ReMix:Heretic "Cathedral of Carnage" 3:24

SPOOKY!! We're proud to announce the release of the tenth album in our OCRI independent series, Heretic Sinphony, featuring six EDM-flavored arrangements of DOS FPS Heretic from Ghetto Lee Lewis (Thomas Nelson), who makes a triumphantly evil return:

"Heretic Sinphony is a 6-track commissioned album inspired by the music from the 1994 Raven Software classic Heretic. It was commissioned by Emmanuel EXE, with original artwork by Tedd Leger of Mehxôhorr Artworks.

This project started out with an e-mail I received about two years ago. What began with a remix of "The Cathedral" soon turned into a full-blown remix album of Raven Software's Heretic. This game is a classic first-person shooter from the Doom era, with some really good, but overlooked music. I composed and produced this album while working a full-time job (sometimes 60+ hours a week), while putting together a recording/production studio at the same time. It's been a long two years, but I'm finally glad this album is finally coming together and getting released.

EastWest samples (HW Orchestra, Stormdrum, Ministry of Rock) were heavily used throughout this project, and also some 8Dio libraries (Requiem and Studio Sopranos). For the synths, I mosty used Native Instruments Massive and FM8, along with a few sounds from Sylenth1. FL Studio is the same DAW I have used for the last 15 or so years, and I still use to this day. It has great VST and sample library support and provides a super-easy-to-use interface for both arranging and automation."

GLL has come a long way; he was last posted back in 2003, so he's returning from almost fourteen years of featured hiatus with not just one mix, but a whole EP! We've never posted anything from Heretic OR Hexen, so he's also checking some boxes, there, and besides all that, the album sounds great, the title clicks, & Tedd's artwork is metal AF, even if the album is EDM. It's a great October surprise, in keeping with the general associated malevolence of the month, and we're psyched to be knocking on your door with this treat just a little bit early.

We've got two flood picks from the EP for you today, starting with this epic arrangement of E1M6 that intros with dark, brooding strings and piano, then layers in some bitcrushed beats as the energy intensifies. Thomas writes:

"This is the song that really drove and created the inspiration for the album. The main melody on the piano that the original song starts with created a mood of mystery and foreboding. At first, this inspired me want to build to a very energetic electronic section during the climax of the song. Eventually, however, I went back and revisited what made the original memorable: that feeling of mystery and foreboding. I wanted to enhance that feeling, and really showcase that element of darkness Heretic was known so well for; and really tie the music into the game's theme (so, basically, I wanted to draw the listener in using a dark, foreboding atmosphere before going on a bloodthirsty killing spree).

This song is the first one I worked on for the album. It was produced using FL Studio, and features samples from EastWest Hollywood Orchestra and Native Instruments, along with a mishmash of VST synths, and drums from the Vengeance library."

PERFECT Halloween fare; plenty of sinister sinphonic components, delivering on the album title's promise, blended seamlessly with high-impact synths & beats. Gario writes:

"Urgh, Ghetto Lee Lewis. This is the guy that whenever I see him in a competition I always (foolishly) think "Man, I'll get him this time!"... and every time he produces something absolutely amazing and utterly crushes me. I'm very surprised he hasn't submitted anything in fourteen years, since he's shown that he's an amazing remixer over the years. Glad to be able to listen to one of his more recent outings on here because it's as amazing as usual - the balance of instruments is perfect, the production is tight as hell, and the gradual build from subtle to intense is perfect. The only real complaint to this is that I wish it were longer, but in all honesty that's more of a stealth compliment than anything.

Amazing work, and I'm glad to see you pushing some more of your tunes on here again. Looking forward to more of your album being put on here, too, since it's all really good!"

Indeed it is, and now the whole album is immortalized as OCRI-0010 :) Liontamer adds:

"Wow, nice. The piano that dropped in at the beginning at :14 was silky smoove. I love the instrumental expansion for the start, and the textures were awesome. Ooh, really didn't expect the bitcrushed stuff at :43. Definitely threw me for a loop in a good way. And now I'm smiling and dipping to the beat Thomas set here, really digging the approach here. The string work at :58 was a little subtle under the electronic lead, but the overall mixing was solid, and the interplay between the electronic lead, the string and the piano was nice."

Great building energy, excellent atmosphere, clean mixing of complex & diverse instrumentation, and a great way to introduce you to Heretic Sinphony and to welcome Ghetto Lee Lewis back to the OCR homepage!