ReMix:Eternal Champions "Perpetual Motion" 3:43

By zircon

Arranging the music of one song...

"Character Biographies"

Primary Game: Eternal Champions (Sega , 1993, GEN), music by Adrian Van Velsen, Andy Armor, Jeff Marsh, Joe Delia, John Hart

Posted 2006-07-19, evaluated by djpretzel


I was privy to earlier incarnations of this, our first Eternal Champions ReMix, courtesy of Mr. Aversa. I still remember the television ad for EC, which depicted the box for the cartridge opening and closing, so as to resemble a mouth, with some witty slogan about how Eternal Champions was going to eat up all those "other" fighting games. Needless to say, while Sonic was clearly a successful combatant for Sega in the realm of platformers, EC never really screamed "franchise" to anyone. I remember playing it, thinking it was decent, then going straight back to my beloved SF2T without batting an eyelash. The music was something of a fog for me, but zircon's lifted that fog, and what you've got in this case is a piece that wouldn't sound out of place on a Castlevania soundtrack - very gothic... or baroque... or one of those adjectives that describes music they play when people dress up in flamboyant clothes and whip vampires and wear too much makeup. It's a different style for zircon, although his trusty FM7 is familiarly identifiable as the synth brass patch that starts things off. The intro actually sounds a bit like a Genesis, until the cleaner drums and pristine bell pads enter. There's textural electric guitar added in for some subtle but effective grit, as well, and drums get meatier using Andy's layering tricks at 1'10" after a tom fill. The following progression really reminds me of portions of the Clockwork Orange soundtrack. There's a nicely executed ritardando/fake ending sorta thing that then kicks right back in, harder than previously, and some choral patches join in for the last bits. There's a conscious lack of a discrete bassline in the instrumentation, with the base of the progression filling things out in the lower quarters; I think this both helps and hurts the mix. It helps it remain very crisp, clean, and perhaps increases the gothic feel, but at the cost of the drums sometimes feeling unanchored. I could go either way, but since it's a salient and probably more unorthodox arrangement decision, it bears mentioning. All in all, though, a great mix that reminds me that EC really did have some good tunes, and which also opens up some new directions for its ReMixer in terms of genre and instrumentation. As a sidenote, while 'Perpetual Motion' was one of my mix title suggestions, I was pushing much harder for Andy to use the extremely punny 'Eternal Affairs' or the Banglesque 'Eternal Flame' - alas, cooler heads prevailed.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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BONKERS
on 2012-12-27 06:04:12

Such an awesome song! And a great arrangement/remix. The atmosphere is just so brooding.

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WesternZypher
on 2010-11-13 23:13:37

You can see the fighters, as wind-up figurine-dancers, acting out their conflicts across the stage upon the music box that is the world of Eternal Champions, forever locked in grand duels....blah blah this is awesome. Listen.

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OA
on 2009-12-04 17:25:18

Nice melody on this one, i'd have never heard it without Zircon remixing it, thanks dude! A cool neoclassical feel here, with some excellent timechanges and a crisp and powerful sound, it's a pretty good statement even with a limited sound palate. I do think a little bit of bass would help glue those drums in better early on, but most of the mix has a defined bottom end, so we're good I suppose. :-)

Nice work, this one has held up pretty well.

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Loning
on 2009-07-09 02:25:48

Great remix!!

I've come to enjoy your remixes as they are amazing to listen too!

This one still tops my list of top OCRemixes and I doubt it'll leave anytime soon. The best part is when you slow it down a few minutes in and pick it up back up. Very well done.

Keep up the amazing work.

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maelkashishi
on 2007-12-10 09:20:47

a fine song. at first I thought it was a little too simple with the lack of substantial harmonic development, but the mix of instruments is very stimulatory and tension (stress?) is well taken care of. For the evocative title's sake I think the beats are a little too sharp, but other than that, it is quite nice to listen to, even though it will not transform (or even modify) anyone's experience of music (do not get me wrong: not every song needs to, but many bring a hint of structures/ themes/ history or whatever with them; this one goes unremembered).

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lord_ah
on 2006-09-15 23:20:07

nice mix, like it at around 2.30 when it slows and comes back in etc. and bone thugs n harmony used that flute style tune part in their song 'eternal' :)

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Rainman DX
on 2006-09-14 09:35:07

I, also, enjoy most the ending climax - very well constructed for maximum output. And while having never played the game, I have to admit that this piece has a very catchy melody.

I wonder about the name of the piece, though - discrete reference to SC Vanguard's 2006 show? Probably just a coincidence.

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Chickenwarlord
on 2006-09-04 13:46:29

I love the ending on this. 2:55 when it comes back after seemingly slowing down. This piece has really grown on me.

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John Revoredo
on 2006-08-27 12:00:50

Personally i think this isn't Zircons best. 6,5/10

However is nice as background music. :P

Conclusion : more calamitous judgement! more! more!:-D

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playingtokrush
on 2006-08-22 22:05:24

I hated Eternal Champions with a passion and have no memory of its soundtrack, and yet this mix punches me in the face harder and harder every time I listen to it.

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Rainbringer
on 2006-08-06 23:20:00

I never really expected an Eternal Champions remix, and I certainly never dreamed it would be this good. I remember way back I rented a copy of EC and loved its characters and storyline, but eventually forgot about it. Just after listening to this, I found a ROM--er, copy of it for the Sega/Mega CD and played with it. Xavier is the coolest character by far.

Back on topic, Zircon really did bring out the best of the Eternal Champion's theme. My mind's eye sees Perpetual Motion as a lighter "color" than the average OCRemix; clear bell tones and--I'm not as versed on instruments or music, so bear with me--the "flute-like" instrument that composes the lead adds to this perception, I guess. If you don't get what I mean by "lighter color", suffice it to say that Perpetual Motion sounds more like a cathedral than, say, a dance hall; if that's not clear, I'm probably a music-to-visual Synaesthetic, so I don't blame you for not understanding.

In short, it's very beautiful in a musical sense. I love all the remixes on this site, but I wish there were more like this one. Keep up the good work, Zircon.

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playingtokrush
on 2006-08-06 17:43:48

Zircon's last two mixes have really assraped the hell out of me. Keep up the awesome work.

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JoyBoy
on 2006-08-02 06:43:29

I can here a weird sound at 2:02 like a hotmail messneger new message sound or something... or maybe my imagination :roll:

best part 1:08-1:54

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Nobbynob Littlun
on 2006-07-28 15:32:44

Hmm I can see the comment on it reminding of Castlevania, but... not really. It does bring to mind some of the tunes from The Lost Vikings 2, though. Especially the medieval area.

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PlastikBag
on 2006-07-27 20:44:18

Zircon never fails to please my ears. Not my favorite of yours, but that's because you've set the bar for yourself incredibly high. I love the samples you used in the introduction. They remind me a lot of Sonic 3 Knuckles' soundtrack.

Now, we just need a new CD so I can hear all of those unfinished WIPs you post in their completed form.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Eternal Champions (Sega , 1993, GEN)
Music by Adrian Van Velsen,Andy Armor,Jeff Marsh,Joe Delia,John Hart
Songs:
"Character Biographies"

Tags (3)


Genre:
Rock
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Acoustic Guitar,Synth
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Eternal_Champions_Perpetual_Motion_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
4,444,371 bytes
MD5:
43e6ee14f114587e8d12ecdd3d1cfc03
Bitrate:
156Kbps
Duration:
3:43

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