ReMix:Monster Hunter "Heroes" 3:49

Happy 20th anniversary to Capcom's Monster Hunter! Before we get going, we wanted to give special thanks to former Capcom-er Patrick Kulikowski for his diligent work getting tons of Capcom soundtracks out there on streaming platforms, including entries in the Monster Hunter series; no matter what company he'll rise at next, they're gonna score the ultimate contributor who punches above his weight (one who also understands and cares for game music a great deal as well)! Somehow OCR's never had representation of the franchise until now, but we've got the perfect treat courtesy Thennecan, joined by Fredrik Häthén and seven diverse performers from around the world who unite for their massive orchestral rock tribute to the very first Monster Hunter for the PS2!

• Arrangement: Thennecan feat. Fredrik Häthén
• Strings: Orchestral Fantasy
• Brass: JohnStacy & Allison Martin
• Woodwinds: Gamer of the Winds
• Guitars: Thennecan & Cradius
• Bass: Matheus Manente
• Drums: Leo Miyata

Lead arranger Thennecan described this take on "Proof of a Hero" as the culmination of his earnest dedication to VGM, backed by the well wishes & helping hands of this supporters and collaborators:

"This is the final track of my latest EP called VGM Life, which is a tribute to everyone who has supported my VGM endeavors all these years, my family, my friends, and my partner. "Proof of a Hero" is a special track for me because it's a track I got familiar with at the same time that I decided to get serious about video game music, that's why I wanted to make this epic orchestral metal arrangement and try to encapsulate everything I felt for my people and my journey in one big piece. It's an incredible song!

Fredrik has been an incredible friend since I started this journey, and he was definitely the perfect match to help me build the orchestration for this arrangement. Also, everyone who recorded for the orchestral and the metal parts did an amazing job, it's truly one of the tracks I'm most proud of ever. It's one of my favourites. :D"

Though this took what felt like generations to work through a split panel, all of us knew the arrangement was amazing, but the overall sound was Corn Flakes-level crunchy. (We never want more stories of production issues tanking strong submissions.) Not willing to let those issues ruin an otherwise incredible piece, Thennecan was kind enough to explore and provide an improved mixdown after feedback from the judges panel, ensuring listeners have freedom from distortion and meaning we're on the frontier for you with the most heroic rendition out there! Whether she evaluated this on monitors or a portable setup, judge Rexy heard the latest and greatest version and was in high spirits:

"Taking the structure and converting it into a symphonic metal arrangement, with the assortment of musicians you have, ticks many of the right boxes [...]. And with your performers must also come some exceptional recording and articulation qualities; on that note, I feel not a single player had been out of place. Indeed, this is highly ambitious, and I greatly respect that. [...] Excellent work between you all..."

Prior to the final production improvements being applied, fellow panelist Emunator put the arrangement side on a pedestal:

"I'm not going to spend too much time beating around the bush here, but this arrangement is really, REALLY good. Like, some of the best orchestral metal I've ever heard. All of the performances are stunning and the way you brought them all together is so satisfying."

Whether it's voice acting or VGM arrangements, XPRTNovice knows how to go big with his performances, so it meant a great deal to lock up his superlative support:

"Honestly, I opened the source tune and was like "oh THESE GUYS have some GUTS trying this"

But you ABSOLUTELY NAILED THIS. It's an incredibly done arrangement. Like, really, really, really, really good. The emotion, the performances, the instrumentation, the interpretation, the sheer EFFORT of it all is phenomenal. [...]

Holy shit this is great you guys."

It took a village to move this forward, so bravo to all nine ReMixers, who created a dynamic, epic performance celebrating a suitably epic franchise, capably standing apart from Masato Kouda's epic original piece. It's the current crowning achievement in Thennecan's epic rise in game music arranging, a career not yet at its zenith!