Grim Dawn "Into the Wasteland" 4:01

It's nearly Halloween. It's a bleak morning. A Grim Dawn -- if you will. One might question, "how *exactly* is this track Halloween-related?!"

The answer? -- to quote our esteemed arranger in the limelight (and my personal friend): "Well, sure, I guess, if you absolutely feel the need to bring up the utter horror and desolation of a doomed, ruined world [with] the remaining survivors struggling against futility, against a monstrous force of twisted evil, and everyone they know and love [were] killed and transformed into mindless murder machines[?] I guess there's an argument to be made." Point made, point taken, and it's time to brace yourself for this scary ride!

Everyone gather up in the village square, stay awhile and listen [to this] (gosh darn it, wrong game!)

I am so pleased and feel very honored to present to the masses Argle's latest haunty jaunt; this one's a doozy and a sound designers' delight! Argle helps light the way through the wilderness, aiding in navigating the land bathed by a spooky sunset with his track "Enter the Wasteland", and recalls the tales of his own journey made under the reddening sun:

"A moody industrial/EDM take on "No Man's Land" from Grim Dawn. I'm super pleased to have made this! Finally, a truly new remix. Not just old, or old-new, but new new. It's from my favorite ARPG and one of my very favorite games ever, Grim Dawn! GD is the perfect amount of complexity and build crafting for me, without tipping over the line into needing a master's degree in Excel spreadsheets for something like Path of Exile. Anyway, the track seeks to answer the question, "How much distortion?" To which the answer is, "Yes." I may not have many through lines as an artist, but a style I enjoy revisiting periodically is the "cinematic industrial" vibe of my Metroid Prime or FF6 "Fanatics" tracks. The moody OST of Grim Dawn seemed perfect for this. I didn't set out to use an EDM-style, four-on-the-floor beat from the beginning, but I gave it a try for something different than the aforementioned tracks. I think it works? To be honest, I'm not actually aware of artists that make music in this combination of styles. It has to exist other than me right here.

The crazy thing is I think I've remixed a game that's truly unrepresented. There just don't seem to be any remixes or arrangements of it, not just on OCR but seemingly everywhere! Terrible. So I'm very happy to have put my spin on it out in the world. I have at least 2 other source ideas that I would definitely do, so mayhap I will revisit this game..."

I think Steve Pardo would be proud of this one. Moody, 'cinematic' Industrial and EDM? Let's hide away from the mutants and monsters out there, and drink to that!

"How much distortion?" To which I, too, can say: "HELL yes." It's nice to see fellow artists going the route of atypical EDM, that's not all about the four-on-the-floor beat throughout, and veers more on the "it grows on you over time" with atmosphere and "story" building akin to the Metroid Prime OST, or the music of Resident Evil, Silent Hill, or Blood, and I believe Argle here tows that line wonderfully with this track and its source "No Man's Land". We catch the eerie vibes with every second ticking by in his remix, and I can sense the longing and pain reminiscent of the hellish landscape from Grim Dawn. Argle takes the source and elevates it, distilling and amplifying the emotions ingrained within; (and yes, my man, there are other artists of this hybrid style of ambient, industrial EDM!)

Judge Liontamer waxes poetic about Argle's artistic direction, emphasizing the grounded feelings you get upon listening to this and its success in lulling your senses and pulling you into the game's world:

"I liked the sound design overall and you managed to personalize your sound compared the source mainly by going so beat-driven, but also through different instrumentation choices for the different source segments you referenced, some cool textural changes, and some cool moments of moving around the stereo field. [...] Great theme choice, and I enjoyed your treatment, which stayed dark yet managed to have its own personality.

Argle: "I think it works?"

YES"

Judge prophetik music also chimes in, further to embellish Liontamer's rhetoric with deep detail and measures of time:

"really extended, atmospheric intro. loads of rings and sweeps in there. [...] the strings emerging from the distortion mess around 0:45 was a really neat idea, reminded me of some of the electrorchestral stuff on the Matrix soundtracks. there's a big build in the keys and beat into 1:24, which is a great payoff section. [...]

after the initial first blow of the melodic material, there's a follow-on section that's a little less intense before a full drop at 2:13. this goes right back into the melody during that quieter section [...] there is indeed a break starting at 2:36, and the track's in a bit of a holding pattern for a bit to let the build work, which is a nice pause from the melodic material.

we get one more filtered break, and then 3:00 is the first time we don't have a beat. this is more cinematic, and feels like it's building back up to a big blow - but doesn't quite ever get there. this is a nice way to get people to want to listen again. there's a bunch of sound design on the way out and it's done after some more growls and booms.

fun idea. i appreciate the restraint at the end to not do a victory lap on the same chorus you'd already hit a few times. [...] what's here is a lot of fun. nice work."

I still remember speaking to Argle about ARPGs in both general chat via the OCR Discord server and in DM, having some good ol' making friends discourse in talking about stuff like Path of Exile and Diablo. The conversation further evolved into us talking about the atmospheric tracks from those games, and Grim Dawn, and how he was currently constructing this track! If you're a fan of ARPG tunes like I am, you'll be a big fan of the original source this ReMix takes inspiration from, and this fantastic ReMix itself!

This song is a tale for the ages. Let its slow, methodical beats soothe your weary bones, and its dulcet, distorted tones lure you from your bed and into the next solemn sunrise!