ReMix: Gradius III 'Declaration of War'

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Gradius III

OA and Scaredsim, together at last! But what's this... is Simon stealing all the credit for their collaboration? Let's see - Andrew writes:

"This was a DoD collab; I did the arrangement, drum programming, synth, and the second guitar solo, Simon did the rhythm guitars, the guitar leads and break near the beginning, and the piano intro. This is a "Simon mix" version, where he did the production; I had done the production from the actual competition."

Simon writes (third-person, Karl Malone-style):

"Simon did everything, OA only does the submitting work since I am too busy for such trivial things. :o)"

djpretzel don't know about that, but he does know this some good Gradius III tunage. Also, it's been a loooong time since we rocked some Gradius in these parts; this is our first mix of III, which is downright silly, and in general there needs to be more SHMUP love. Andrew & Simon are certainly doing their part; while the arrangement here is fairly conservative, judges agreed there was enough deviation, and there's DEFINITELY plenty of energy. Gradius tunage tends to be anthematic, uplifting, and rather ornate; I think that last characteristic is what turns some potential ReMixers off, as many of these tracks are absolute beasts to arrange. Trading between and blending synth and guitar leads really helps, especially in the call and answer sections, as OA's cutting synth patch swirls around and soars over Simon's rhythm guit, then roles are reversed. Love it; while there wasn't alot of deviation from the original material, these guys definitely captured the essence of what makes the original, and most of the series' OSTs, rock, and they amplified it. Vinnie nailed the initial analysis and summarized most judges' sentiments that followed:

"Very cool set of instruments. I liked the organ and piano giving subtle touches, the synth lead, and of course, Simon's guitars. It all worked together. I did think it was a pretty cover-ish arrangement like Larry but felt it had enough to differentiate it from the original. Piano flourishes in the intro, lots of fun messing with the synth after the first iteration. 0:26-1:30 is dangerously close to being verbatim, with the bass also mimicking the original, but the new backing instruments and drums give these sections some flair. However, if it had all been like this, it would have been a NO, easily."

Basically, Andrew & Simon could have made our lives a bit easier by changing a few more elements up more, but it still squeaks in, and then rocks out. I personally wish they would have done a bit more, simply because they both possess the talent and creativity, I don't think it would have been difficult, and I think anything the two of them came up with and agreed on would probably be awesome, but if they wanna play it close to the source, that's their call. Either way, they've created an awesome piece of music that's ballsy and beefy and takes on some technical, challenging source material. Mixes created for DoD and compos in general often have their own agenda & approach, but I think many of them - this track included - are totally appropriate for OCR as well.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
Oh how I wish this song could be on Rock Band!!!

- breravin on June 4, 2009
Absolutely wonderful. The synth really gives this mix that nice 90s feeling, and the guitar adds an extra layer of delicious cheese to it.
The "chorus" (e.g. 1:08 onwards) is amazing. So much energy and fun.
Good work, guys.

- Martin Penwald on May 5, 2009
Thanks for the very nice reviews everyone! Simon and I are collaborating on another song, and this time we'll make it easier on the judges. 8-)

- OA on May 4, 2009
That piano intro got me all in the mood for something mellow, and then BAM!!!! I still don't know exactly what hit me, but it's good :)

- Mtlbro on April 29, 2009
I absolutely love this mix. I have been listening to it for the past week and am a huge fan of the Gradius soundtrack in general. The piano solo in the opening and guitar solo at the end are killer touches.
Great work!

- jintoreedwine on April 26, 2009
Heh, I'm listening to NGI#114, don't know what's different, but the guitar tone doesn't bother me at all now. I'm still not loving it, but it's definitely not that "absence" thing I was talking about earlier. Those "little things" are more clear as well.. I probably listened on some bad headphone setup over at the university last time. Verdict recalled, sounding great. Sounded really uplifting in the show, too! A cool moment.
--Eino

- evktalo on April 22, 2009
Pwn'd my panties.
Been waiting for a Gradius 3 remix. Definitely full of win here.

- UchihaVilu on April 21, 2009
gnarly mix, loving the synth. Reminds me of Star Ocean 3's soundtrack. Great work!

- relyanCe on April 18, 2009
just wanted to say this mix is excellent - the synth lead just sits perfect
keep it up guys :)

- audio fidelity on April 18, 2009
The choice of instruments was great, this remix to me really reminds me of back in the day of playing this. Great job

- metalsnakejuice on April 18, 2009
I meant to say this earlier but
[U]HELL YEAH, GRADIUS 3 REMIX! ABOUT TIME![/U]

- Ferret on April 18, 2009
Oh man, I know I'm saying this about a number of remixes lately, but this track has great energy! The original is awesome stuff, from a series sadly overlooked at OCR. I'm a sucker for melodic songs and wanky synth leads, and this remix delivers them both in spades. "Delcaration of War" is a strange title outside of the game context, but regardless, Andrew and Simon totally rocked it. Definitely the perfect song to pilot a starfighter and blow shit up to. My only complaint is that even at almost 4 minutes, it just feels like it's over too fast; but hey, that's what the Loop button is for. Nice work dudes.

- KyleJCrb on April 17, 2009
Pretty nice ReMix! Very upbeat and cheers you up.
You know, I think Gradius III's got some nice songs, like this one, "Mechanical Base", "In the Wind", and "Boss 3" is cool but short... The game should receive a bit more love. :)

- Vitor Machado on April 17, 2009
It's titled "Declaration of War", I think, because it's the stage theme for the area where you've finally breached into the enemy's stronghold.
It doesn't sound all that bad, actually. I really like the usage of the thematic elements without being so close to the original that it's a direct cover.

- Ferret on April 17, 2009
This song was entirely too energetic for me to review last night around midnight, so now that I've had a full night's rest I can dive in.
Love the energy (now that I'm awake). This just shouts how very happy the world is and that we should go out with huge grins on our faces. I like how it never loses that energy too, nice work on that. Kind of odd that it's named "Declaration of War" though. What's up with that?
I personally would have never noticed that this was a collab, the way things fit together so well. Nice combination of instruments. Scaredism rocks the guitars, and OA has his super fast synth solos. Nice work together, you two.

- DragonAvenger on April 17, 2009

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