ReMix: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 'Hot Ice'

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Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Syncopation is a good thing, especially when applied uniquely to songs that have already been ReMixed quite a bit; here, DarkeSword builds a great, innovative groove off a syncopated slap bass and rockin' acoustic drums, coupled with a nice swirly, delayed organ and some more synthetic synth leads and pads. There's a nice gated filter synth break down around 1'20", the prelude to an excellent interpretive flute solo after my own heart - adds a lot to the piece, is well-played, and the drums underneath follow it to boot. Judges unanimously cited a pretty sub-par slap bass sample as being the only salient detriment, and I'd have to agree - while there are instances where intentionally fake slap bass samples can work (They Might Be Giants come to mind, or "Sanctified" off Pretty Hate Machine), this part called for (and deserved, due to the nice rhythms and occassional pitch bend) a deeper, meatier, more realistic slap bass. Vigilante writes: "This song has some top notch coverage already, and so any new covers have a pretty high bar to reach. I'm continuously impressed by the number of unique interpretations i've heard of this song. This mix definitely has something new to offer. The groove is great, the sounds are great. Nice flute solo. My only complaint is that i dont really like the bassline; I find it a little cliched and cheap. This definitely gets a YES." - while I had less problems with the bassline itself and more with just the bass sample, I agree with Jesse's statement about the song already having top notch coverage and DarkeSword bringing something new + worthy to the table. Nice blending of different sounds into a cohesive whole, and an imaginative reworking of an already extensively reworked track. A must download for Sonic fans, and another great example of an original being flexibly and ably taken to new places.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
The themes here are not just intertwined and threated through each other, but like bonded with super glue, which produces a very delicious treat for the ears.
about:blank;191122 wrote: Nice Lava Reef reference at 1:38! The flute solo was great,

I had forgotten about that...
Indeed, it is great.
Awesome job and a great mix. :nicework:

- 42 on January 23, 2009
Nice Lava Reef reference at 1:38! The flute solo was great, as well as all everything else in the mix. I could understand how some people would complain about the bass synth, but I think it adds to the mood of the piece. Nice work!

- about:blank on December 31, 2006
I was thinking when I first heard this arrangement that there were parts of Lava Reef there and that was the case. I have S3K CD for my computer along with the original. The music is different for Carnival Night, IceCap and Launchbase, but the same for all the other zones. I'm surprised that there are no remixes of those songs. Back to this remix, it's right up there among my favorites. :D

- sonic_fan69 on December 3, 2006
This is the 2nd ICE CAP ZONE Remix i heard, i like this one the best.

- supertrunkten on September 4, 2004
First time poster, long time listener. But I thought that I just had to finally register to say how crazy the flute is on this remix. Not my favorite song, but this is definitly my favorite part of any song. Great job man.

- Senor Suave on September 1, 2004
So smoooth Darke.. but i guess I'll believe you.
This was one of the first songs i ever downloaded at this site. very nostalgic.
I remember people complaining about the slap bass. But its the key to the song. great flute work. YAY. classic, and lots of fun.

- DJ Riott on August 30, 2004
blackbelt wrote: did i hear some Lava Reef in there? i swear i did...

Yes, that was intentional. 8)

- DarkeSword on August 25, 2004
did i hear some Lava Reef in there? i swear i did...
very good song, just a little too light for my taste. very good and very well done. keep up the good work.
8/10

- blackbelt on August 25, 2004
This is a very enchanting little piece... I really like it a lot. Nice.

- Less Ashamed Of Self on August 24, 2004
drums and synth at 1 25 are the only really special things in this track. The flute also sounds nice..

- Julio Jose on June 16, 2004
This one was a bit strange to me. Until about 3/4 of the way through the piece, the background riff was louder than the main melody, which is very rarely a good thing. The overall feel was almost a metaphor for an avalanche, as the the melody got louder and louder until it was "in your face" as they say. Definitely quite nice, especially the end, which actually sounded like an ending rather than a wimp-out.

- Arc'engal on September 19, 2003
Yes, and I do like your mix, Mr. DarkeSword! 8)

- .......... on August 10, 2003
I was hesitant to download it because it was another IceCap mix... but I'm glad I did. It's a welcome sound after 4 techno mixes of the same song.
Listen to the organ and the flute at 1:38. Sound familiar? The flute starts its solo off with a quote of Lava Reef's melody, while the organ is playing the continuo line from Lava Reef over Ice Cap Zone's chord progression.

I noticed that right away! I thought 'Gee, that sounds a lot like Lava Reef.' Then I realized it was probably intentional, hence the 'Hot Ice'.
One thing I've noticed is that many people don't seem to realize that Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (including S&K) has different (but similar) music for each act of a zone. Sonics 1 and 2, meanwhile, use the same music for every act of a zone.

Umm... yes, I've noticed that. Always have. I think it's so noticed that no one bothers to talk about it. They've also done that in the Advanced games too. It's pretty nifty. (Although Game Boy tunes aren't nearly as enjoyable to listen to)

- .......... on August 9, 2003
*Shrugs* it works.
I'll prolly keep it on my winamp list since the other ice cap mixes on it, got rotated out aeons ago.

- Elex Synn on July 21, 2003
DrumUltimA wrote: I love it. I can't say any more than that, for it's unexpressible. Incredible. I never thought of both those songs sharing such a similar chord structure. Geez I was howlin' over that. Superb job =D

They actually don't share the chords; I just adapted Lava Reef's continuo line to Ice Cap's chords.

- DarkeSword on July 20, 2003

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