Posted 2011-12-06, evaluated by djpretzel


Dual Dragons! MGS4!

That's enough for me, right there, but perhaps we can say a bit more... this is the fourth posted mix from the Brothers Johansen, who also have a Shadow Hearts: Covenant mix on the album. So basically, BadAss has... DOUBLE DUAL DRAGONS. That's like four dragons, people - if that's not badass, I don't know what is. I've never seen an octopus laugh, but I'm open-minded. So is Album Director The Joker:

"This track almost didn't make it to the project thanks to my old crappy headphones. Soundtrack to my life, if my life was as hardcore as my more aggressive dreams... which sadly they're not. Alas, we can live vicariously through the Dual Dragons' awesome music. "Laughing Octopus" is a track I wouldn't have thought could make a good remix, but they done gone and did it! What was once a simple, almost ambient electronic tune has now become death, as well as metal masterpiece!"

Heavy, heavy, heavy... this is specifically the type of dark energy my mind conjures when I think of most boss encounters, and DD have as mentioned done a great job in turning a background, situational theme into more of a foreground, in-your-face wall of shred, with plenty of guitar divebombs & beefy chugs to go around. They've maintained some of the organic/inorganic synth textures & squelches that gave the original an unsettling vibe, but turned everything else up to 11, and it sounds, well... badass. With not one but TWO dragons, these guys can take on any octopus at parity, limb-for-limb, and they've done so and come out on top; epic stuff.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 9 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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ryankeeton
on 2011-12-28 21:09:47

Not familiar with the source at all, but this is a wicked track. Very menacing. I like the synths and orchestration combined with the metals. 2:24 is pretty rad. Not real big on the ending though

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Chernabogue
on 2011-12-10 06:09:47

The source is so bizarre I was a bit worried about the final result, but TDD delivered it and it is awesome.

The mix between the orchestra instruments and the rock band (drums, guitars) is very nice and the whole song is well executed.

A very good surprise. We need more TDD remixes!

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KnightOfTheRound
on 2011-12-10 06:00:53

I've always loved the MGS4 OST, and the Laughing Octopus track has been one of my favorite tracks since I first heard it. I'm really glad that this track was on the Badass cd. Great work dudes!

WE NEED MORE METAL GEAR REMIXES!

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Bahamut
on 2011-12-07 20:11:03

Now this is what I call dark. I'm not so familiar with source, but this is what I think of when I think of a badass. It's not always pretty, but it's going to bash your head into the wall. Not a fan of the ending though. Definitely a good addition to the OCR annals!

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Crulex
on 2011-12-07 10:38:02

Damn, this is downright menacing and EVIL sounding! Seriously, this screams, bad guy is kicking ass and has the hero on the run Guitars running aggressively and the drum beats sounded good to me. I enjoyed the little "sonar" sounding break at around 2:08 before it came right back into those hard-hitting guitars. The Dual Dragons always seem to deliver the strongest metal ReMixes and they do it again here. Not in love with the ending, but it's a minor point compared to the rest of the ReMix. Sweet stuff.

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OA
on 2011-12-07 10:30:49

This is pretty solid, I love the sonic diversity and the treatment of a pretty strange source is well done. The guitars were sufficiently chugging, and the orchestra had some nice tension building parts, and the transitions between the sections was pretty solid.

I do feel the ending was a bit weak, but the rest of the track was really nice.

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Rexy
on 2011-12-06 16:11:49

Well, "Laughing Octopus" is definitely one ridiculous source tune to make ANYTHING out of since most of it is pulsating bass and sound effects.

But the Dual Dragons made it work with a more riff-driven dose of rock and giving it a similar melodic punch over those riffs. I can't deny their presentation style (especially those guitar/synth tones) and way of arrangement for such a limited source; for the most part it managed to hit a huge sweet spot by this execution.

There's something that DOES needs being stressed over though - string realisation. While the transitions to them were good, they somehow felt really mechanical with the constant velocities/attacks to them, so maybe some ways of changing them up could've helped add some life to them; after all, they're mostly staccato notes being used here, so not a right lot should've been attended to for something like that.

Hence we got one of the more unusual tracks to come forth from BadAss; it wasn't meant to work, but somehow it DID, and under the hands of two skillful brothers. I'm going to keep looking out for you :D

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HitoriJaNai
on 2011-12-06 11:57:58

You know, with a name like Laughing Octopus, you wouldn't quite think you'd be able to think that the villain in question can be taken very seriously, if at all.

This track completely changes that. It fries the idea, soaks it in the fiery flames of hell, then subjects it to a real, live octopus, who just so happens to look like its laughing. Then it gets eaten by two very hungry dragons.

Bravo, guys. I am now quaking in fear of the awesome. 8O

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djpretzel
on 2011-12-06 11:39:05

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

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami , 2008, PS3)
Music by Akihiro Honda,Harry Gregson-Williams,Kazuma Jinnouchi,Nobuko Toda,Norihiko Hibino,Shuichi Kobori,Sota Fujimori,Takahiro Izutani,Yoshitaka Suzuki
Songs:
"Laughing Octopus"

Tags (6)


Genre:
Metal,Rock
Mood:
Aggressive,Dark
Instrumentation:
Electric Guitar,Synth
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Metal_Gear_Solid_4_Routine_of_War_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,635,364 bytes
MD5:
7852f7f776f228bd4ec0ba2971310c0b
Bitrate:
231Kbps
Duration:
3:12
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