ReMix: Final Fantasy VII 'The End'

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Final Fantasy VII

So, I see FFVII, I see 'One-Winged Angel,' and I see tefnek... all of which I've seen before, since Mr. Kirkpatrick was one of the legendary seven who put together the juggernaut that is 'Black Wing Metamorphosis'. Now Jack's come back to tackle the same source by himself, reusing a bit of the same choral work that made BWM so excellent:

"This is my remix of the song One-Winged Angel from Final Fantasy VII called The End. The "Sephiroth" choir I used was originally created by bLiNd for the mega-collaboration, Black Wing Metamorphosis. Thank you bLiNd for letting me use it!"

At first I was a little puzzled why any artist who had been part of such a definitive, mega-badass arrangement of such a legendary track would want to retrace his steps, but tefnek's put a very different spin on things, here. This is sparse, raw, untamed stuff, with walls of thick, mean guitar and synth rips & tears that sound like the very fabric of hell is being ripped apart and its innards spewing forth. I mean to say that these are some SERIOUSLY nasty, ill-tempered synthesizers, which Jack seems particularly adept at conjuring and putting to excellent, sadistic work. It also deviates more from the source, with some bridging sections that aren't instantly identifiable as OWA, even if they are undeniably in the same fierce, demonic spirit. This is the issue that judges discussed the most; Vinnie writes:

"At my comfortable listening volume, it felt on the high end of that. It sounds pretty loud, but I think it's dipped in the right areas so that it doesn't give the listener (me) a headache. Maybe it helps that's there a lot of space in sections of this song. Anyway, we have passed songs of this loudness before, Clamato Fever being a recent one.

Fishy's breakdown pretty much checks out, but I wouldn't say 0:45-1:08 of Jack's song is a straight usage of 1:10-1:18. He's got the guitar close to matching the vocals for one measure, does his own thing for the second measure, another measure matching the vocals, then half a measure of his own thing, then SEPHIROTH. So out of 24 seconds of song, that's about 15 seconds from the source each time, which in total gives me 148/271 seconds = 55%. Good enough for me. I think even if it was under 50%, the parts of the guitar I'm not counting are certainly Angel-esque, playing with the same notes that other parts of the song do. I like that aspect of this song even if we don't count it as straight source."

Vinnie doesn't usually bust out the arithmetics like that, and let me reiterate that there is no official "50% source" rule that judges need to religiously follow, but in this instance because the source is so notorious and because portions of this mix do get pretty liberal, I think the judges' decision thread will be helpful to listeners. This is a very creative take on the theme that wouldn't have occurred to me at all, but which works really well. It maintains the sinister atmosphere of Uematsu's original and adds a strong dose of, well... tefnek. Meaning big, loud, aggressive synths that don't take no shit from no guitars, and in this instance some pretty thick, hairy-chested guitars, too. Oh, and drums. Duh. Awesome, truly inspired work from Jack that takes on an epic classic and really does something new, unexpected, and powerful with it.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
Somehow I missed this mixpost and my music player decided to randomize this tune. I'm sad I hadn't listened to it until now. I'm a little sketched out by OWA mixes. I've never really liked any of them except for Prince of Darkness' "Prancing Dad." When I caught onto the source I thought to myself "oh great... another OWA mix." Thankfully I kept on listening. It's not cheesy like just about every other mix I hear of this tune. It's honestly darker than Sephiroth himself! I dig it and give pops to Tefnek for making something out of a source that rarely gains my favour.

- Dubanubiel on November 4, 2012
Man, this is pure evil! Those hard hitting guitars and the chorus just made this ReMix a badass villain tune that I can really get a smirk out of. It just brings to mind a hell lot of destruction on its way. Honestly, the attitude and balance between electronic bits and rock sell this whole thing.

- Crulex on April 5, 2012
I can't believe I totally missed this mix when it was posted. As people before me already said - this mix is badass, mindblowing, thick and evil. I will add one more - pure awesomeness! Didn't really expect any guitars in this one, and yet they work so well.

- ambient on May 12, 2011
I really didn't want this track to end. You could have made it another 10 minutes just looping what you've got here, over and over, and I wouldn't have complained. I probably would've wanted it longer.
Amazing work, tefnek. You've been added to my list of 'people whose mixes I will always expect to enjoy'.

- zarbit on March 11, 2011
thick and evil just the way I like it.
thank you for a different route on FF series, when I come across these they are usually orchestral and pretty. finally one I can say is BADASS not just artistic

- Csyzr on December 22, 2010
So, I'm not a huge fan of the FF series and I played FFVII but failed to see the massive appeal. I skipped over these mixes and never gave any much thought. Yesterday I gave a listen to this one and liked it enough to download it... I've listened to it 12 times since last night.
This is amazing, I can't get enough. It's so badass, it totally rocks my face off. Shame on me for ignoring the FF mixes.

- BlackCurtains on December 2, 2010
After having this mix on my computer for a while and been listening to it for a while, I have to say - this is my favourite mix on the entire site, hands-down. Wow. So in love.

- medomai on August 14, 2010
I won't lie, I have severe issues with the source and most interpretations of same. Before now, the only version I would willingly listen to over and over is the one from Advent Children.
This? This is holy shit mindblowing what the fuck was that awesome. Good job, sir!

- Mockingbird on June 2, 2010
Wow, I don't know why this song is so additive, I can't describe why I like this song with words, so I made a music video for it instead.
here's the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syEEdB4N3uc

- setzertrancer on May 5, 2010
AAAWWESOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMEE!!!!11 :banghead:

- ULTRAn0ob on March 30, 2010
i just put some new speaker in my car and played this song. pretty F***** awsome

- Jhawk on March 1, 2010
The mix between the distorted guitars and the delayed chorus of "Sephiroth" is perfect! It's almost a completely original track apart from the Sephiroth line. Great job! Definitely one of my top remixes.

- RoboBoogie on January 26, 2010
I can't believe I actually like this. It's so far away from what I usually listen to, and yet there's something about how heavy and raw it is that makes me keep coming back to it. Nice work!

- Kerodohi on January 4, 2010
Hey i really like this one!
Maybe one of the drums (almost sounds like a steeldrum but i know that it´s none ^^) is a bit to present for me, but the rest just sounds great. And hey, Badd Ass Bass! Gotta try this out in my car with my two 18" Atomic APX woofers :)
Cya, DJMadMax

- DJMadMax on November 14, 2009
I can! AMAZING! I love this remix. I rock out listening to it while getting ready for the morning and while I'm driving. It gets me all excited. LOL

- Namine on November 6, 2009