ReMix:Raiden III "Fly to Tomorrow" 6:47

Ivan Hakštok hits hard with an invigorating "rock-orchestral-synth fusion" take on "Dawn of Sorrow" from Raiden 3:

"This song was an entry in the August 2021 Dwelling of Duels Free Month, where it placed 2nd out of 37, right behind the Tiberian Sons. Check out all of the entries here: http://www.dwellingofduels.net/duels/21-08-free. I wanted to cover "Dawn of Sorrow" from Raiden 3 for years, but I never knew where to start with the arrangement and could never quite figure out what to do with it. But then I head the Tiberian Sons' amazing "The Devil's Spear" Ace Combat 7 entry in the April 2021 DoD. I figured I'm now skilled enough to make a similar rock-orchestral-synth fusion thing, so I gave it a shot and it worked out fine."

Emunator evaluated, but Liontamer chimed in with some additional comments:

"Oooh, I've been a fan of this Raiden III theme since the Gamingforce Audio forum days and Kaleb Grace's weekly Song of the Week contests, where folks would pit VGM original and arrangements, as well as other works by VGM composers: 8 tracks enter, only 1 can be king.

Interesting approach here going for a more orchestral rock approach with appropriate flourishes. I was waiting for the standout synth line from the source to appear somewhere and finally got it at 1:17, so I'm a happy man. I challenge Ivan to step up his sampled string and brass game, but that said his guitar has such a vibrant energy. Let that axe wail, and you know you're in store for a great piece of music. I enjoyed the soloing over the top of the source lines to keep the presentation fresh and evolving at 3:11 and the switch to acoustic at 4:58, which were important dynamic shifts for such a lengthy arrangement!

The Raiden series' OC ReMixes are few and far between, but always extremely fun, creative, and worthy, so be sure to listen and share. Congrats to Ivan on his 20th featured OC ReMix as well! It's also been a pleasure seeing how far Ivan's tone, control, and performance have grown over the years. Enjoy this big axe energy all the way from Croatia! :-D"

Gamingforce Audio... now there's a name I've not heard in a long time :) First off, this is some of Ivan's most polished work yet - he always brings the heat & the energy, but this feels a bit tighter, to me. You've got epic, adventurous orchestral elements, searing lead guit, infectious groove, and TWO SCOOPS of rapid-fire, funk infused slap bass that reminds me of the Galaxy Force II soundtrack, all blended together into a nearly-seven minute cocktail of awesome. Well-deserving of that pretty high DoD finish, this should make SHMUP fans & those who enjoy substantive, funky, & epic rock jams (who doesn't?) very happy. Enjoy!