ReMix:The Legend of Zelda "Link's Underworld Pressure Cooker" 4:23

By wRenchpilot

Arranging the music of one song...

"Underground"

Primary Game: The Legend of Zelda (Nintendo , 1986, NES), music by Koji Kondo

Posted 2001-09-02, evaluated by djpretzel


wRenchpilot ends a fairly long drought of Zelda ReMixes with this submission, a mechanical retooling of the underworld theme, that begins with a rising arpeggio that is built on and built on and built on, towards a climactic ending that layers some wild distortion in a very tasteful and inventive fashion. At first I thought the drums too minimal, but he builds on those as well, when at 55" he brings in more syncopated and distorted drums that play nicely with the cleaner sounds across the stereo field. The name is very appropriate - the structure and cumulative nature of the track do a lot to build up the feeling of claustrophobia and pressure. A nice and deceptively complex piece.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Drachefly
on 2014-06-30 13:50:28

I must have a LoZ-Dungeon-shaped hole in my heart since the loop never gets old for me. But I can really see why it might drag for others...

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CyberSkull
on 2014-06-29 00:30:49

I like this ReMix. I think it really goes a ways towards capturing the tension of the dungeons in Zelda.

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bobby1983
on 2011-09-12 05:56:13

alot (most) of these LOZ remixes are very boring but this one is great! thanks

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MechaFone
on 2010-05-28 17:02:09

Repetitive. All the way through. But I like it. It's like it's giving the listener the point of the song, and it layers that over and over. Not much for someone who's looking for more, but I like this song just the way it is.

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Marmiduke
on 2010-04-05 02:59:09

Okay, so it's almost too easy to pick on this for being repetitive. And make no mistake, I'm giving this one low marks because of it. But I'm also here to defend it.

I can understand this mix in the way I can understand other examples of ultra-repetitive loops (I'm a fan of videogame music, which should speak volumes). The amount of time spent droning on that same loop actually pays off once the small amount of variation starts to enter in at the end. It's like light at the end of the dungeon, so to speak. There's meaning to the madness in this one, I believe, and I think it belongs here on OCR.

However, it is such an annoying song. It is more annoying than the source, because I find the source much easier to set aside and lose focus on. There's something about the loop that seems awkward and unfitting that the original seemed to avoid.

I didn't like the looping cycle at all, and that's pretty much what this mix is about. So I'm not a fan. I think it's more than a straightforward remake, but the margin is quite tiny. Lots of room for improvement.

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rchrdcrg
on 2009-01-01 15:17:14

OMG... does anyone here happen to still have a copy of Gannon's Hollow? I'm the guy who wrote it, and I lost my only copy of it years ago... if anyone still has it, I'd be eternally greatful!

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OA
on 2008-10-03 12:17:56

I hope you like the dungeon theme, guys, because you are going to be hearing it a lot with this track. There are some effects that come and go to have each variation *slightly* different from the one before, but really it just goes on and on.

Sorry, i'll pass. :-(

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Chaotic Descent
on 2006-07-09 08:51:23

that flute at the end was way off-tune. in some parts it doesn't sound too bad being off-key with the rest of the song, but I wonder if it changes keys and becomes more off-tune at some parts, because it seems worse.

I liked the sound of it before that though. At least it was good enough that I didn't care about repetition.

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lady zelda
on 2006-01-15 16:52:52

Okay, so maybe it could've gotten more variation, but at least there is some extra icing on the cake i.e. you've got this single tune that prevails throughout, but you still have other cool sounds that build and build to this complex mixtutre of stuff at the end and it still keeps its composure and the main tune is never lost, which is good. The beginning is fun, it gets you into the mood quickly at least.

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jordex
on 2005-04-30 02:36:39

No... I'm afraid this was a terrible song, far too repetive and the drumloop and all those effects the artist tried putting in just got annoying. The guy's probally producing some quality stuff now but this older song is just awful

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Hitman
on 2005-04-30 02:30:22

the drum beat was good, it could have been shorter but overall it was a good song

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Kemusabi
on 2005-04-17 21:25:21

I don't know if it's my deep rooted heritage into Zelda or something else, but this is my favorite song I've heard anywhere.

I play it in the woods on my ipod at night, and trust me, it's fitting.

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SynthesizedStampede
on 2005-04-17 18:17:37

This is a good remake of the Zelda 1 Dungeon Theme. The sounds fit the mood perfectly, yet, I have to agree with everyone else in saying that it is repetitive. By around 2:26 it got quite "boring" because it was the same thing we heard just a minute ago, and at that point I think you should've just faded it out or added a bridge or something SIGNIFICANTLY different. Good stuff tho. 7/10

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MrNemo
on 2004-08-30 18:59:44

There is something about the sound choice, as well as the repetition, that just seems to work well. The pad-like bass and the bottom end in general makes the song sound menacing. Pretty cool stuff. I can't say it is repetitive. There is some dissonance that helps the buildup at the end that I really enjoyed.

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Kapuran
on 2004-07-06 17:15:46

I love it, this song just blows me away. Zelda is sweet, and this song just picks it up to a new level. The way the song ends is sheer brilliance as well. I give it a 9.5/10

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
The Legend of Zelda (Nintendo , 1986, NES)
Music by Koji Kondo
Songs:
"Underground"

Tags (8)


Genre:
EDM,Experimental
Mood:
Dark,Spooky
Instrumentation:
Piano,Synth
Additional:
Time > 4/4 Time Signature
Time > Tempo: Fast

File Information


Name:
Legend_of_Zelda_Link's_Underworld_Pressure_Cooker_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
4,290,116 bytes
MD5:
812d3df2ed3f0f0463bc2ab1693dd2f1
Bitrate:
128Kbps
Duration:
4:23

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