ReMix:Metroid: Other M "Melting Point" 4:15

It's a great time to celebrate new arrivals! Firstly, a big congrats to Zack and especially his wife and fellow OC ReMixer Alex (Pearl Pixel) for the birth of the newest addition to the Parrish family on October 5th! We also recently had Shinesparkers drop their latest Metroid series tribute album, Harmony of a Hunter Returns, to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the original HoaH album. And, wouldn't you know it, today's the DAY, oh yes it is! The official launch day of Metroid: Dread, with an 11-year wait for the the series' latest mainline Metroid release! Zack Parrish contributes an epic, sinister, cinematic/hybrid take on "VS. Vorash" from Other M:

"My arrangement of "Vs Vorash" from Metroid: Other M in the album Harmony of a Hunter Returns. I did this one as a last-minute addition to the album because, well... I was bored and when I heard the original and how angry it sounded, I just felt the need to embrace that angst. Not much more to it than that."

Embrace that angst! FEEL the POWER of the dark side! This feels appropriately evil & militant, like a giant army of... something... is coming to get ya, annihilate Earth, do bad things, etc. I love the little synthetic touches/FX here and there, which lend a subtle cybernetic backdrop to the primarily symphonic components, with giant Hollywood drums and plenty of ensemble brass & strings, plus a piano that pops up here & there and a late-breaking electric guitar. Liontamer writes:

"The irony isn't lost on us in posting Zack's latest submission today. He and Alex have plenty of parenting experience now, so hopefully there's no angst or "Dread" for the second go-around. Now I'm really stretching for Metroid title tie-ins, but I could totally see Nintendo releasing a Metroid music mobile one of these days; that would be quite the "Other M." ;-P (Hey, I'm a dad too, I can be just as lame as the other dads.)

Focusing on the mix, I appreciate how Zack leaned into the tension of this piece. Both the source tune and his take have dark and dangerous energy, but whereas the original is a clear battle theme, his take feels a lot more like a prelude to that battle as Samus works her way past some equally daunting dangers before finally winding up at Vorash. That said, it could also serve very nicely as an epilogue theme to the Vorash battle, trying to dodge some final obstacles after an already-harrowing fight. Sinister and intense from Zack, he's always crushing it no matter what direction he goes in!"

I dare say Larry's dad jokes/puns are actually below par for the genre, but he's certainly right about the mix - retains aspects of the original vibe/aesthetic but layers in hybrid textures & ups the sinister/suspenseful factor in the process. Awesome work from Zack!