ReMix:Super Castlevania IV "Dracula Is Our Vampire!" 4:12

"Dracula is our Vampire!" (...this message paid for by Friends of Vlad, Inc.) - we've got not one but TWO amazing, creative album collabs involving Jorito (Jorrith Schaap), starting with this high-energy d'n'b/dubstep Super Castlevania IV collab with BMC on electric guitars, from Vampire Variations III:

"About a month before the album deadline, the "Vampire Killer" track was unclaimed and became available again. Since I grew up with the MSX home computer and Vampire Killer (or Castlevania as it'd be called on the NES), it was an instant nostalgia hit for me. So, I immediately jumped in and claimed it.

Took me a bit of thinking to decide what to do with it, especially since I remixed this same track just a year ago already. Using orchestra was a given, but I wanted to do something different this time. So, I thought adding some drum & bass influences to an orchestral palette could work nicely.

Again, I created a lot of the basic concepts I wanted to use in my mind, suffered from having too much inspiration, and cooked up a decent WIP in 2 hours on the same day I claimed it. The next day, the basic arrangement was done, and that was when Chernabogue pointed me to BMC_WarMachine. BMC also wanted to remix this track, but I snatched the claim just before him. Wasn't a problem though, because BMC was happy to contribute to my track with some kickass guitar work. Took me a bit of work to fit them in the mix nicely, but I'm pretty happy with the final result, and I think it has this great sense of energy and epicness that you need to slay them vampires!"

At first I was worried that the orchestral bits here were a little muted and pushed back, but that's basically done to make space for some sizzling synths and wicked guitar action, as the piece picks up speed, transitions from d'n'b into dubstep and back again, and generally wreaks all sorts of sinister EDM + rock + orchestral mayhem. VV3 director Chernabogue writes:

"Jorito should change his nickname to Dr. Frankenstein, because he loves creating strange remixes with various elements from different genres -- here we have a nice electro/DnB/orchestra/cinematic/metal remix, featuring live performances from BMC_WarMachine and Bela Lugosi (and a little "Beginning" cameo as well). Everything sounds solid and very well mixed -- lots of energy and even more!"

That's a pretty spot-on description, I'd say. This mix has been updated/revised based on panel feedback since the album release; of the new & improved version, DaMonz writes:

"The arrangement is super fun, and I love the sound design! There's a lot of variety in the sound palette, and everything works together really well. The sine synth melodies backing the main theme is really an awesome touch, I wasn't expecting that at all. It's a nice contrast with all the nasty, gritty sounds in there. The guitar work is also great and definitely contributes in making this even more badass."

Ditto that; it's dark, sinister, and malevolent... but it's also quite a fun ride. Jorito & BMC make a compelling case that you shouldn't settle for *other* vampires when you can have the best. Great stuff, a standout contribution to VV3 that's been made even better through an extra revision cycle - enjoy!