Posted 2000-09-16, evaluated by djpretzel


Alexander Prievert, responsible for the great Castlevania 64 ReMix recently added, also sent me this excellent 'Bloody Tears' inspired piece from Castlevania II. His style tends towards a great sonic density that makes things sound very processed and polished. He also uses a Kawai K5000S quite alot, which is cool to me because I have a K5000W myself, which I picked up on ebay a few months back. I must say, he knows how to use it a bit better than me at this point :) . . . Just listen to the insane bassline, the great guitarish sounds, the MOTION in this ReMix - it's quite amazing, and as I said, professional-sounding. Kudos to Alexander for another great one.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Gwee
on 2014-11-04 21:59:53

i remember finding this back in 2004! can't imagine how many plays it would have if i had a counter for every time. a lot of fond memories with this one

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Crulex
on 2014-07-11 19:01:38

As far as the song goes, it's really not bad and at least it has some writing sense as far as progression. And while the production age shows, it also shows that there was an idea put forth and executed from start to finish, which is great. But yeah, would have loved to hear more of the actual Castlevania music mixed in.

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Liontamer
on 2010-02-16 19:27:42

"Inspired" is right. The source tune was only used from :10-:30 1:08-2:10. Not nearly enough Castlevania in here, not even 27%. I would have loved to have heard a lot more CV here, but whachagonnado.

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bjnartowt
on 2009-08-23 20:47:38

To reiterate what Polo said: For what enjoyment this may re-kindle in the longtime listeners of this great Remix: when I listen to this, I get a very "running-through-the-jungle" feeling, and I imagine, of course, various undead baddies assaulting me. I might add that this becomes especially-sharp when the awesome part around 2:10-2:40 chimes in. Whatever those sounds are, to me it really has a "surrounded-by-the-fell-legions-of-Dracula-as-I-hurry-along-to-vanquish-this-fatal-curse" feel to it. Well done : )

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Polo
on 2009-04-03 05:38:47

I've always loved the raw, gradual buildup in this piece. I imagine Simon Belmont marching through the daylit woods, skeletons aprowl, tension building all the while as Dracula's curse slowly takes over everything. 2:22: love those creepy, fluttery, acrophobia-inducing synths. 2:43+ is interpretive gold. And 4:27 until the end - wow. It's like every demonic force in Transylvania is crying out for fresh blood, and Simon's time is running out.

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OA
on 2008-04-02 13:56:00

Woah, mid-90's dance-O-rock-O-tron here! I can appreciate that. :-)

Time for the Belmont training montage!

Some drum fills would really help the transitions, and overall the production needs to be a lot punchier, but for the date, this is killer stuff. Synth programming is nice, and the synth guitar actually sounds pretty good.

This is a great mix that has been slowed by age a little, but still brings it.

Nice work. :-)

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avaris
on 2007-12-15 09:38:12

There are some texbook things that make this song 2000, so I won't touch on those. But let me just say if this was redone and revamped in terms of production...then damn.

What is here already I really like and is def worth listening too. The compisition is the strongest point. Alot of the extended arpegs are awesome. There are lots of little things playing of each other that make for some really good ear candy. 3:35b was easily my favorite part. A great time to change things up. A lil unexpected but it was executed really well, which in turn made for an awesome transition. Def make for some good driving music.

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Audity
on 2007-11-21 18:34:12

This song is amazing. Just raise the volume in Audacity and you're ready to go.

The sound quality for some reason, while not being what you'd standardly hear in a song, sounds way better in certain ways indescribably. No one I show this to seems to like it, but perhaps only due to the volume.

Speaking of raising volume...

Here's a version with the volume raised. I went in Audacity and used the pencil tool to get rid of some of the higher volume peaks, and then raised the volume of the whole song. PM me if you're interested in a FLAC version. It does go in the red zone occasionally, barely, but I don't notice degredation in quality; I just notice how much better it sounds when louder! Useful when you just have an on-board sound card.

This is more 80's rock than techno. The drums do get a little monotonous after awhile, and with the right touches more power *could* be put into this without it losing its appeal. I have to say, after raising the volume, I noticed the pitch-raising synth near the end is the most powerful section in the whole song; a certain point after it, though, it goes back to normal power, which is a little disappointing. I tried to alleviate that in the above version.

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theskornd1
on 2006-07-26 17:15:20

Excellent work on this mix. Usually im a little wary of techno as, for me, i find it a rather trite form. This mix, however, was very dynamic. The guitar at 0:31 is integrated flawlessly and adds a rockin element into the piece. The drums are simple, but aggressive sounding along with the rest of the arrangement. 2:10 to 3:33 is a great build up/transition period to my personal favorite part of the mix. My biggest complaint is that the ending cut off abruptly, which i didnt like but the rest of the song makes up for it. 8.5/10 as i like the orchestral version better.

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Hillsy
on 2006-06-05 16:35:09

Agreed. The best Castlevania mix I've heard so far. The original castlevania music in general is outstanding (symphony of the Night, Dawn of Sorrow, Curse of Darkness, Battle I, II) and this emphasis this all the more. Well done on a great remix, a remix to be held within the great Castlevania walls.

Sorry, I got carried away.. :D

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Liontamer
on 2006-05-04 21:15:42

The beatwork kind of dragged on after a while, plus the overall power should have been greater. Right now the volume is too subdued for this type of music. A bit rigid in the performance, but a very solid arrangement for its time.

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Baruch - Vampire Lord
on 2005-08-24 14:41:16

First off, I must say that this is an awesome remix. However, It also left something to be desired. While the guitar sound was an excellent addition, I would have to say this remix is a pale shadow to the orchestral version of the song. In the original, you have an organ soaring through the notes at near inhuman speed, the sound of the orchestra is so powerful, forceful... Just far more cool in general. In other words, while this is a great remix, it scores an eight while the original scores a twelve. Nothing can beat an extremely skilled professional pumping out riffs on a full organ. However, your mix was still worth the Evil Fingers. :twisted:

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DragonFireKai
on 2004-08-18 16:23:45

AP pulls together a wall of sound quite literally unheard of in the world of eight bit games. I think it would be increadible if you overwrote the original soundrack of an Eight bit emulator with the works of AP and other remixers.

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STS
on 2004-02-20 14:23:15

For some reason this remix reminds me of the kind of music I'd hear listening to a Ninja Turtles movie. Not that I mind, because I love those movies and I really like this Remix. Well done.

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OmegaWeapon2k
on 2004-01-03 05:09:43

Werid, this song has me hooked. I really can't stop listening to it for some reason. I just enjoy it a lot. Great job on it.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (Konami , 1988, NES)
Music by Kenichi Matsubara,Satoe Terashima
Songs:
"Bloody Tears (Street-day time-Stage BGM)"

Tags (11)


Genre:
EDM,Rock
Mood:
Aggressive,Dark
Instrumentation:
Electric Guitar,Synth
Additional:
Arrangement > Extended Soloing
Effects > Distortion
Effects > Lo-Fi
Time > Tempo: Moderate
Usage > Workout

File Information


Name:
Castlevania_2_Bloody_Tears_Inspired_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
9,021,312 bytes
MD5:
ddfb178dbdf4c0c1c3d75c2ab1645975
Bitrate:
228Kbps
Duration:
5:13

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