ReMix:Dark Souls "The Fall of Artorias" 5:09

Alex has been chewing bubblegum, running out of it, and proceeding to repeatedly kick ass after his return last November from a seven-year hiatus; I don't know where he went for those seven years (Tibet?), but I like to imagine a stirring narrative in which he traveled across multiple continents on foot, made friends with the local peoples & explored their rich cultures, and came to know himself better both musically AND as a man. In reality he was probably, you know, just... doin' other stuff... but my version sounds cooler, and at any rate his new musical presence is a force to be reckoned with. His preceding arrangement of Demon's Souls was not only his strongest work to date, by my reckoning, but also a mix I'll be revisiting for years to come and which stands out among thousands for its dramatic & striking atmosphere. He returns to that franchise with another dark, orchestral arrangement, this time from the sequel:

"This arrangement is about the great Artorias and his companion Sif who journey to the Abyss, and inevitably Artorias is consumed by it. I had some ideas about a story, but I wanted it to be a bit vague like the game itself, something for you to imagine.

Note: On the OST, "Moonlight Butterfly" is titled "Seath the Scaleless" and Sif is titled "Gwynevere, Princess of Sunlight" for some reason. "Knight Artorias" is not on the official OST as it was part of the DLC Artorias of the Abyss.

Sources:
0:00-0:50 - Moonlight Butterfly (Seath the Scaleless)
0:50-1:36 - Knight Artorias
1:43-2:30 - Sif, the Great Grey Wolf (Gwynevere, Princess of Sunlight)
2:40-3:20 - Knight Artorias
3:27-3:48 - Sif, the Great Grey Wolf (Gwynevere, Princess of Sunlight)
4:30-5:12 - Nameless Song"

Redg writes:

"Love it. The melding of themes works very well. I enjoyed the narrative. You've done good work with these samples. There is a great sense of space & fullness + subtlety in articulation throughout."

DragonAvenger adds:

"Yeah, I'm hearing a good amount of source myself. I definitely think this one is good to go. Love that Alex kept the overall ominous tone of the originals here; really suits the pieces well. Alex also did a great job making this come together without being noticeably medley-itis. To me, those are the best medleys! Production is solid, with a lot of nice layering between strings and choir elements and piano. Nice work!"

Really wide soundscape; right from the opening chords and pauses, the tone is set, and as piano, harpsichord, oboe, church bells, and additional instrumentation & articulations are brought in, the mix opens up and breaths even more. Wolf howl... well, not 100% sold on it, to be honest, given the otherwise classical instrumentation, but it's a nitpick. Choral components figure more prominently in the mid-section, and there's a nice build & progression that evokes the ascension of a grand tower. The last two minutes are almost more like denouement & epilogue, as things are generally calmer and more resolved. As Alex mentions, there's a narrative here, but it doesn't hit you over the head; it's classy, it's subtle, and it's transporting. Another fantastic mix from RoeTaKa, who didn't just come back with one or two mixes, but an armada of music which has thus far been refreshing, exhilarating, and much enjoyed!