ReMix: Super Castlevania IV 'The Belmont Chill'
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- Game: Super Castlevania IV (Konami, 1991, SNES)
- ReMixer(s): Blak_Omen
- Composer(s): Masanori Adachi, Taro Kudou
- Song(s): 'Simon Belmont's Theme (Stage 1-2 BGM)'
- Posted: 2004-06-11, evaluated by djpretzel
Ahh, Super Castlevania 4. The sheer goodness. From the intro to this mellow mix from Blak_Omen, you might think it's gonna be electronica, but in fact that flavor goes mellow jazz (not soft jazz, there's a difference, yo) pretty quick, with acoustic upright organ and piano, as a hiss that sounds sort of like air escaping and sorta like a continuous brushing segues into a brief doubletime polyrhythmic bongo break that serves to lead into a saxophone taking over the melody. Dig the chromatic run, stage right, at around 1'00", and the piano turns soonafter. The obviously intentional hiss reenters towards the end of the second minute as there's dropout and a solo piano bit - interesting effect, not sure if I'm 100% on it, but it does make things a bit more atmospheric and the overall presentation a bit riskier. The ReMixer does a great job of branching out from his previously piano-centric sound into some more varying instrumentation here, and the sax lead has enough articulation and syncopation on it to make it credibly jazzy and interpretive. Great stuff, if short, that aims to lend a jazz mentality to some previoulsy upbeat, very driving source material, and succeeds in tempering back the pace and making Simon Belmont take, as the title suggests, a short breather from all that vampire-hunting and what not.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the still a very cool track!
getting all sentimental listening to it as it won the PRC that i did my very first vg remix for. It stuck in my head as a good example of how to work with a theme more freely and creatively, when i was still busy loading midis and trying to apply changes that didn't sound like crap.
loving the white noise btw. so simple, such good ambience.
- Nase on December 4, 2009
getting all sentimental listening to it as it won the PRC that i did my very first vg remix for. It stuck in my head as a good example of how to work with a theme more freely and creatively, when i was still busy loading midis and trying to apply changes that didn't sound like crap.
loving the white noise btw. so simple, such good ambience.
- Nase on December 4, 2009
Ready, set, jazz?
Ha, I can't believe it took me until just now to realize the beeps were grounded in the source. Which is shameful considering I've played both CV4 and its soundtrack to death. That aside... That's a small example of what's so cool about this piece: even with the complete, stylistic overhaul and numerous subtle alterations, you can hear the source the entire way through. Not that it can't be enjoyable to hear a complete deconstruction, but doing it like Blak_Omen's done here really gets those nostalgia juices flowing.
The instrumentation here is ace. The selection is perfect for the mood - which strikes a nice balance between chill and swingin' - and everything sounds damned good. And the intro: stupendous. The source has two different intros - one for the beginning and one for each loop - and they're both used here. Sets up the groove marvelously. And that piano at 0:20 is swanky as all get-out. Then that bass-work during the break. Tasty. And that's just the first 35 seconds! Another favorite is the bit right after 1:02 - some nifty piano plinking comes in and is accented by a held, slowly loudening, low note from the organ - with already established bass and light drum/cymbal work - sexy indeed. And gotta love that piano solo. Then again, the entire arrangement is phenomenal.
Speakeasy Simon. I dig it.
- K.B. on December 4, 2009
Ha, I can't believe it took me until just now to realize the beeps were grounded in the source. Which is shameful considering I've played both CV4 and its soundtrack to death. That aside... That's a small example of what's so cool about this piece: even with the complete, stylistic overhaul and numerous subtle alterations, you can hear the source the entire way through. Not that it can't be enjoyable to hear a complete deconstruction, but doing it like Blak_Omen's done here really gets those nostalgia juices flowing.
The instrumentation here is ace. The selection is perfect for the mood - which strikes a nice balance between chill and swingin' - and everything sounds damned good. And the intro: stupendous. The source has two different intros - one for the beginning and one for each loop - and they're both used here. Sets up the groove marvelously. And that piano at 0:20 is swanky as all get-out. Then that bass-work during the break. Tasty. And that's just the first 35 seconds! Another favorite is the bit right after 1:02 - some nifty piano plinking comes in and is accented by a held, slowly loudening, low note from the organ - with already established bass and light drum/cymbal work - sexy indeed. And gotta love that piano solo. Then again, the entire arrangement is phenomenal.
Speakeasy Simon. I dig it.
- K.B. on December 4, 2009
It starts with a mario kart style countdown, but instead of racing
along, we have a smooth jazz combo playing a pretty classic
Castlevania theme.
I have heard this theme metalled up a few times and it's almost always been awesome, so hearing it all chilled is pretty refreshing.
The samples are pretty good, and the rain sound effects give it a springtime ambiance. A rainy afternoon... a small cafe... a single rose and a promise...
and the topless medusa boss at the end of stage 2...
The level of arrangement on this specific mix is really nice, some great bass voicing, and some nice comping on both the piano and organ. I wish the sax had been real, but as is, it is still pretty nice.
It's been awhile since this track got any review attention, and it really is a nice mix. Check it out.
- OA on May 27, 2008
I have heard this theme metalled up a few times and it's almost always been awesome, so hearing it all chilled is pretty refreshing.
The samples are pretty good, and the rain sound effects give it a springtime ambiance. A rainy afternoon... a small cafe... a single rose and a promise...
and the topless medusa boss at the end of stage 2...
The level of arrangement on this specific mix is really nice, some great bass voicing, and some nice comping on both the piano and organ. I wish the sax had been real, but as is, it is still pretty nice.
It's been awhile since this track got any review attention, and it really is a nice mix. Check it out.
- OA on May 27, 2008
Wait a sec... HELLSING?! Oh my God, I MUST have this remix RIGHT
NOW!
*gone*
"down down, to your revelation..."
- CE on October 29, 2005
*gone*
"down down, to your revelation..."
- CE on October 29, 2005
This is really cool. I especially like the opening, from 0:07 to
0:21; it reminds me a lot of the music from the Hellsing anime.
Good drums, too. Overall, very nice job; smooth.
- Oruroku on July 20, 2004
- Oruroku on July 20, 2004
actually, this reminds me of a band called COURTNEY PINE.
if you liked this mix, you should check them out too. :)
- kanchou on June 27, 2004
if you liked this mix, you should check them out too. :)
- kanchou on June 27, 2004
Oooh, I really like how you incorporated the piano with this song.
This little mix kind of reminds me the Chrono Trigger Brink of Time
CD. Excellent work.
- Jarrid on June 26, 2004
- Jarrid on June 26, 2004
Nice! I pretty much agree with NembaTheKid on the fine points. I
believe the song that this is a remix of is called "Vampire
Killer"? The same name that the Belmont clan's heirloom, the whip,
has. Yessir, the whip has a theme song. Check it, yo.
- Nobbynob Littlun on June 25, 2004
- Nobbynob Littlun on June 25, 2004
mmmm another Castlevania jazz tune ..sounds great and certainly
stays faithful to the original. good stuff Blak Omen :roll:
- RimFrost the Tourianist on June 14, 2004
- RimFrost the Tourianist on June 14, 2004
very well done, interpretive solos are very hard when trying to
stay with the theme. I like what you did.
- CykoticZZ on June 11, 2004
- CykoticZZ on June 11, 2004
Hey all,
First of all let me congratulate Blak_Omen on a job very well done. All I have to say has been said already, but I have to add that the piano sounds very stylish and soothing!
9/10 Keep up the good work!
- Sir Harmony on June 11, 2004
First of all let me congratulate Blak_Omen on a job very well done. All I have to say has been said already, but I have to add that the piano sounds very stylish and soothing!
9/10 Keep up the good work!
- Sir Harmony on June 11, 2004
Holy shit! This is awesome!
This has to be the best mix I've heard in a long time, and if everyone who remixed this tune did it this well, it wouldn't matter how many people did it, it would always be seriously undermixed...
First of all, the percussion. Interesting, un-repetetive, and it fits in perfectly, moving the song along, because it feels like that without it, the song would get stuck, not looping, but it would just keep going (Not sure if that would be such a bad thing though).
Second, the sax. Is it sampled or live? I'm going to guess that it's sampled, but the articulation is done so well that it wouldn't surprise me if it were live. The melody, is obviously not blak_omen's composition, but I find this a very good interpretation of the original.
The piano and the organ. They make very good bass for the sax, though I can't help feeling they're just the slightest bit repetetive in the non-melodic parts, although it doesn't really matter because they're not the melody, and what you listen to (consiously) anyway.
The bass seems slightly uninteresting, and does a job which could just as easily have been done by the organ, except that for that part the bass sounds better. I guess that didn't make very much sense...
The sound effects like the hiss and the thunder sounds at the beginning are very well placed, and enhance the overall feeling of the song very well, especially the hiss which has a strangely calming efect, exactly what you'd like when listening to a chill/jazz mix.
101/100... or something...
- NembaTheKid on June 11, 2004
This has to be the best mix I've heard in a long time, and if everyone who remixed this tune did it this well, it wouldn't matter how many people did it, it would always be seriously undermixed...
First of all, the percussion. Interesting, un-repetetive, and it fits in perfectly, moving the song along, because it feels like that without it, the song would get stuck, not looping, but it would just keep going (Not sure if that would be such a bad thing though).
Second, the sax. Is it sampled or live? I'm going to guess that it's sampled, but the articulation is done so well that it wouldn't surprise me if it were live. The melody, is obviously not blak_omen's composition, but I find this a very good interpretation of the original.
The piano and the organ. They make very good bass for the sax, though I can't help feeling they're just the slightest bit repetetive in the non-melodic parts, although it doesn't really matter because they're not the melody, and what you listen to (consiously) anyway.
The bass seems slightly uninteresting, and does a job which could just as easily have been done by the organ, except that for that part the bass sounds better. I guess that didn't make very much sense...
The sound effects like the hiss and the thunder sounds at the beginning are very well placed, and enhance the overall feeling of the song very well, especially the hiss which has a strangely calming efect, exactly what you'd like when listening to a chill/jazz mix.
101/100... or something...
- NembaTheKid on June 11, 2004
I take partial credit for this remix's OCR post.
Not really, Blak_Omen gets all the credit for it. He did a GREAT job on a truly legendary PRC (mostly dictated by mediocrity, where yours shined through).
And I just have to say, THANK GOODNESS.
Thank you Blak_Omen.
(wondering who's next. Trenthian's Sami mix? hehe)
- kamoh on June 11, 2004
Not really, Blak_Omen gets all the credit for it. He did a GREAT job on a truly legendary PRC (mostly dictated by mediocrity, where yours shined through).
And I just have to say, THANK GOODNESS.
Thank you Blak_Omen.
(wondering who's next. Trenthian's Sami mix? hehe)
- kamoh on June 11, 2004
Wow, direct post, congrats. I'm jealous...bah, I'll get it one of
these days. Although I don't think a piano solo has ever been
direct-posted...not even Trial in Concert or Live from the
Yggdrasil. I'm really starting to wonder if it's actually
possible...
- Dhsu on June 11, 2004
- Dhsu on June 11, 2004
