rob, there's nothing outstanding or noticably special about it. i recommend it for Super Metroid music fans who are purists. This is a true-to-the-game remix.
Personal rating: 7/10
- Samus Aran on June 25, 2002
Otherwise, I agree with Rob, there's nothing outstanding or noticably special about it. i recommend it for Super Metroid music fans who are purists. This is a true-to-the-game remix.
Personal rating: 7/10
- Samus Aran on June 25, 2002
Super Metroid 'Norfair Deathmarch'
I think the title for this mix is perfect. With that title, listening to the tune I can just imagine a huge group of monsters/soldiers marching off to war. Nothing remarkable or notable about the mix otherwise. Altogether a good mix though. 3/5
- Saunders on May 26, 2002
I think the title for this mix is perfect. With that title, listening to the tune I can just imagine a huge group of monsters/soldiers marching off to war. Nothing remarkable or notable about the mix otherwise. Altogether a good mix though. 3/5
- Saunders on May 26, 2002
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