Liontamer

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3rd RESUB 2nd RESUB 1st RESUB Original Decision This is another attempt at this tune. I have learned some more production techniques, and I hope I have applied them better than in previous versions. I also took the advice Hemophiliac and timaeus222 left on the Post your Remixes section on the forums. This was all done on FL Studio 21, mostly with stock plugins or free ones. I think using TDR Nova really helped, along with learning to use Patcher in FL Studio to combine things in interesting ways. I have always liked this tune, and I do like the original 8 bit version more than the remakes. As always, thanks ahead of time for feedback:)

Artist: Everybody Man I loved playing A Short Hike, and Mark Sparling's music was PERFECT for that game. Somehow I started thinking of OOT's Title Theme while "See You At The Top" was playing, and it sounded so cool in my head that I had to arrange it. Title Theme's melody was simple and sparse enough for me to fit a lot of Short Hike inspired parts beneath it, and the (mostly) 7/8 time just seemed right to tie it all together. I loved the bit of distortion in the arpeggios from A Short Hike, and I definitely leaned into that in the mix :) The name "While I Can" comes from a bit of dialogue at the end of A Short Hike, and I thought it fit well with OOT's time mechanics. Hope you enjoy it! Games & Sources: This is a remix of the Title Theme from OOT, mashed up/orchestrated with "See You At The Top" from the game "A Short Hike."

It'll be my first MAG in 6 years, looking forward to it! :-)

The Depths are a very strange place in Tears Of The Kingdom. The vastness, the darkness and the strange flora feels like nothing before in the previous Zelda-title. The score of this area is more like a collection of experimental sounds and not music in the classic way. So I found it interesting to remix such a piece. My idea was to create an energetic breakbeat which interacts as a counterpart with the different moods. Most of the song consist of this ever changing beat, only at the end there are also some underlaying strings. Every sound or melody-bit in this remix is inspired by »The Depth« & »Dive To The Depths«. For me it was a very different remix style-wise and I tried hard not to fall into old habits with the composition. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1-8-23: I messaged gaspode for a source breakdown, here is his reply. ~Chimpazilla Hi. I understand that it could be tricky to determine the exact percentage usage from the source-tunes because »The Depths« includes a lot of silence between the sound-hits and is more of an abstract soundscape. I tried to remix the style of the source »The Depths« using echoes, piano-hits, a few reverse-effects and silence between them. Although this silence is now filled with a breakbeat. To reference the original I interpreted the sounds from the originals but at the same time used samples that sound similar. For an easier check of the references listed below I uploaded the remix without the breakbeat. I hope this helps. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RX7j0J6qpL0DZCWurK049GnAPOGssBC3/view?usp=sharing The following sounds might repeat in different positions of the source-tunes. So I only use one timestamp of the material to reference them. The Depths (3:27, which contains about 48 seconds of silence) Sound from 0:01 (deep bass) used at 0:28 0:35 1:22 2:18 2:32 2:45 Sound from 3:17 (hit on steel?) used at 0:41 0:55 1:19 1:31 1:44 1:48 1:57 Sound from 1:43 (more like a bell) used at 0:48 1:02 4-note sequence at 2:29 used at 1:35 Sound from 0:28 (piano chords and single piano hits) used at 1:09 1:16 1:27 1:50 Reverse from 0:59 inspired part at 1:17 Dive To The Depths (1:48, but in fact a 0:50 loop, played twice, only with a changed ending) Short melody from 0:00–0:02 (which is repeated through the whole song) in different pitches and instruments used at 1:29 (piano) 1:57 (piano) 2:18–2:30 (piano) 2:31–2:44 (piano) 2:59–03:11 (bell) 2:18–03:11 (strings/choir) Flute melody from 0:08-0:14 used at 1:44 Viola melody from 0:17 and 0:22 used at 2:46 and 2:52 Bassflute (?) at 0:39 inspired the tone sequence at 1:35 Hope this clears the things up a little bit. Bye, Gaspode (Peter) Games & Sources: Name of game(s) arranged: »The Legend Of Zelda – Tears Of The Kingdom« Name of individual song(s) arranged: »The Depths«, »Dive To The Depths« (Because there was no official release of the soundtrack, I took these names from the YouTube-videos.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGFL_TSwHjw The Depths https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIDNkU6Xy88 Dive To The Depths

From TheManPF Additional artists: Zach Chapman; Nemo Fairlight This arrangement was done for December's theme in Dwelling of Duels "32-Bit Era", it placed 17th out of 23 tracks, so, not so hot lol, but I believe the quality for this track is definitely there, and the divisiveness comes from the nature of the style/genre of the arrangement. I arranged all versions of Dr. Neo Cortex's theme from the original Crash Bandicoot trilogy into a tight nu metal/hardcore punk structure, mainly inspired by the music of Maximum the Hormone (who you might know from making music for Death Note and Chainsaw Man, among others), it's very aggressive and heavy, particularly with extensive use of harsh vocals, this is my first time doing screams and growls, and while it took a lot of practice, I think they came out pretty decently. I also incorporate female clean vocals in certain sections to give contrast, and also because it's part of the style that Maximum the Hormone has, which is an extensive vocal variety. I basically took almost all of the motifs from each version of Cortex's theme and organized them in a way that I thought would fit best as a rock/metal structure, originally I was only going to do Crash 2's version, but I found that 3's version had a lot of very interesting sections that I could also exploit, I end up crediting Crash 1 as well because some of the motifs originate from there even if they're repeated in the other 2 versions, there's also a riff in the intro with 8th notes followed by triplets that is only present in 1's version, which I also used in my arrangement. The lyrics are very simple and goofy, mostly referring to Cortex in the first person and how he tries very hard to deal with Crash but is seemingly always unable to, and throws tantrums as a result. I also threw in the Aku Aku invincibility jingle in the middle of the song for good measure, mostly just because I thought it would sound cool. Since this arrangement incorporates motifs from all 3 games, you could also say this is an arrangement from Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, the soundtrack is almost the exact same, and I do take some variations from the remaster into this arrangement as well. The name of the arrangement comes from Cortex's full name (Dr. Neo Cortex) and is also a reference to another song by Maximum the Hormone, called A•L•I•E•N. I don't have much else to say about the arrangement without letting the music speak for itself, but I'll once again credit my good friend Zach on bass, who is always by my side come hell or high water, and Nemo for providing me her awesome melodic vocals. One last thing, I don't know if requests for specific judges is a thing that OCR does, but if possible, I would love it if Rexy was able to vote in this one (: Lyrics: Small as a cockroach, world’s biggest head I bring life and destroy what I create Plans for world domination A master operation Creation, marsupial mutation “Looking dumb with a big N on his forehead” Now you’ll get a taste of death Beat it, bandi-bandit Who’s the smartest brain? Beat it, bandi-bandit Who’s the most N. Sane? Beat it, bandi-bandit Who’ll thrash and complain? Beat it, bandi-bandit Now I shall bring you pain Won’t let you laugh at me Won’t let you outsmart me Stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp Stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp You won’t escape from me You won’t get rid of me Stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp Stomp squash crush bash smash crash Please just let me win this Please just die already D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-Die! D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-Die! D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-Die! D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-Die! Listen now, you’ll do as I say (You’re mine now) Even if I’m on my own You’ll never see the last of me Crash Bandicoot! Blast, desperate situation Unlikely cooperation Frustration, foiled manipulation “Looking dumb with a crystal in his hand” Now you’ll taste the revenge of the evil mask Uka-Uka Aku-Aku Invincibility GO! Please stop running away Please just give it to me D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-Die! D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-Die! D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-Die! D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-Die! Listen now, you’ll do as I say (You’re mine now) Even if I’m on my own You’ll never see the last of me Crash Bandicoot! “Defeated again, it’s not fair, maybe I should retire to a nice big beach, with a nice big drink, and a woman with nice, big… bags of ice for my head” Please just let me win this Please just die already I might just be a bit N. Sane But in the end I will always be back again Games & Sources: Games: Crash Bandicoot; Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back; Crash Bandicoot: Warped Songs arranged: Cortex's boss theme from all 3 games (https://youtu.be/lcF3OFr2K8E) (https://youtu.be/s67WsTvbASU) (https://youtu.be/HKI1tOMsSHw), Aku Aku invincibility jingle (https://youtu.be/hdjnUEJ42aI) Original composer: Josh Mancell System: Playstation Year: 1996, 1997 and 1998

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Artist Name: CJthemusicdude Cheetuh Men. Games & Sources: Name of game(s) arranged: Cheetahmen II Name of individual song(s) Main Theme Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site):

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The piano line from 1:06-1:49 was there before but is pushed up and sounds rigid, slightly behind the beat, and isn't mixed as the primary foreground element, so it's not working here, and is further exposed by being this prominent. I talked with VQ about it a little, and she said "It's louder because the previous comment was it was a bit too buried in the mix and they wanted it and the cello in front, followed by the NieR harmony, then the rest... It's not a different sound, it's the same Yamaha grand VST but paired with a jazz organ for note sustain... ?" I would say be careful to not let any ill-fitting clutter and busyness be too prominent. Don't be afraid to just melodically quote something in a straightforward way instead; I'm sure your sound design will personalize it well. You'll think I believe you don't have musical talent when I've heard a lot of good ideas from you and have said so in writeups; you don't have an ear for melodiousness, so when you dip into original composition ideas, the writing can be very disorganized and lacking melodiousness. For example, the belltones from 2:10-2:31, which are slightly different in writing than v2 that was previously judged) aren't melodious and sound randomized. It'll seem like I'm holding my nose when I'm saying this: the concept could work, just not like this... no need for this random stuff. Keep it focused and coveying some sort of direction. SFX added from 3:34-3:35 sounds out of place like a cuckoo sound; didn't fit the overall aesthetic you set up. That said, other more subtle added or adjusted parts were working. This still needs more refinement, IMO, you may want to let Zack or Emu take a stab at a melodic direction for this with some new part-writing (i.e. something to supplement what's already there) as well as revisit the bells from 2:10-2:31. I'm more permissive on mixing, but the point still stands that there were sections where there's no overt direction (partly due to the mixing, partly due to the writing). While you don't need to start anything over, you're also not going to get it there with minor mixing adjustments, again, IMO. Still very good potential, so let's be careful to not just try to add extra frosting on top of the cake. The sound design's pretty solid, but there's still some dodgy writing and imbalanced mixing getting in the way. NO (resubmit) EDIT (1/28/24): Listened again, but my reservations stand. I don't even like that I'm a NO, because I want more NieR, and this is like 70% of the way there, IMO. When VQ stays on the melodic straight and narrow, it's more cohesive; once she strays, she has the tendency to start writing off-key or clashing stuff. If that can be sorted, count me in!

Previous Decision COLLABORATORS [FEAT.]: Zack Parrish = *Live Acoustic Guitar, *Fretless Bass VSTi, *Glass Harp / Armonica VSTi, *Cello VSTi *Children's Choir VSTi & *Pipe Organ VSTi Emunator = *Additional Pads & SFX for Mid-Section / End-Section / Outro, *Mentoring & Mixing Guidance # Festive greetings, J's! Originally done for The Coop & Dyne's *17th* "An OverClocked Christmas" unofficial album, this is my chill take on NieR's Snow in Summer, with quite a few very appreciated, last minute collab additions courtesy of Zack. Although this will be my third year contributing to the album, (the previous years done with tracks from Snowboard Kids, Secret of Mana, and Mega Man X3--respectively), I have been wanting to remix this song since the first time I participated back in 2021. It had taken years to finally conceptualize it in full, (and giving up on a couple of not-so-great mash-up ideas for it,) but I am happy it has finally come to fruition in 2023, where now I can feel confident in creating and mixing its transformative content and executing the plan to do it with. And, honestly, I am glad I finally put my mind to the fire and kindled the courage to open up the source MIDI and take a look, otherwise I would have never known just how thoroughly complex and harmonically-driven the source was. With source usage, it is throughout the whole song, start to finish, with no repeats. I said to myself..."why break and recreate something that is already beautiful?" Instead, I elected to *add* to it, rather than *subtract*, starting by changing the instrumentation entirely to fit a whole different genre bend. This arrangement is akin to the relaxing vibes in my remixes for "A Wish" (Secret of Mana) and "Big Snowman" (Snowboard Kids), yet it is not as somber as "The Frozen City" (MMX3). I am not a huge Christmas-y person, however, I love many things that are "Christmas-spirited / adjacent", as well as a few fairly traditional ones that make an exception (e.g. "Carol of the Bells"). I tried to encapsulate those aspects of Christmas songs I do really enjoy in this mix, such as: lots of strings, pretty bells & chimes, choirs, plenty of percussive elements, pipe organs, ritzy piano, jazzy bass, etc--but, employ them with a bit of a twist; a nice undertone of Lo-Fi / Hip-Hop, indicative of the snappy percussion and plucky bass, as well as the low flute / whistle-y, whiny / minimoog saw synth that has an East-West Coast/90s flair (i.e. that "oooo-weee-ooo" you hear in a lot of Oldskool Rap tracks, such as "Big Poppa" by Notorious B.I.G.) There...wasn't really much to my creative approach this time around, as my focus was mainly considering what I could do to showcase a different spin and feeling from its original incarnation without "breaking the mold". An...iteration that had equal parts the feelings of hope and happiness, and solemnity and loneliness that could be invoked during the (generally) joyous holiday season, against the original's more depressive emotion, that filters up and crescendo into the feeling of almost...oppression--religious fervor turned into militaristic battle music midway through the song. I never got to play NieR (although I own the original and Automata), so this is me taking the raw emotion I felt from the source alone, without context or ties to the game, and changing it into something very..."me"...I suppose. I just know the first time I listened to the source, the choir pulled me in and the drumbeat lulled me to stay till the end, and I wanted to simply mimic that ebb and flow in a "me" manner. This one is probably one of my more "conservative" remixes, but I'm a firm believer in not all songs being created equal nor should get the same treatment, and I did not feel this one needed to be bombastic or as over-the-top with the sheer insanity some of my other pieces of work came to be. It's subtle, it's Xmas-inspired, and my hope is that this one can make it in for the holidays. I know I had only submitted one other Christmas-related track, and sadly MMX3 / Blizzard Buffalo was rejected and did not make the cut. I will return to it shortly, however I hope people enjoy this one, and this one has a chance. Have a Merry Christmas and thank you for the time and consideration to give this track due judgement. I pray for the best. <**ADDENDUM: ...Third time's the charm...? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ♥>

PROJECT REMIX - LUFIA II: OF GODS AND MEN* Lufia II was one of the first RPGs as a kid I had ever had the pleasure to play solo, and to this very day I remember renting it from Blockbuster for the first time--ages past--and thoroughly enjoying it. Great story, a colorful cast of quirky characters, and to top it all off, mind-busting puzzles galore. I don't think I've ran into many games up to that point (or since) that utilized such a wide-variety of puzzle mechanics and skills related to each, that were almost seamlessly interwoven with the overall gameplay elements, and at that young age it blew me away and boggled me, for sure. ...Was probably the most fun, albeit aggravating bit of puzzle solving I've done in any game. In this, I had an interesting time reliving the nostalgia (...perhaps more like PTSD) of hearing the theme to Dragon Mountain once more, and I am truly ecstatic and lucky that I had caught the ability to make a remix for the album when I did. I was aware it was in a hellscape limbo for the longest time of not getting released (almost two decades!!!), and I didn't think I had a shot...but I took the gambit, asked Gario what's the 4-1-1, and here we happily are. :) For anyone wondering, the title is a bit of a tongue n' cheek inside joke about the wacky puzzles in Lufia II, in particular one infamously known by the nickname/moniker "The World's Most Difficult Trick" (‘TWMDT’); this is in relation to the pretty damned tough sliding puzzle at the end of Dragon Mountain (that a *whole lot of people* cheated on using gamer magazines, GameFAQs or RPG Classics websites to figure out how to do), and it held some of the best items/gear in the game for either the party or your dragon companion Capsule Monster. ...And OH BOY, do I remember it, and the puzzles before it (the weight puzzle, the ice blocks, the burning plants, etc) . . . And the *frequent* amount of random battles in-between--(hence the interlude with Battle #1!) Truly, the greatest pro gamer move is just spamming the "RESET" Spell like a mo-fo until you passed it. ;) Jokes aside, I did not have a particular inspiration for this piece, but the closest to ones are probably artists like Savant, GameChops, DJ Cutman, Joshua Morse and James Landino, and my approach was rather random AF. It came together and was built in a way more piecemeal fashion, oddly me working from the top (high-end synths) to the bottom (bass, drums, percs and kicks) rather than the opposite way...as this time I tried to find the vibe within the source's lead material first and foremost, rather than via the source's bass or additional drum machine / samples. And it was a wild ride. People who had a glimpse at this track over the time I've been working on it and endlessly tweaking it can attest: it had grown and mutated and was thoroughly carved and fleshed out and embellished over a lengthy period...and I think the improvements are there and shine to a fine waxed polish. :) A lot of my focus here was on tightening technique and employing more interesting synth groupings, call and response, and chord stacks than I ever had before--in pursuit of strengthening my hardcore EDM skills. I wanted a banger, I craved it, and with Lufia II (being one of my fave RPGs from the SNES era) I'm glad it was the one I gave said treatment to. ...This may not have been the "world's most difficult [track]", but it certainly pushed the limits of my current arranging, mixing and production knowledge and skills, and added an abundance more to my repertoire. :D Thanks again to those who gave me a lot of hints, tips, tricks and critique on this piece (ya'll know who you are!), and to Gario for helping me, encouraging me along the way, and allowing me to add some spice to the wonderful album stew. If it weren't for those comments and this opportunity, I do not think the song would have elevated to the heights I've managed to raise it to. I hope it meets expectations, and people groove out to it. ♥ :3 Games & Sources: LUFIA II - RISE OF THE SINISTRALS / ESTPOLIS DENKI II: ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK; DISC 1, Track 34 - Towering Mountain (Logismos Shrine) & Track 8 - Battle #1; Composer(s): Yasunori Shiono; Release Date: 17 February 1995; Label: Pony Canyon & Scitron

Well, I think the first thing I should probably address is that, this is more along the lines of a cover and I am not sure it is transformative enough. In fact, I probably wouldn't submit it if I wasn't so happy with how it turned out as is. I tried going back to it over the past two years to see how I can expand or change things but nothing really ever came to mind. I remember seeing a track by someone recently that had a comment along the lines of "Not everything has to be for OCR, and maybe that's fine." Or something like that. And maybe that's the case here but I am not a judge and I wanted others opinions to speak for themselves! Anywho, Some things of note, I submitted another track from FFVIII this year (I promise to try and branch out in 2024 lol) that incorporated thunder and rain. This is the first track I actually tried experimenting with using it as sort of an instrument or a pad so to say. I'm imagining the scene this comes from, after the dance and SeeD fiasco, but its a rainy day and Quistis (mah gurl) just confessing and oof. The beauty of it all. This is probably also where I began using vocal overlays a bit more and sort of using it as a trademark of mine. Sometimes I'm self conscious about that but oh well, I like what I like. This is also rather short which is problematic from a transformative standpoint but I liked that I squeezed a bunch of different kinds of sounds that I enjoy in a tight space. Anyway, sorry for the long post for such a short little piece. Again, its not the most transformative thing I've submitted but I'm okay with that. As always, I'm just happy to hear back from others and continue to improve. And who knows, maybe with some more inspiration I'll find what I need to change this up some more, but if not, its been a pleasure little track of mine. Artist Name: H36T Games & Sources: Final Fantasy VIII Nobuo Uematsu Tell Me

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Viewers were digging the Light Infantry soundtrack a lot as well, by isonosuke! https://isonosuke.bandcamp.com/album/light-infantry-ost Same with Pizza Tower! https://ronandecastel.bandcamp.com/album/pizza-tower-soundtrack During this past Summer’s event, a lot of viewers dug Logan Hayes’ soundtrack to The Pedestrian! https://loganhayes1.bandcamp.com/album/the-pedestrian-original-soundtrack

Remixer: LXE Name: Alexis Gelinas Email: Website: instagram.com/lexadex_yo 38753 -- * Game: Super Mario 64 * Remix Title: Raga Koopa * Song Title: Koopa's Road * Notes: This was my exploration into the world of indian music. This arrangement features sitar, bansuri, tampura, and various hand drums such as tabla and ghatam. Hope you enjoy this unique take on the song :D -- Alexis Gelinas

Original Decision Credits Mel Decision: arrangement, production, mixing Zack Parrish: alto saxophone, guitar, bass GameroftheWinds: bass clarinet Emunator: percussion Lucas Guimaraes: effects, foley This track was a labor of love! What started out as a last-minute bonus track for Final Fantasy VIII: SeeDs of Pandora has evolved quite a bit with the addition of live guitar and bass, rerecorded saxophone, an entirely rewritten percussion section, and brand new effects to bolster the lo-fi vibe. I love writing lo-fi music, and when I was exploring songs from the FFVIII OST to rearrange, Fisherman's Horizon immediately stood out to me as a track that would fit the genre with it's softer, comforting feel. I felt like I could make it work in the short amount of time I had to create a track for the bonus disc on the album. With the help of Lucas Guimaraes and GameroftheWinds, I was able to include some live winds on the track. Since the release of the album, this rearrangement has gone through several iterations. Most recently, I've had the pleasure of collaborating with Zack Parrish and Emunator, who hopped in to expand on the existing parts. Zack especially jumped in head-first: he re-recorded the saxophone section, and played live guitar and bass for the track, replacing my previous virtual instruments. Emunator rethought the entire percussion section, bringing in a more dynamic beat to help move the song along while still keeping you in the groove. Finally, Lucas topped it off with some additional sound effects that brought in the right amount of ear candy. I can't thank these guys enough for all the work they put into the track, along with multiple rounds of feedback to get the mix balanced just right. Their expertise and advice really helped me hear where this track needed to go in order to succeed. Games & Sources: Name of game(s) arranged: Final Fantasy FVIII Name of individual song(s) arranged: Fisherman's Horizon

Thanks for enjoying the site so long, and I appreciate the sentiment of putting this together. Unfortunately, we don't accept traditional remixes where original music is extensively sampled, we're primarily about rearrangements. Particularly the FFXIII stuff is just taking Eino's audio with no changes. This track violates our Submission Standards: NO Override

From Dual Blade This is a tribute to two of the best artists on OCRemix: mp and Eino Keskitalo. I've been a fan of OCRemix for about 15 years (thanks to Limewire). This was inspired by djpreztel's farewell post on November 4, 2023, "It's time - some would say past time - for OverClocked ReMix itself to be ReMixed". Games & Sources: Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy X, mp's Final Fantasy VIII Liberi Fatali Overhaul Liberi Fatali, and Eino Keskitalo's Final Fantasy X Katumus Lulus Theme Hopes Theme FF13.

Would need a unique title if it passed -LT Artist: Astroverse Dimensions i have redone almost the complete soundtrack in rock/metal style tried to keep the sequence the game pretends and put in as much themes as possible and mixed it with original samples to keep the feeling Games & Sources: TMNT II Back from the Sewers (Gameboy) Almost complete Soundtrack Tsuyoshi Sekito Yuko Kurahashi

This was originally written about 10 years ago. I wrote a few remixes all at once and only got around to submitting Firewalker, which is my only other submission. In that time, I've had a lot of time to fidget around with this mix and arrangement to land on where it's at now. That has mostly resulted in making it more compressed and louder as time has gone on haha. I was quite apologetic in my first submission because I didn't feel like I used the original material enough but I feel more confident this time around. That is to say I think this track rules but I'm prepared to be humbled by the judges. Games & Sources: The song I'm remixing is the Lost Woods theme from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time composed by my man Koji Kondo. I don't know if I need to give a lot of description for this haha. Ocarina of Time has to be one of the most remixed games on OCRemix. Ocarina of Time is about a young lad trying to be a horse farmer but he is easily distracted and accidentally saves a kingdom. Here's a Youtube link for the exact track

This was my Dwelling of Duels submission for December 2022, MAGFest Month. I participated in DoD for the first time in January 2022, not knowing what I was getting in to. After seeing the enthusiastic (and constructive) response to my submissions, I got hooked and committed to do a full year of DoD to practice recording, arranging, and production. This track was the culmination of that year. I wanted to take everything I had learned submitting to DoD in 2022 and crank it up to 11. I thought the Mole Knight boss theme would make for a good djent cover, so putting the arrangement chops I gained over the year, this is the result. It's heavy, it's prog, it's got vocals, it's got guitar solos, it's even got a violin solo! Track credits: * minusworld - guitars, bass, programming, lyrics, arrangement, production * Brandon Strader - vocals * Development of Avoid - guitar solo at 2:23 * Shea's Violin - violin solo The opening of Mole Knight's Boss theme reminded me of the intro to "Make Total Destroy" by Periphery, so I adapted it into a similarly fretboard-spanning octave tapping riff and went from there. I knew I wanted alternating growled and clean vocals, and Brandon Strader delivered 110%. Development of Avoid did the solo at 2:23. This track was perfect for his style. The solo is weird and alien, but also strangely memorable. I added the bridge really late in the month, and Shea's Violin came on board for a short violin solo and killed it. The main source used is Mole Knight's boss theme, "Claws of Fate". Mole Knight's stage "An Underlying Problem" is used in a few places, and the Specter of Torment version of the stage, "Facing the Task" is lightly used. Main source: Shovel Knight - Claws of Fate (https://virt.bandcamp.com/track/the-claws-of-fate-mole-knight-battle) Other references: * Shovel Knight - An Underlying Problem (https://virt.bandcamp.com/track/an-underlying-problem-the-lost-city) - melody from source at 0:00 adapted at 0:49 in this cover; bass line from source at 2:14 adapted into breakdown at 1:23 in this cover * Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment - Facing the Task (https://virt.bandcamp.com/track/facing-the-task-lost-city), chord progression and melody from source at 0:44 adapted in the bridge at 1:57 of this cover The lyrics are mostly a generic "down with the system" deal, but with some mole- and shovel-related imagery. I did take some inspiration from current events at the time... namely a certain head-of-state warmonger and a certain owner of a bird-themed company. ### Verse 1 We are beneath you We make the ground quake under your feet Collapse the system Bring it down to earth You are beneath us You think your status makes you our savior Demon in disguise Fallen angel ### Chorus Walking all over us again Can’t take much more, we are at our wits end Look at this world you left for us Covered in rust, and dust, and lust Fire and smoke reach toward the sky Brandishing claws, revolt sparks in our eyes Through with the lies you’re shoveling Disgust, distrust, combust Yeah, bring it down ### Verse 2 For all your worth You are worthless A blight On our kind Your cultists Have disowned you True colors Red stripes, blood ### Bridge Shining brightly As we unite! We Will strike the ground Move this mount-ain On our own And you’ll Be left all alone All alone ### Breakdown Influence overthrown Name no more known Monuments overgrown Yeah ### Down Bridge The future’s Shining brightly As we unite! We Will strike the ground Move this mount-ain On our own And you’ll Be left all alone ### Tag Rise up Break through the fallow ground Sharpen your claws New world inbound ### Outro Walking all over us again Can’t take much more we are at our wits end Fire and smoke reach toward the sky Brandishing claws, revolt sparks in our eyes Games & Sources: Main source: Shovel Knight - Claws of Fate (https://virt.bandcamp.com/track/the-claws-of-fate-mole-knight-battle) Other references: * Shovel Knight - An Underlying Problem (https://virt.bandcamp.com/track/an-underlying-problem-the-lost-city) - melody from source at 0:00 adapted at 0:49 in this cover; bass line from source at 2:14 adapted into breakdown at 1:23 in this cover * Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment - Facing the Task (https://virt.bandcamp.com/track/facing-the-task-lost-city), chord progression and melody from source at 0:44 adapted in the bridge at 1:57 of this cover