ReMix:Final Fantasy VI "Six Feet Beneath the Veldt" 4:56

Something wicked this way shreds... absolutely nasty, dirty, & rude thrash metal take on FF6's iconic "Wild West" (aka "Veldt") theme from Sagnewshreds (Sam Agnew), with some talented collaborators:

"Hey, there! My first post on the OCR forums was about how awesome the thrash band Artillery was, so I thought it only seemed fitting that the first remix I submit would be a tribute to that band. This also just happens to be from my favorite game of all time. This is the Veldt music from FF6 in thrash metal stylings of Artillery. I always wanted to give some type of desert theme the Artillery treatment, because I feel that the style they had on their album, By Inheritance, lends itself perfectly to this.

This one was originally recorded for Dwelling of Duels' MAGFest/Collaboration month, January 2016, taking third place. This is my first time placing in DoD. Since the theme was collaboration, I recruited old bandmates and friends of mine from the thrash metal scene.

Collaborators include:

• Mike Dreher from Condition Critical and Lich King on bass
• Tony Barhoum from Condition Critical for guitar solos over the clean section and at the end of the song
• Brian Westbrook from Lich King on drums and mixing/production

I did all of the arranging and guitar parts other than Tony's guest solos (and got to bust out two solos myself as well!).

Here's a source breakdown:

• 0:00-0:21 - This is a reference to both the original Veldt theme and the intro to an Artillery song which the name of this remix came from. We tried to make the drums a mix between the Veldt drums and the drums from that song. The guitar riff has the same rhythm as the Artillery song, but with the notes from the first section of the source tune.
• 0:22-0:44 - Original riff that I wrote to go under the lead coming up.
• 0:45-1:05 - Lead guitar with the main melody from "Wild West" (the source tune).
• 1:06-1:27 - The next section from "Wild West" played as a thrash riff with lots of triplets. The lead coming in after the first break is the melody from the section of "Wild West" that the rhythm guitar is referencing.
• 1:29-1:39 - Guitar solo by me. The rhythm guitar under the solo is the bass from the last section of the source loop.
• 1:40-1:50 - This is a thrash rendition of the same section of the source that the rhythm guitar during the solo was playing.
• 1:51-2:08 - Guitar solo by Tony Barhoum.
• 2:09-2:32 - Guitar solo by me. These two solo sections are the only parts of the song that have no references to the source.
• 2:33-2:53 - Thrash riff directly based off of the source tune. If you couldn't tell from the rhythm guitar, the lead comes in halfway through this section making it more obvious.
• 2:54-3:14 - Thrash riff also referencing the same section of the source. This one is a little more obscure because it was originally supposed to be another guitar solo from someone who did not have enough time to record their parts.
• 3:15-3:49 - Breakdown riff directly from the source.
• 3:50-4:00 - Drums directly from the intro of the source tune. Mike also decided to lay down a little mini bass solo over this section, which I didn't originally plan on, but think it sounds rad.
• 4:01-4:43 - The rhythm guitar plays the main melody from the source tune, and halfway through this section Tony Barhoum rips another guitar solo.
• 4:44-4:56 - Short ending riff not from the source.

Sorry for the long post, but hopefully the breakdown was helpful. :) The arrangement is pretty liberal, but, after going through the breakdown, I'm certain that it contains enough of the source material. Almost every riff is a reference to some part of the source tune. Notable exceptions are the one Artillery reference in the middle, and the solo section following it.

There were some things I wanted to change about this before subbing, but I figured that since it's literally been over a year that I might as well just submit the damn remix."

Well thank you SIR; what a way to end the week, and what a smashing, intense, creative, & well-executed take on a popular theme! I've heard it many ways, including zircon's infamous "Get Busy on the Veldt," but this is a new take that hits me as not only fresh, but delicious. Thrash metal has some trappings of punk & surf, and those blend with the aggression of metal here rather brilliantly; "pulse-pounding" is not an exaggeration, in the slightest. Technically Sam debuted last week on his Mana collab with Jorito, but this is his first featured mix where he's the primary arranger, and damn... he's sagnew, and he shreds. Truth in advertising. He also arranges and collabs, and contributions from Mike, Tony, & Brian give this a band/ensemble feel that throbs with raw energy. I don't know what these fellas have against the Veldt, but hot damn... it better step off. Gario writes:

"Such a heavy, thrashin' arrangement you've got here. The original material expands the material rather brilliantly - when I first heard this I had no idea how you'd make it work, but then you fit it all over the source like a glove. I love it.

The production on this is pretty bass-heavy, but it's well within our standards. The performance is great for the most part, and the balance of the mix is good. Source usage is as you say in the break down, which is more than sufficient. What can I say, I really got a kick out of this one."

I got a kick AND a punch, and it wasn't all in the mind, either. This one packs a wallop and has the inertia & temperament of a major weather event or a shark, but not both, because then it just becomes silly. Sam's submission email lays out all the background/context you could want, it's good to see some thrash metal round these parts, and I love what Sam, Mike, Tony, & Brian did to Uematsu's source, emphatically putting the "Wild" in "Wild West" - highly recommended!