ReMix:Mega Man X3 "Bibamus, Moriendum Est" 3:06

Br00tl? Br00tl! Cyril the Wolf & Brandon Snell teamed up for this heavy-hitting metal MMX3 jam off Maverick Rising that doesn't just melt faces - it SMELTS them:

"I really like metal. Thanks to Brandon Snell for his guitar work! The title is a quote from Seneca the Elder, a Roman Senator, saying "Let us drink - we must die." Latin titles are supposed to be cool, right?

Eh, even if not, this was made for a contest that Bahamut held to get some of the boss fight themes covered on the album, and I got my friend Brandon to help me with drum programming, awesome vocal harmonies, and leads. I suck at all of those. I probably could spend forever tweaking this, because there's so many possibilities with the arrangements, but all the MMX3 boss themes kick you in the face, and that's what counts. I wish I could update this, but the project file was lost in an unfortunate smelting accident."

Well, you know what they say: the one who smelted it... practiced a form of extractive metallurgy! But I kid; while relatively brief at just over three minutes, this mix packs a serious wallop. DOZ TOMZ on the intro are meatier than Jimmy Dean's breakfast links - Brandon really annihilated the drums, awesome work - and the arrangement changes tempos & varies things up while maintaining the onslaught of shred. Maverick Rising Director Wesley Cho writes:

"A brutal assault awaits listeners here where heavy guitars abound. Connor gives us a grind that makes you think of Mega Man X clashing with another maverick in a highly physical showdown."

I think it would be particularly sadistic to listen to this while undergoing extensive dental surgery - if anything, they usually try to play calm music that soothes you, but this is actually a far more appropriate soundtrack to such activities, if you think about it. Try not to think about it. OA reps the judge panel:

"Cool vocal effect to start things out, and some rocking, followed by harmonize screaming. This has a lot of style going for it. I do feel like there is just a lot of chug chuggin and not much melody for the duration, but it accurately portrays the largely rhythmic sources. I do wish it was going a little further, but the level of expansion already here is enough to take the source to the next level. The recordings are punchy, and there are some cool moments that give it personality."

Some mixing/balance issues, and the sources didn't have strong melodic hooks to highlight, but this is otherwise great stuff from Cyril - the collab with Brandon added a lot, and the whole thing is a tightly-wrapped, three-minute long package of ass-kickage & face-smeltage!