ReMix:Chrono Trigger "Monstrosity/Abhorrence" 5:17

Magnetic Ether (Karlyn Singh) debuted last year with a darkly distorted doom/death vocal metal take on indie game Cat Lady, and now returns with a similarly-inclined arrangement of Magus' theme from Chrono Trigger:

"I thought Magus's theme would lend itself well to doom metal and I was right. As always, Electric Wizard, Blood Ceremony, and many other doom bands are big inspirations for my work. I actually first started working on this several years ago and gave up on it a few times when things weren't going as I hoped. I'm just really glad that I was finally able to finish it!

The source usage in the arrangement is pretty straightforward -- the only thing to note is that I used the first few notes of Lavos's theme in a couple of places in addition to the main source material. And, lyrically, the song is about Magus's struggles with his hatred for Lavos as he prepares to confront and kill it."

This is some DARK, gravelly, abandon-all-hope-ye-who-enter-here stuff, with substance & structure, ups & downs, but a dominant sinister, raw, & lurking-malice vibe going on. Perfect for a children's party or elevator music at a retirement home, except precisely not. Nightmare fuel that makes Magus' hatred very visceral & immediate; I especially dug the whispered bits & some apocalyptic Gothic organ lines. Sir_NutS writes:

"First off: thank you for reminding me of Blood Ceremony. I used to listen to them for a while quite a few years ago and somehow completely forgot they existed. They're pretty awesome. Your mix here is pretty awesome too. The arrangement is not that transformative but there's more than enough personalization of the themes and through your excellent adaptation I think you managed to turn it into something else, something a bit more evil sounding even. The performances are good so no issues from me on that front."

Karlyn's debut mix piqued my interested but I was wholly unfamiliar with the source; in this case it's a more tread path, but she's applied her distinct style & taken "Magus" further, into a sonic abyss of torture, damnation, and pain... in the best way!