ReMix: Xenogears 'Mechanical God: Create|Corrupt|Consume'
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Neko debuted back in 2008 on a Banjo-Kazooie collab with Audix; as a side note, we got to talk quite a bit with Grant Kirkhope in person at MAGFest, and he's really an awesome, down-to-earth guy with a lot of industry stories and a great sense of humor. Big fan of Judas Priest, too, which I promised him I would check out, and will. But back to Justin Jones and his debut *solo* mix... this is some kicking Xenogears action the judges were unanimously digging - the second time around. JJ writes:
"I first played Xenogears in 1998 when it came out (still have my copy :D ) and was enthralled. As time went on I learned to recognize its obvious shortcomings, which I think led me appreciate the game differently. It's not perfect by any means -- there's a lot I'd chop out of it -- but by and large it's enjoyable. The soundtrack pretty much makes the game for me. I've always felt that "Awakening" and "Omen" were the standout tracks, so I wanted to take "Awakening" and apply to it the "this is my world, and I'm ready to take it back" feeling. The name of the remix is "Mechanical God |Create|Corrupt|Consume|" in reference to Deus (badass robot) as the creator, the corrupter, and eventually the consumer.Tech talk: Recorded in Steinberg Nuendo with an Ibanez SZ520 into a PodXT Live processor. Drumkit From Hell used for the drums. This is my second go at it, as the first was rejected based on technical aspects for the most part. I've refined it, eliminated all of the clipping that I could find, and threw in some bass now that I have one. Drums have been boosted as per request."
Mr. Aversa wrote:
"The original sub of this mix was only a borderline NO for me because of production issues. I loved the creative interpretation of the sources tunes, which, despite their popularity, are treated differently here than in any other mix on OCR. In this new version, the is noticeably improved from the original submission, as is the tweaked ending, which was the only aspect of the arrangement I didn't like last time around. I'm really glad Nekofrog was open to constructive criticism and decided to go back to this and resub!"
These ARE popular source tunes, so it's especially groovy that Neko's done something different with them, and you can tell from his submission letter but also the mix itself that he's into the game and its music. Sustained strings and mellow electric guits enter, then a shred bed and acoustic kit join in, leading up to the anthematic soaring-lead-over-meaty-chug melody at 0'23", at which point, I'm basically sold. What holds my interest and KEEPS me sold for the rest of the mix is the arrangement, which could have rested on its laurels and still resulted in a pretty awesome track, but actually takes the time to develop, getting more metal at 1'49" with sick arpeggio riffs and head-banging drums then backing off at 2'11" before building up again.
It's a brick house, baby, and since Justin bumped up the production, it's a killer follow-up that proves he can fly solo and make some pretty damn great stuff. I just got a raise today, this is the second great mix we've posted, and we're not even a full week into 2009 yet... pretty auspicious stuff!
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the The mix is at its best when it's utilising the layered guitars to their full capacity, and thankfully, that consists of a good portion of the mix. Certainly, the climax is an enlightening highlight, but there are several really awesome, powerful mini-climaxes sprinkled along the way. As far as the simpler, thinner sections like the intro and bridges went, they showed consistency and quality, but are obviously dwarfed by the very conventions they hold together.
I think this mix is all about the guitar, and the guitar sounds wicked. Heavier and more to the point than the norm; it's a hell of a ride. Recommended if you enjoy the contained-blast-of-metal-in-both-ears approach to game remixing.
- Marmiduke on October 31, 2009
- Impreza WRX on July 3, 2009
A somewhat misleading intro.
I love the chunky rhythm guitar sound :D
The bass is lost in the mix tho, I can hear it, but I have to listen very hard.
I liked the panning on the leads, however, the lead sound didn't seem to quite fit with the sound, it sounded somewhat exposed imo :S
I love the source btw, its def suited to the style your working in.
I didn't think the drums flowed very well. You had plenty of variation in your drum patterns, but you didn't use fills to introduce the changes. They went from one pattern to the other without warning and it threw me off a little.
I don't know the source, but I liked the arrangement. Not perfect, but an enjoyable track, and worth the download :P
Nice work :nicework:
- Willrock on February 9, 2009
- ChaosPlayer on February 3, 2009
nice work Neko
- Gollgagh on February 2, 2009
- Martin Penwald on January 27, 2009
Keep up the good work, Nekofrog, and congrats for your first solo piece up here!
- HitoriJaNai on January 21, 2009
Wow, this is great stuff, nice work. :nicework:
- 42 on January 21, 2009
- Gario on January 13, 2009
- justinj212 on January 10, 2009
- LuigiFan on January 8, 2009
really feeling the rock. great for playing pvp in WoW lol.
ty for submitting this. wish it was a little longer though its so good i dont want it to end lol
- Sephiroth1218 on January 7, 2009
Nice work!
- jintoreedwine on January 7, 2009
Great rhythm playing, and even some sweeps in there too (or is it legato tapping? It all sounds the same to me. As in, it all sounds awesome).
I didn't really dig the source that much, but you really kicked it up and focused on the strengths. Nice work, dude.
- OA on January 7, 2009
- bustatunez on January 6, 2009
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