Contra 4 - Rocked 'n' Loaded OUT NOW!

[LuketheXjesse]

[Halt]

Got the album this morning ^^. Great stuff guys :].

[LuketheXjesse]

Got this in the mail today. This is pretty much the greatest culmination of remixing talent I've ever heard, i.e. the best remix album.

Gets 5 out of 5 spread shot power-ups from me. Buy this, like, now.

[SwordBreaker]

Highly considering buying this despite being all the way in the Middle East. Just working out problems with my credit card. Either way, congrats on the release, guys!

[Pope]

Got mine today. Listening to it right now for the second time.

Fantastic job, guys.

[SirChadlyOC]

Got mine today. I've been getting a ton of mail/gifts recently because I'm getting married in a week. I spent about 3 minutes trying to figure out if Dr. "Andreas Kotsamanidis" had RSVPed or not. Then I realized that this he, in fact, did not work with my dad, and that this was, in fact, not a wedding gift.

But it totally beats the convection oven I got this week.

[Demonstray]

Upated, check first post. Friend me on KRUNKbook and let's rock oat.

As soon as I read that, I had this overwhelming urge to get everyone on my Friends list to spam you with requests, but then I realized that would just be silly. Urge-away.

[Jodo Kast]

This album will be my new torture device at work. When we're all finishing up at night, I typically play a disc of game music. This is just perfect.

[KyleJCrb]

I am officially rocked and loaded.

[Murmeli Walan]

Bump. KyleJCrb is playing tracks RIGHT NOW from Rock and Loaded on his live radio show, Game Fuel! http://www.areciboradio.org

[Bahamut]

Finally getting more of a chance to listen, although still not super attentively - this is good stuff, although I do wish some of the tracks were heavier.

Will be listening to this as I travel to PAX East .

[Mirby]

Contra 4: Rocked 'n' Loaded Review Written Whilst Listening

1. Hell's Orifice (Intro) - SnappleMan, norg 0:58

norg does a good job of recording the lines. SnappleMan creates an intense ambience in the background. Helicopter at the end!

2. Jungle Exploder (Jungle Normal) - SnappleMan 4:43

The first true track shows that the name of the album, unlike the cake, is not a lie. Shreddage all around in this track; Snapple keeps faithful to his rockin' style, and converts this track perfectly to that. Nice solo-thing at 2:23 or so. Fast-paced, much like the game's action. And it ends as quickly as it began. Next stage... I mean track...

3. Shrapnel Facial (Lab/Waterfall) - SnappleMan, Prince of Darkness, Prozax 6:53

Slow to start, yet it retains all the intensity of the previous track. Gets intense at 1:29. Guitar comes in at 1:44; sweet. More guitar at 2:13. Snapple does great work with the keyboards in this song. 4:23 brings in more epicity. Nice rhythm at 4:42 or so. Listening to this track, and this album, at anything other than max volume, is a crime. Calms down at 5:30 or so, and builds back up at 5:51 or so. The final build-up becomes noticeable at 6:03 or so. Nice echo to the end at 6:49.

4. BRICKWALLER (Base) - Prince of Darkness 5:19

Ah yes, one of the two free tracks available on the website for this. Pud does a great job of keeping an intense, metal feel for this. OH NO! DANGER at 1:34 or so. Nice bass at 2:04 or so. Gets even cooler at 3:03 or so. I'd work at a base if this track played in the background. Climax begins at 3:45 or so. And it keeps building after that somehow! It's hyperclimactic! Especially at 4:30 or so. Returns to basic rhythm at 4:48 or so. Silence at 5:06 to end.

5. Slave FREIGHTER (Harbor) - BrainCells 4:35

Cool rhythm and guitars come in at 0:13. Nice guitar at 1:10 or so. My brain cells are messing with me now; this is too epic. This album may cause epicity overload! Silence at 2:20 or so, then slowly builds back up. Bit by bit, the track builds and builds until 3:09 or so when the intensity spikes sharply. The spectrogram goes nuts at 3:28 or so on. Main rhythm returns at 3:53 or so; more epic guitar at 4:03 or so. Ends at 4:25 or so, silence to end.

6. Bass Fishing (Ocean) - SnappleMan, BrainCells, Prince of Darkness 5:18

I think they might be a little busy trying not to die to go fishing... Great guitar at 0:23. Pud provides great bass in this; appropriate given the name, I suppose. Even if the tendonitis mentioned in the booklet happened, it was worth it to provide this sexy track. Guitar awesomeness at 2:02 or so until 2:15. Sick bass at 2:35 or so. Guitar returns at 2:53 or so. Even sweeter guitar at 3:30 or so. More sweet guitar at 4:30 or so. I want to go fishing and listen to this track too! Final ending at 5:15.

7. Metropolis Massacre (Neo City) - Prince of Darkness, Travis Moberg 5:16

Menacing feel! Oh no! Not Neo City! Save it, gang! Pretty sweet bass at 0:20 or so. The feeling builds and builds throughout this track. I love it. Sweet guitar at 1:28. Travis helps out immensely with the drums, giving this track a dramatic touch. Intensity at 2:57 or so. More menace at 3:10 or so. Even more dramatic feel at 3:27. Basic rhythm at 3:40 or so, also with a menacing feel. Slow and mournful at 3:58, with guitar to match at 4:03. And drums and keyboards replace and hasten the feel at 4:10 or so. 4:28 brings in some more sexy guitar shreddage. Intensity contintues to 5:11, which is the end.

8. Balls of Steel (Factory) - norg 5:10

The other free track! Starts out immediately, and basic rhythms at 0:10. Source at 0:30. Pretty intense track. Metallic feeling to it; appropriate given the stage the source plays in. Nice synth sound at 1:32 or so. Sweet guitar at 1:58 or so. Intensity reigns supreme throughout this track. True factory sounds at 2:28 or so add to the feel. Main rhythms resum at 2:53 or so, with a more intense background. I love this job... Ahem. The whole track is insane! Crazy rhythms at 3:38 or so. Awesome distortion at 4:20 or so. Metallic sounds at 4:20 or so. Climax at 4:47, and abruptly but perfectly ends at 5:03.

9. Dey Callim Boss (Menu/Boss Approaches/Waterfall Boss/Waterfall Boss Chase) - SnappleMan, Prince of Darkness, Norrin_Radd 5:40

One hell of a medley! The FamiTracker sounds start immediately, with building ambience coming in soon after. Creepy vibe starts at 0:30 or so. Guitar starts at 0:50 or so, with the creepy feel continuing. 1:24 brings in the meat of the track. Sweet guitar at 1:40. The intensely creepy vibe just won't stop! I love it! More intensity at 3:04 or so. Silence and sound effects at 3:19 or so, melody returning at 3:24 or so. Guitar keeps rhythm and remains sexy as well. Nice keyboards at 4:00 or so. Nice FamiTracker solo at 4:17 or so; unique usage of the program, and it fits in so perfectly. Nice work! Sweet guitar returns at 4:45 or so. The climax begins at 5:14 or so.

10. Let's Attack Aggressively! (Alien Hive/Heart Battle) - Danimal Cannon, Chris Dlugosz 3:43

Sounds great! Aggressive too! Nice rhythm at 0:52. Sounds menacing! Melody switch-up at 1:24 or so. The backing guitar keeps the intensity flowing. Sick guitar at 1:43 or so. Chris' keyboards fit in perfectly with the alien feel of the ship. Builds in the background at 2:43. Nice vocal clip at 2:43! COME GET SOME! Climax begins at 3:12 or so. Ends suddenly at 3:37.

11. Flesh Harvest (Harvest Yard/Last Boss) - Christian Pacaud, Marc-André Gingras 4:07

The final stage and final battle. Has a whole final feel to it. Scary, creepy, lovely. Brassy sound is perfect for this track. Guitar comes in at 1:43 to make the track even better! Quiets down at 2:22 or so. More brass sound. Dramatic feel at 2:33. This is truly the final boss theme! If you fail this, the world ends! FIGHT FOR THE WORLD! FOR GREAT JUSTICE! ROCK FOR THE WORLD! FOR EVERLASTING PEACE! So climactic; final sounds at 3:53 or so. Noise at 3:59 to end.

12. GET TO THE CHOPPA (Jungle Hard) - Danimal Cannon, Prince of Darkness, Travis Moberg 2:50

Ah yes, the remix of the retro remix. Beautifully done, fast paced, shreddage faster than the Shredder could ever hope to achieve... Brings back many memories. So very intense. Nice work with the drums, Travis! Everything meshes together so perfectly! Vocal clip at 1:45, followed by epic guitar. Nice distortion at 2:20 or so to end.

13. B.E.I.G.L. (End Credits) - virt 4:33

Who better to do the final track here than the original composer himself, Mr. Jake Kaufman. Such a victorious feel. As to what the abbreviation means, I don't know. Either it's short for Badass Epic Inevitably Grand Litany or a reference to biglionmusic.com. Nice guitar at 1:42 or so. This works out to be a medley of various other tracks, and he covers them magnificently, naturally. He made them in the first place. Sexy guitar shreddage at 2:27 or so. Vastly different from the last track I reviewed of his, Flight of the Zinger. But just as polished. Climactic feel at 3:30 or so. The final note begins at 4:13 or so. And scene at 4:27.

Conclusion

What a phenomenal album! I honestly can't think of anything else to say about this, because there really isn't anything else that can be said, or needs to be. If you haven't bought this album yet, please go to RockednLoaded.com to buy your own copy. You won't regret it, I guarantee you.