ReMix:Advance Wars "Are You BadAss?" 3:59

Are YOU badass? The (un?)official anthem of the entire BadAss album trilogy, this gritty metal/vocal Advance Wars collab from BadAss: Boss Themes: Volume III packs a wallop:

• Chernabogue - arrangement, lyrics, mixing/mastering (v1)
• Tuberz McGee - lead and rhythm guitars
• Furilas - bass, vocals (v1)
• Mirby - lyrics
• Brandon Strader - vocals (v2), mixing/mastering (v2)

Mastermind and head badass Chernabogue writes:

"Are you BadAss? That's a good question. After almost four years in the making, countless collaborators, and endless remasters, the world is finally ready for Sturm's return. Epic riff? Check. Crazy vocals? Check. Creepy laughs? Check. So are you BadAss? We surely are.

Believe it or not, but this mix was supposed to be released on BadAss II. That means I've been working on it for almost four years. Countless collaborators participated to its creation, and I can't thank enough those who patiently helped me.

Advance Wars is a series I enjoyed a lot on GBA, and Sturm always has been a problem, as the final boss. The music of those two games is really interesting, and Sturm's theme kept looping in my head -- I had to remix it. During this period, I was listening to a lot of Helloween (still do), and this remix is a tribute to their music that inspire me a lot. The metal fans may find out I was inspired by the song "Are You Metal?" by that band, and I decided to write a similar song for Sturm.

All riffs, solos, synths, and stuff in that remix were written from Sturm's theme, while the structure itself is inspired by Helloween's song. "Are You Metal" isn't directly used. My arrangement draws inspiration from it, but doesn't copy anything directly.

As always, after the horrible MIDI arrangement, I contacted my recording buddies, Tuberz McGee and Furilas, in order to have live guitars, bass, and vocals. I also contacted Mirby to get a better version of my lyrics. After all, my English isn't the best -- vive la révolution!

The first version was rejected by the judges and cut from BA2, despite my best attempts to master the beast. And when Pieter contacted me to help him on BA3, I knew it was the time to finish it. Not so strangely enough, it was the last track we finished for the album (searching for a good vocalist, re-recording of the guitars that were lost in a data transfer, etc.), but I think we really did something epic.

Thanks a bunch to everyone who helped -- especially Tuberz, Furilas, Mirby, and Brandon -- they were BadAss enough to keep Sturm alive. Now, enjoy this track and the rest of the album. \m/"

It's an epic track, years in the making, and has the energy of something that NEEDED to happen, and happen right. The multiple revisions, collaborations, and incarnations resulted in the ultimate version featured on BA3. Fellow badasses comment:

Mirby: "Chernabogue needed better lyrics for this song, so, being a fan of the series, I obliged and helped out, adding in more references to the games and the world in which they take place. It was fun to write."

Brandon Strader: "The universe conspired against me finishing this song, but it's done, so enjoy it!"

Tuberz McGee: "So Alex (the bae) asked me to do guitar things for a metal thing on an album thing and I said, "Sure thing." So I loaded up the file and saw that he'd written some tough stuff, so I actually had to practice, so, whatever, I guess that's a good thing, right? Either way, this song is BadAss. Thanks for having me, Alex. <3"

Lyrics are on-point and keep it fun while maintaining the overall vibe of formidable badassery, so kudos to Mirbs. Brandon's vocals are deep, guttural, and sell the material with sincerity & passion, and Tuberz' guitars tie the whole thing together. With this many moving parts, over this long a gestation period, and with this many revisions, this had to have been a tough ship to sail, but it reached its destination shores with style & triumph. Sir_NutS writes:

"This song oozes badass. Really cool vocals, they go from jack black to Lenny to black metal band #345, and they're great all around, I was pretty surprised about how well each range was nailed honestly. Guitars are chugging low and hard, and solos are on point. I don't have many issues production-wise, besides the drums getting a bit lost in the busy mix a few times.

I'm not really familiar with the advance wars soundtrack, but after listening to the source once it was easy to identify it in your arrangement. The source already has a bit of a metal/industrial feel to it so I guess the adaptation was too hard to make but its a great adaptation regardless. Nice Work!"

Chimpazilla concurs:

"Oh jeez. This IS badass, and also cute and funny (ssssh I didn't say that). Brandon nails these vocals, always right on pitch, and wow what a range... from Cookie Monster lows to the canines-only-frequency screeching highs. What a great concept this track is. Guitar work is ace. A breakdown would have been nice because the track is relentless but this works in context. It is mixed and mastered really well."

Ditto all that; great to see some GBA/Advance Wars love, and this particular villain's theme was a great choice for this sort of over-the-top treatment. Props to all badasses involved!