Posted 2017-05-26, evaluated by the judges panel


It's been a pretty crazy week for me, personally, resulting in fewer mixposts, but we're hitting you this Friday with a heapin' helpin' of hyper-techno orchestra-hit & sampled vox MADNESS, as newcomer EAR takes on "Metallic Madness" from Sonic CD:

"I actually had the idea for this combo-arrangement several years ago but never found the right way to express it. Flash-forward to 2015 - a month into leading the Sound of The Sonic Stadium 2015: Tropical Paradise album project. I had recently pulled out the older rave, Eurobeat, and hard dance tunes that were so much a foundation of my musical influences in high school. Suddenly, it all just clicked - I could almost imagine Sonic & his friends at this late night rave on a tropical island (that, let's be honest - we would ALL like to be at!).

So, yeah, who's up for some StepMania?

The actual genre title is "Hyper Techno" of all things. It's like the more serious-ravey older brother of the sorta Inital D Eurobeat sound. XD I love learning about different subgenres, LOL."

Yeah, I'll just say, if you're looking for something subtle that's gonna touch your heartstrings & make profound comments on the human condition... this ain't that. I think potentially even a handful of orchestra hits can preclude one from emotional poignancy, and this mix has a veritable army, but that just means there's FUN to be had; musical caffeine, in every sense of the phrase. Sir_NutS writes:

"The arrangement and adaptation to the genre is where this remix shines, as this could be playing in a 90's rave club without much problem. Kept the energy levels high throughout but without falling in the traps of repetition or tiring the listener. There's tons of natural variations and surprises throughout the track, as it keeps evolving, introducing new, high-energy stuff along the way."

GOTTA GO FAST. Gario was feelin' the burn, with some specific critique as well:

"Damn, now THIS is an intense track, and it just never stops. I checked the sources, and it does seem they're all there (arpeggio from PAST throughout, orchestra hits from BAD FUTURE, other background elements referring to PRESENT). It would take too long for a detailed breakdown, and I don't think this arrangement needs that - the source is very strong in this one, and the arrangement is very clever.

The production is quite crisp, for most of the track. There are a few moments where everything comes in at once where the arrangement gets cluttered, making it a little difficult to parse every element out (such as at 3:41 - 5:52, for example). There aren't enough moments like that to take this below the bar, though."

Larry was concerned about the extent of sampled vox, but our standards are designed to prevent sampled material from doing too much heavy-lifting from an arrangement perspective, specifically; here they're being used more as instruments unto themselves, a staple of the genre in question. Definitely a hot, hectic, & enjoyably MAD debut from EAR... we hope yours enjoy the insanity!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 4 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
avatar
BlitzChris
on 2017-07-30 08:55:22

This tune is an absolute banger! Congrats on making it onto OCR, Ear!

avatar
DarkEco
on 2017-05-30 05:41:22

This is more 90's than the 90's!!

avatar
Black_Doom
on 2017-05-26 16:44:38

Hahaha, I definitely remember this track from that SSMB album XD Crazy, even a bit schizophrenic, but very enjoyable. Those vocal samples are just amazing :D Excellent blend of various Metallic Madness themes!

avatar
Liontamer
on 2017-05-24 13:03:08

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

Sources Arranged (3 Songs)


Primary Game:
Sonic CD (Sega , 1993, SCD)
Music by David Young,Mark Crew,Masafumi Ogata,Naofumi Hataya,Spencer Nilsen
Songs:
"Metallic Madness "B"mix (JP)"
"Metallic Madness "P"mix"
"Metallic Madness (JP)"

Tags (11)


Genre:
EDM
Mood:
Energetic
Instrumentation:
Electronic,In-game FX,Singing,Sound FX,Synth,Vocals: Voice Acting
Additional:
Time > 4/4 Time Signature
Time > Tempo: Fast
Usage > Workout

File Information


Name:
Sonic_CD_The_Madness_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
6,576,609 bytes
MD5:
7ae10c443775c5ae901d9ca6727779be
Bitrate:
192Kbps
Duration:
4:30

The following are from a sample pack titled Breakbeat Paradise. I no longer have it since making the song -- I believe some of the samples are original recordings for the pack, and others are older classic samples used in many rave & dance songs over the years, likely originally sampled from much older records. They have sort of been passed on over the years like the Amen Break -- but with far less attention paid to their history and original source:

"The cry of youth"
"We just gotta hold you on, baby"
"All night"
"Alright!"
"Let's party, put the boogie in your body"
"Peace, whatcha got to say, whatcha got to say"
"So dance, while I put you in a trance"
"It's the darkness that fascinates me"

Sampled from Topmodelz' "I Wanna Dance":

"Cool, kick the nation with the groove, 'till we rock the place when the biz gets moved"

Another classic rap line, the original source is Morhotronic's "Say Yeah":

"Come on, freak it out, the sensation - body freak generate the foundation"
"Yeah, a magical mystery sing, check it out, yeah, the hit house sing"

The female chorus: Kathy Brown feat. Praxis - "Turn Me Out," a classic house & rave sample:

"You release me, baby, got to have you near - make me burn, burn, burn, gotta have you here"
"Turn the music up, don't wanna waste no time, work me with temptation, I wanna lose my mind"

King Kong & D. Jungle Girls' "Boom Boom Dollar":

"Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom"

The "lyrical paragraph" rap is from an old Masterbits Rapsody sample CD. Used in tribute here to Hideki Naganuma (who employs heavy use of samples) who used it in the game Ollie King -- and for his highly-praised work on the Sonic Rush soundtrack:

"Check it out
Well, mister lyrical paragraphs, your tracks make me laugh
You fronted a microphone, you didn't pass math
In science, the main ingredient to be the finest of the fittest, you did it and, yo, I ain't with it.
You failed all the lessons, wanna remain in the top ten?
Stop, look, and listen, give props to the light-skinned
Knowledge is the key to be the best of a black man
Wisdom understands the ways of a Deutsch land
Devilish attitudes that really make me rude
It's Friday the 13th, you're all fuckin' doomed
It's Jason and Michael Meyers and Freddy all combined
You say we're the savages, but look who eats swine
The pig, there's only one vein in the body
I'm at the Hot Vaca and I want me a Swanee
Sing him a song, I wanna rock about the babies
It won't be long until you're pushing up daisies."

OMG, I cannot find the original source, but I'm sure it's from an old hip-hop record:

"Are you ready, to rock steady"

That's about the best I can remember and find online -- maybe with more time, I could source a few more of these, but the history of these rap lines are hard to look into. So many of them have become "standards" over the years -- and not all have their history well-preserved like the Amen Break, or other famous shout samples. ^_^;;

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