ReMix:Octopath Traveler "Farewell to Tranquility" 5:18

StormSkuggan (Joakim Stenmark) debuted last year, then we featured some of his superb work on A World Reignited, and now he's back with a moving, dramatic metal/ballad arrangement of "My Quiet Forest Home" from Octopath Traveler:

"The source track really stands out from the rest of Octopath's soundtrack. As soon as I heard the first couple of notes, I knew it was gonna be something special. The piece has stuck with me since as one of those songs I kept coming back to, so I really wanted to remix it.

I had some different inspirations for this one: "Passing of the Blue Crown" by Steppo, zircon, and Juan; Opeth; Emerson, Lake & Palmer; King Crimson, to name a few. When I started, I was inspired to make some vintage progressive rock, adding Mellotrons, acoustic guitar, and slightly jazzy rock drums. Later on, I got the idea of 3:51 and was surprised how well it worked, so I knew I had to push it towards heavy in the second half of the song.

Big thanks to SirCorn who was able to quickly step in replace my MIDI acoustic guitar with a real one."

Love the intro Mellotrons and general dusty, attic vibe, which segues into a heavier-hitting metal/prog ballad of sorts - I suppose you could waltz to this, but it might be a touch odd :) First we get the tranquility, then we say goodbye to the tranquility, so the title checks out; Rexy evaluated:

"In the arranger's eyes, the best thing about handling a minimal source is that you'll never know which direction to go until inspiration strikes you - and that's a good thing. In this case, Joakim ran with the strictly-piano-and-cello composition of this source, kept the loop's structure in place as a verse and chorus, and built an organ-based rock song that won't have been out of place in the wave of 70s prog.

The entire progression has an emphasis on dynamic shaping. There are softer instruments for the intro/verse and the grittier Hammond organ and splash cymbals on the chorus. Source modifications include human error on note timings, chord changes in the B sections' second half, and the second and third choruses getting lead harmonies. The one bar of 8/8 at 3:48 will always sound quaint in any context, but it's an appropriate segue into the bridge leading up to the ending and that fantastic mid-section solo.

The production also feels tight, with no instrumentation sticking out - and it was also a smart move to get SirCorn to provide an acoustic guitar rhythm part when a sequenced one couldn't work out. It's a concise package through and through, and sticks to Joakim's mission on giving (mostly) sequenced rock a well-fought place on OCR!"

Interesting to fight the good fight on the fakey-electric-guitar front but go for the real deal on acoustic, but hey... they both sound good. I love the textural/dynamic contrast between lighter & darker segments, the relatively varied instrumentation, and the overall progression - satisfying development & an emotive arc. Enjoy!