ReMix:Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island "Bowzilla" 3:07

Villainesses & villains, I'm proud to announce the release of our 43rd free arrangement album, BadAss: Boss Themes: Volume II!! We were going to release this yesterday but October, being the month of Samhain & Halloween and general sinister malevolence & spookery, seemed like a much better occasion. While we've certainly released albums to sequels within game franchises, this is our first "compilation/concept album sequel," following on the warm reception to the first BadAss album, released in December of 2011. Director David L. Puga writes:

"You know how in movies or games or whatever, when there is a sequel they tend to be way darker than the original? Well, here's our sequel. But while it's not on a boat and lacks chipmunks, it'll be horrifying nonetheless. After 2 years of hard work, we bring you BadAss: Volume II. A collection of boss and battle themes done in a style that is both awesome and kick-ass, as well as mean. Really mean. As soon as we released Volume I, we went right to work on Volume II. The thing we wanted to do with this album was make it even meaner than the first; to make the hardest album on OCR yet. Volume I had a few tracks that were meant as a respite from the onslaught of BadAssedness. You'll find none of that here, so abandon all hope... something something... OH! Abandon all hope, ye who enter here!

This will also be the last BadAss I direct, but I think it's a great swan song. There will most likely be newer entries in the BA line, and I've no doubt they will be excellent. As for me, I couldn't have asked for a better album than this one here. I've always been a big fan of the more intense VG ReMixes, and this is a fulfillment of what I wanted to do with BadAss, and one of the best things I've gotten to be a part of in OCR. I thank all the arrangers, and artists for all their hard work. We made a damn fine album, filled with kickassery hardcore style. They say the sequel is always darker. From everyone involved in the project: Welcome to BadAss 2, hope you're ready for a beating! We swear you'll enjoy it, though, or your money back."

David's done a great job with BOTH these albums, and when he says that BA2 is gonna thwomp you even fiercer, you better believe it. Co-director Pieter van Os (pu_freak) adds:

"After the success of the first album, it's time to present its twisted brother. BadAss: Volume II is darker, grittier, and even more BadAss than the first volume was! As we did the first time around, David and I searched around to find the most twisted of artists to bring you the terror that is contained within BadAss 2. The sometimes heroic vibe of the first volume is completely gone now. This is the darkest stuff you'll find on all of OCR! From the darkest guitar solos to the most sinister synths: You'll be terrified the entire way. And you'll love it because of that. Ladies and gentlemen, from the deepest depths of hell, BadAss 2 will swallow you whole! Enjoy, but listen at your own risk…"

These guys were SERIOUS about excising any hope, dreams, & warm fuzzies and distilling this sequel into pure evil; it's almost like they should work on Wall Street ;) Up first for the mixflood & also first on the album is newcomer Lashmush (Rasmus Sorber), who turns Baby Bowser into a roaring, aggressive assault:

"I've long wanted to do the final boss theme from Yoshi's Island for many many years and never managed to capture it properly, but I lacked the virtual instruments to really get the job done. It's such a heavily shred-based track and that stuff was out of my reach until these past couple of years. Now that I've learned to use VST guitars and, more importantly, gotten comfortable with the keyswitch mechanism that's common in the more comprehensive virtual instruments, I felt I could really give this the power and wild attitude that it deserves. When I got my studio monitors, I started working on it a little for fun and it just snowballed on its own. Also, it's the fight against a giant baby Bowser! The title alone should explain enough, amirite?

With the recent news of the new Godzilla project from Legendary Pictures (proper TOHO Godzilla!), I started playing with the idea of a Godzilla spin to the project and combined some elements from the "Big Boss BGM" track to give it that dramatic and big feel. I've worked on my mixing a lot since my last submission and hopefully you will see the effort I've put in. Your feedback helped a lot last time around, so it will be good to see how I've done since then."

Excellent background/context for an excellent mix; glad that panel feedback helped Rasmus out. Emunator writes:

"Damn. I've been hoping for this source to receive this badass metal treatment for years, and you executed it pretty much exactly how I'd hoped. The arrangement is relatively straightforward with some really cool ambiance during the breakdowns, but the biggest strength of this track is simply in how well you adapted the source to the heavy metal genre. Great rhythms, writing, sequencing... everything is pretty great here. And damn, I just now read that you made this with sequenced guitars. Really great job on making this sound so realistic. I'm even more impressed with this track, knowing that. Good job."

DarkeSword adds:

"Really impressive sequencing and such a great, cohesive sound. I don't know why but this has such a Konami sound to it, like something out of the original NES TMNT game. Really excellent."

Strong words of praise, indeed, and yeah... I can hear it. Lashmush does a great job of introducing himself to OCR and introducing BA2 to the world, and I'm looking forward to hearing more in the future. For now, please succumb to the darkness, embrace the malevolence, and join forces with the evil that is BadAss: Boss Themes: Volume II - and while you're at it, please tweet, like, & share the news and help us seed the torrent!