ReMix:Breath of Fire II "Jaded by Death" 4:05

HoboKa (Alex Shtokalko) gets his first solo mixpost on OCR with this Breath of Fire II ReMix from BadAss III, conjuring up a dark blend of orchestral, choral, and industrial flavors for something dark & intense, which builds as things progress:

"My new interpretation, "Jaded by Death," is finally here. After, what, 5 or 6 years from my previous attempt - and it's for the BadAss: Vol. 3 album, no less. I believe that I have come a long way; pu_freak, timaeus222, and Chernabogue gave me plenty of sage advice on the composition and production, and, after about 12 versions in, I'm finally done.

I decided to make use of that Damage drumkit that I've been itching to use and, man, did it work well for this one, at least in my perspective. pu_freak wanted something dark, brooding and evil sounding, so I obliged him... and, as pu_freak wanted, I made "Jaded by Death" as evil as I could, employing the use of creepy orchestral and industrial influences, with some SFX and scary drones and stuff. I actually enjoyed making this remix and hope that you guys do too! One frustration I had was getting the mix sounding as good as can be; and another more distant but always nagging feeling is pleasing the J panel; always a strain for me, but, luckily, I don't focus on making music solely for OCR, else I'd probably suffer an aneurysm, lol."

Alex exemplifies perseverance & persistence, and I'm certainly glad we haven't caused him any life-threatening brain/blood conditions with our feedback :) This arrangement has some pretty crazy transitions & tempo shifts, but there's a unifying aesthetic of gothic symphonic colors (strings, organ, chorus) paired with big, industrial drums + FX that keeps things coherent. BA3 director Pieter "pu_freak" Van Os writes:

"HoboKa's use of strings and choirs is complemented by excellent percussion which forms the skeleton of this mix. It's minimalist in an orchestral and evil way, only building up the energy in the second half of the song. At the end, it leaves you all alone in the corner, with the ominous choirs letting you know you're never getting out..."

This mix split the judges panel, as many had concerns over sound quality and aspects of sequencing/production, but even the dissenting votes commended the creativity of the arrangement. Palpable's vote stands out to me as being both poignant & representative of the presiding sentiment:

"I didn't hear a lot of connection after the intro and before the second half, when the themes are strong, but the string runs are straight from the original and it has enough connection. The cool instrumentation and great dynamics are the highlight here, and make up for the minor flaws with the sequencing. Alex's song painted a complete picture for me and I'm happy to give him (IIRC) my first YES on one of his tracks. It's great to see people progress as songwriters and Alex's determination to improve has carried him a long way from where he started."

Indeed; a good addition to BA3 & indicative of improvement on Alex's part, "Jaded by Death" is a dark, dramatic ride through some very disturbed & disturbing neighborhoods, highlighted by emphatic & sinister percussion!