ReMix:World of Warcraft "All Nations Rise" 6:01

By The Wingless

Arranging the music of 2 songs from 2 games ( view all )...

"Guild Wars Theme", "Stormwind"

Primary Game: World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment , 2004, WIN), music by David Arkenstone, Derek Duke, Glenn Stafford, Jason Hayes, Tracy W. Bush

Posted 2006-01-13, evaluated by djpretzel


What can one say about John Burnett that hasn't already been said, in some corner of the world? He lives by his own moral code: a freelancer, a diamond in the rough, charting his own rugged path on the high seas of fate, propelled forward by a tireless engine of motivation, hunger, and need. His turbines run on curiosity, his pistons pump with the galvanized knowledge of possibility, enthralled with the potential he hurtles ever towards... of course, he's also just a messed-up African-American Midway employee who got tossed off the judges panel for inactivity, who still manages to haunt the vaunted halls of #ocremix... where he is known more commonly as 'The Wangless'... but that's merely *context* for the larger, more profound picture.

The Dubya gets first dibs on two popular PC titles in one with this mix, as it covers themes from both World of Warcraft and Guild Wars as well. The ReMixer self-promotes:

"Hey kids! Wingless here. The following is a list of fun things you can do with this song:

1.) Email the folks at NCsoft and the Guildwars website and say, "Hey, there's a pretty decent remix of Guildwars up on overclocked and www.thewingless.com . You should have a listen."

2.) Email the folks at Blizzard and the World of Warcraft website and say, "Hey, there's a pretty decent remix of World of Warcraft up on overclocked and www.thewingless.com . You should have a listen."

3.) Email the Midway Games studio in Chicago and say, "Hey, there's a pretty decent composer in your Building. You should listen to his stuff at overclocked and www.thewingless.com and maybe let him try a track or two."

Why do I get the feeling we're being used like a toy? Nevermind the masturpimping; John's put together a lovely orchestral arrangement that pretty seamlessly integrates the two games' soundtracks into one cohesive whole, with his trademark piano taking a lead role often, and primarily ensemble playing from strings, beautiful french horns, and winds. There's plenty of solo sections, however, like 0'53", where flute and alto flute duet, with falling harp lines and piano, creating a very icy, wintry feel. Actually, this could easily have worked as an overture to the recent Chronic-what?-cles of Narnia film; it's got a very cinematic feel, lots of motion, but also more specifically summons the season of Winter in many sections. It's been a long time since John showed himself 'round these parts, but he hasn't lost his touch or his nerve, and I happen to know for a fact that there's more where this'un came from. Mr. Burnett's done a fantastic job arranging two already lush, elaborate soundtracks into something new, a not-insignificant feat, and while I'm sure he's got parts that are much more in need of a good stroke than his ego, you nevertheless have to dole out the large kudos for a wonderful, varied, and imaginative ReMix.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Polo
on 2010-11-17 04:58:25

Definitely a mix to behold. Of particular note:

- The cumulative flavor of each successive instrument in the intro is like the sun dawning on a fresh, pleasant day, telling all nations to rise with it.

- 0:54 counterbalances the previous buildup with soft scale falls via fewer instruments before rising in incremental intensity at 1:35.

- The Guild Wars theme plays extensively in different blushes early on. Stormwind supplements one of its iterations at 2:37, crafting a melodically similar bridge. After a later grand build, 4:51 gently plays 1:36 of Stormwind to wrap things up.

- What really whets my appetite are the composite rhythmic strings. They give the loftier sections a feeling of movement, like when the GW theme shines in a noble light at 1:48, and they stay tense and busy when they're subdued or creeping into the fray, especially at 3:24-3:56.

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Skyline Drop
on 2010-06-29 01:03:10

I'm not really familiar enough with the WoW soundtrack to hear much of it, but the prevalence of the Guild Wars theme and the very, very slight reference to pre-Searing Ascalon towards the beginning were more than enough for me to enjoy this one.

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OA
on 2010-04-29 11:01:30

Pretty stuff here, nice and varied, with some good transitions. The piano and bell percussion was great, and the themes were well integrated. Nice length and everything flowed well. Nice work, Wingless. :-)

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Jarvi
on 2009-01-29 12:44:37

Not really a review, but I caught this thread while browsing the WoW forums. Know that you are loved :)

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=14697492233sid=1

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SoC
on 2006-09-22 23:40:19

I've played both these games (one much more than the other :) ). I do tend to hear the Guild Wars theme more predominately in the mix, and have trouble picking out the Stormwind part.

1:48 starts the best part for me. The background strings really give it some oomph.

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Kakumei
on 2006-07-27 13:21:20
By the way, I love the ironic blending of these two games. WoW - the juggernaught, breakthrough MMO - combined with Guild Wars, the much-halooed 'boy who would be king' sequel-in-playstyle to Diablo II, that WoW's detractors claimed would sink Blizzard's product in a matter of weeks.

I don't know if you've actually played GW but okay.

Song is pretty awesome though. Wingless made a good guildmate, even though he always referred to me as "my lady".

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ShrikeArghast
on 2006-07-27 12:44:05

My only gripe is that I wish you folks had gone a little heavier on the Stormwind theme. I can pick it out in there, sort of lurking under the surface, but 90% of the time its hidden underneath the Guild Wars theme...

... not that that's really all that high of a crime. Jeremy Soule is certainly a superior artist to whoever composed the SW theme - it's just that I wanted to here more of the competing product.

By the way, I love the ironic blending of these two games. WoW - the juggernaught, breakthrough MMO - combined with Guild Wars, the much-halooed 'boy who would be king' sequel-in-playstyle to Diablo II, that WoW's detractors claimed would sink Blizzard's product in a matter of weeks.

That, of course, didn't happen, but I love hearing these two rivals thumping along with one another in the same tune. It's like forcing Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter to duet on a piano.

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DJ EK BEATMAN
on 2006-02-25 05:25:33

A brilliant mix! The overall texture is fantastic! I was reminded of 'A Stray Child' by Yuki Kajiura at around 2:48 - 3:18 and it (the motive I'm referring to) makes a reappearance around 4:40. But overall, a fantastic work.

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Chuckles
on 2006-02-20 04:01:01

I thought I caught something that almost sounded like Beauty and the Beast similarities in there. I suppose it's coincidental...? (esp. 4:15 ff)

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Snooper_1989
on 2006-02-04 23:20:43

This song is so awesome it is beyond the normal extent of the word awesome. Weird thing is - I play WoW but i've never heard the Stormwind theme because i've never been there... Horde for the win?

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Synchrone
on 2006-01-23 16:13:35

Well, so I come back to somewhat replenish my collection (lots got deleted by accident). I decided to just stick with the Wingless to give the bandwith a break.. 'sides, I always liked his remixes since I discovered them. And what do I see? A new one.

What can I say. I find it difficult to find the Stormwind theme, but heck.. do I care? This is a remix full of changes yet with a theme that holds it together.. like all of The Wingless' remixes. And it has this depth that makes me think it may be as deep as Zebesian Midnight (another favourite of mine) which allows for different interpretations during the times I'll listen to it. So, thanks for this new remix!

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CapnHulk
on 2006-01-19 05:08:05

I quit WoW a very long time ago, but I still enjoy popping in the soundtrack and giving it a whirl. You can definitely recognize the Stormwind theme in this, but personally it doesn't seem nearly as powerful without the choir bit.

The Guild Wars half sounds very nice, but I'm not as familiar with it these days as I would like to be.

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DJ Skratch 'n' Sniff
on 2006-01-19 04:58:09

After listening to this mix a whole lot more, I've decided that it's totally awesome and one of my favorite Wingless tunes (though nothing'll ever beat Teardrinker). I've gotten used to the bad triangle sample (or poor encoding... whatever my previous qualms had been attributed to) and now I can no longer get enough.

I'm not sure if this ever even saw the judges panel... but, I s'pose, if you are the Wingless anything you create is guaranteed golden.

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zircon
on 2006-01-18 21:43:12

Guys, come on.. let's go back to reviews of the song. Enough about Gray ;)

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FiremanJoe
on 2006-01-18 21:25:31

I was compelled to write a glowing review, after I heard this fantastic piece. I don't know what all this talk about Gray is, cos Wingless has done a wonderful job.

I can't fault this beautiful piece.

The harmonies, rhythms, melody; it all fits perfectly together. The brass warms to your ears and the strings are smooth. Don't pass this one up, it's a must-hear.

Sources Arranged (2 Songs, 2 Games)


Primary Game:
World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment , 2004, WIN)
Music by David Arkenstone,Derek Duke,Glenn Stafford,Jason Hayes,Tracy W. Bush
Songs:
"Stormwind"
Additional Game:
Guild Wars (NCsoft , 2005, WIN)
Music by Jeremy Soule
Songs:
"Guild Wars Theme"

Tags (5)


Genre:
Classical
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Orchestral,Piano,Strings
Additional:
Time > Duration: Long

File Information


Name:
World_of_Warcraft_All_Nations_Rise_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,912,696 bytes
MD5:
091b6ff7c3f5cba8b614d41fc1c36bae
Bitrate:
129Kbps
Duration:
6:01

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