ReMix: Super Thunder Blade 'Overdrive'

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Super Thunder Blade

When I hear 'Overdrive' I tend to think of distortion, and Beatdrop delivers some of that, but the raison detre of this mix is clearly a heads-on techno-industrial groove with a plethora of synth textures, both analog and digital. In fact, you could almost use this mix, which covers the meandering, chromatic Thunderblade / Super Thunderblade score nicely, as a textbook example of digital vs. analog timbres. There's some percussive, digital synths running arpeggios, a biting, gliding analog solo synth that is very, very juicy, and deep, distorted bass that's downright rude (but in a great way). Actually, the bassline deserves special mention - I love what Beatdrop's done with it, it really forms a solid foundation for the track. Interesting decision to bathe this track in a lot of reverb, which at times actually drowns out some of the sonic trickery and special attention Beatdrop obviously paid on this one. In general, the section from 1'28", which has a great rising filtered percussion bit and really gets a vibe going till we break for a digital compu-synth fugue at 2'34", kicks some booty. The afforementioned lead is the perfect sound for the track, as it rises above the mix and cuts throughout it, and does so on both sides of the mix with some tasty stereo action going on. In general, I would have liked a little less reverb, but that's only because I was so interested in hearing all of the juice Beatdrop had flowin' underneath the hood of this puppy. Very well-constructed, technical mix, with discrete sections that each have at least one salient characteristic that makes them memorable and enjoyable. Highly recommended.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 11 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
There's some definite production issues here - things start at a relatively low volume, and then suddenly the lead synth comes out pretty loud comparatively. Other than that and some of the samples, this is pretty good as far as songs back then goes.

- Bahamut on September 30, 2009
very fun to listen to. enjoyed it a lot, especially around 3:30 and the percussion effects at the end.

- justinj212 on January 10, 2009
Thunder Blade was great in the arcades. Damn it was amazing. Can't remember any music, though. :)
This piece doesn't quite gel.. I like the sounds a lot, but they seem to work against each other at some points. I like the material, it has a lot of energy. Powerful bass lines, and that first soaring melody. Great stuff! But the piece feels a bit long, there's a lot of ideas but they're not used to their full potential. I feel the notes clash a bit here and there, with bass especially in some parts, which makes the piece sound like "close.. but not quite.."
I like it, but I get the feeling it could have been great. Keeping it in any case.
--Eino

- evktalo on December 11, 2008
Not gonna lie, I zoned ou on this one. The melody is a little too repetative, and nothing really was able to pull me in. From what others have said this is due to the original track, because I usually like Beatdrop's stuff.

- DragonAvenger on June 12, 2008
A good deal of variation throughout this one, but I don't really like the source. To be fair, Beatdrop made a pretty mundane track into something that really moves, but those skillz can only go so far when the melody is dull.
There are some great effects created with the synths, and the triplet breakdown gets my attention everytime.

- OA on June 13, 2007
Well, I listened to this again years after downloading. It still has that simplistic and fun charm to it. I don't know if many folks here would see this as lacking by today's standards (I don't even know what that means), but this is a very catchy piece. I dig the turn in the song around 2:50'. For some reason, this song makes for superb background material when you're typing something or using another application. Heck, I'm not even familar with the source. Fun song.

- Nec5 on December 25, 2006
Very enjoyable if you actually listen to it (and...enjoy it of course). But man some of those old judges' first post reviews are [i]harsh[/i]. I agree with djp.

- Audity on October 29, 2006
Brings me back to the old days of the mega drive, and wow what an amazing track, from a talented person.
Hope to hear more in the near future. 8)

- Fire_wolf on September 27, 2004
Well! For starters, I'd like to say that this is one of my favourite mixes on this site. Even if it's Techno, and I hate techno. I owned this game in actuality, therefore, I remember the songs clearly, and this does a great thing with them.
The transitions work wonderfuly well, and everything links correct. And, oh, excuse me, but that thing is NOT a fugue. It's not even in counterpoint, much less is it anything like a fugue at all. Hell, it doesn't even look like one unless you don't know what a fugue is-sounds like.
Besides this, I believe that this remix covers more than one theme, but it works really really well in going places, enough not to bore me superquick (which most techno does). Good work, thumbs up!

- Ytmh on May 19, 2003
Can't say I thought this was too repetitive, since I didn't really want this one to end, and I thought that switching the order of the opening music and the chorus part from the original Level 1 theme was a great idea that carried over well in this mix. I heard this mix first and listened to the original GYM later, and I felt that Beatdrop swtiching those areas up made for a better song. Definitely techno with a lot of depth, with Beatdrop switching it up with a good amount of variation. This one's surprisingly danceable too.

- Liontamer on April 23, 2003
Super Thunder Blade 'Overdrive'
Pretty solid techno from Beatdrop, though I felt like this went on about twice as long as it needed to get it's point across. Also, I could have done without some of the phasing (although for the most part it was used tastefully). Overall, this might kick ass if it wasn't so repetative, but as it is this just plain drags.

- orkybash on June 5, 2002

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