ReMix:Doom II: Hell on Earth "Red Waltz" 3:38

By djpretzel

Arranging the music of one song...

"Intermission"

Primary Game: Doom II: Hell on Earth (GT Interactive , 1994, DOS), music by Bobby Prince

Posted 2008-08-08, evaluated by djpretzel


Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to present to you our eleventh album - Doom II: Delta-Q-Delta! This is Lee's baby, having worked over two years to bring together this collection of 13 tracks from 11 artists, each arranging composer Bobby Prince's score in their own various dark and demonic ways. The director writes:

"Delta-Q-Delta took over 2 and a half years to complete, facing many bumps and struggles along the way. I felt it was important not to rush a release of the project in order to ensure quality above all else. Finally we've reached a point where the album satisfied our critical eyes and ears, and the artists involved that have been waiting for so long can breathe a huge sigh of relief as their tracks are finally heard by many Doom 2 and video game music fans.
I'd personally like to thank everyone involved in the project during its making. Even those whose efforts didn't end up making it to the final version, your input was appreciated and helped shaped the album as it is today.
I hope you, the fans, the artists, the public in general will enjoy this album. Set yourself aside an hour. Turn the lights off, turn the volume up, and lose yourself in the dark and evil atmosphere that we've set up to hopefully provide you some nostalgia of that wonderful sequel title, Doom 2: Hell on Earth."

Awesome. Lee asked if I could contribute a track to this project WELL in advance, knowing the craziness of my schedule. Nevertheless, I ended up being the last mix completed, and I just finished working on website tonight - though most of the creativity and artwork really came from Jouni Lahtinen, who also did Mazedude's American Album. Speaking of Mazedude, he's on here... along with analoq, BGC, Ailsean, Evil Horde, and a bunch of other familiar faces that should be familiar. Like its predecessor, The Dark Side of Phobos, the vibe here is definitely dark and brooding, but there's a wider variety of genres represented this go around. Ambient/industrial/metal are dominant, and actually I tried to go that route myself, initially, but after months of working on a WIP, I threw everything out and started a d'n'b version of the track instead. Then 6 hours later I threw that out and started a Cafe Del Mar-ish arrangement... Finally, three hours after that, I started the version I ended up finishing. Needless to say, it was a long night, and it's been a long several months working on an arrangement I could actually FINISH.

... and it's a waltz. As you probably surmised from the title. I know that when most people think Doom (or Doom 2), their mind probably doesn't scream "waltz!," but that's all the more reason I was convinced I should move forward with the idea. And, while this is a shorter piece that's relatively unassuming, I'm pretty proud of the arrangement... it hinges on a solo cello that I spent a LOT of time tweaking articulations, vibrato and note lengths on. But the overall structure is an amalgam of recent influences; specifically, I got the idea to do a waltz from watching So You Think You Can Dance. Seriously. I know that even admitting I watch this show might draw wisecracks from a lot of people, but honestly, Anna got me into it, and I think it's great. It's more talent-oriented than American Idol, more challenging (YOU try getting mainstream America to swallow contemporary dance... or Foxtrot, for that matter!), and they pick some pretty damn cool music once in awhile. Mirah's 'The Garden'? On FOX? Suffice to say that, in my book, any network television show that's both successful and exposes people to a variety of both dance and music is okay in my book. Specifically, 'Dark Waltz' by Hayley Westenra really caught my ear, and I had the piece fresh in my mind when I decided to throw away previous iterations and go with a waltz myself. We also recently interviewed one-time VGM composer Patrick Zimmerli, and I really dig his contemporary work. Though this piece is far from contemporary, the additional of whips, castanets, and Bartok pizzicato towards the end are all part of the influence of listening to his music.

So, really, this piece is a product of my life, what I've been listening to, and influences from people around me, all of whom (especially Anna!) I thank. It's not what I started out thinking I'd do with the source material, but pieces rarely turn out the way you'd expect, and one of the great things about ReMixing in general is just seeing where the process takes you. Those of you into shreddage/industrial material need not worry - my mix is an anomaly for the project, and if you're hoping for heavier stuff, that's really the majority of the album. I've always felt that whatever classical lacks in sheer amplitude it can make up for with diabolical nuance and menacing grace, and that's exactly what I've shot for with this mix. Whether I've succeeded or not, I had a lot of fun. I hadn't done anything orchestral in ages, and while OCR has a lot of epic pieces in the genre, the smaller, more intimate forms like waltzes tend to be less common.

At any rate, I'm thrilled to have another mix for 2008, I feel like it's a good one that's unique to the album it was created for and OCR in general, and I feel like Lee's done a great jobs sticking with this project and seeing it through to conclusion. All of the artists who've contributed tracks have come up with some very dark, aggressive takes on the source material, and Doom fans should be very, very happy. There'll be more mixes to come, but for now head on over to http://doom2.ocremix.org for the complete album, or just grab the torrent and get seeding!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Black_Doom
on 2015-12-03 13:28:48

I think that the title djp came up here with is the best that can be given to this mix. "Red Waltz" is just what I'm thinking about when I'm listening to his mix. It's something very sad, slow, sorrowful, with a touch of military atmosphere. Especially want to menthion the cello here - pretty gorgeous. Nice mix!

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Marmiduke
on 2009-09-06 11:10:30

That cello is on FIYAHHHH! I love it. Reminds me a hell of a lot of the Sympathy for Lady Vengeance soundtrack, which is high praise indeed.

This is actually one of my favourite musical transformations of a source that I've heard in a while. Not only does it provide a mature, well-structured waltz with a killer melody line and fantastic sounding samples... what I'm really taken with is that djpretzel's name isn't written all over it. Gone are the tried and true (though aweseome) mannerisms and idiosynchrocies of pretzel's usual jive, to offer a temporary outer-pretzel experience.

Gotta love those deep tones and the intricate solo work that gradually quickens in pace. A lot of great elements in here, expertly combined and smoothed. May be a step outside of the box, but it's every bit as top-form as pretzel's best. Fantastic stuff, as usual.

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OA
on 2009-06-19 09:42:25

Great sequencing throughout, it feels very vibrant and this is really how to make the most of good samples. It's a super expressive solo cello

When I think of DJP's mixes, I tend to think more of a funky sound, but it's pretty obvious he's gone into a ton of different musical directions over the years. However, I don't think any were as successful as this. I think the track gets better as it goes along, as the writing gets more sophisticated, and the melodies richer, and the little ding after the cadenza was awesome.

Recommended.

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SoulinEther
on 2009-02-09 02:34:25

Dude. I love this. I never want to hear the original because it will epically suck. I'm certain.

To me, the cello is painfully expressive even though there's this brooding sound all about it, and even though as a whole this piece, with those whips(!!) and odd castanets, alludes to one hell of a kinky, erotic and sadistic night in binding leather, nay, BECAUSE OF THIS KINKY ALLUSION, there is a desire to be freed and ultimately pleasured beyond recognition that makes me feel just great inside even though I'm crying on the outside from the physical trauma caused by the fact that your song delivers in so many fascinating and probably disturbing ways - so much so that I almost run-on-sentenced myself.

Btw. thanks.

edit: AND the solo makes for an excellent climax before that painful semi-non-percussion-solo before the song wraps up; the ending to me states something along the lines of, "Yes, this is how we do it. Whips and all. And you're gonna like it."

edit: that triangle (?) dinging after the solo = "Done." = "Next?"

edit: I'm not into BDSM. But if I were, I would probably use this music to really get "into" a "session."

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The Orichalcon
on 2009-01-28 07:11:13

I supposed I should give my opinion on this remix.

I enjoy listening to this at work, it's very mellow and brooding which fit in well with the theme I was after in DQD. The violin work is great. The solo part towards the end of the mix was most impressive, especially since it was sequenced.

That said, I feel it wasn't close enough to the source to really be considered a remix of it. Like a few other people I had trouble hearing the source beyond the beginning of the mix. It's still a great mix, fitting well within the album, but could've been closer to pay more homage to the source.

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42
on 2009-01-23 00:07:24

Whoa, that violin is Awesome. :shock:

While its not "demons breathing down your neck" intense, it has that quiet, maddening, psychological edge of horror riddled though it, like some thing is right around the corner that wants to eat you.

Oddly enough, an image of Gomez and Morticia Addams waltzing to this popped into my mind just now. :

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scrabbleship
on 2008-09-02 17:07:32

Excellent remix. Extremely well done and it captures the original piece of music's intent and out does it.

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Liontamer
on 2008-09-01 20:02:40
Why are you so defensive of this site/community in a sarcastic manner all the time? Your opinions of late have been REDiculous. I love you.

The community's great with coming up with LOL-worthy criticisms or assumptions. I always respond accordingly.

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Audity
on 2008-09-01 19:23:10
Yeah, they're a dime a dozen. djp should just go get one, chop chop! :lol:

Why are you so defensive of this site/community in a sarcastic manner all the time? Your opinions of late have been REDiculous. I love you.

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MrBogus
on 2008-08-28 17:37:01
First: Thanks! Second:

http://everything2.com/e2node/Bart%25F3k%2520pizzicato

There's a description of the Bartók pizzicato that explains what's going on... pretty cool, too, and cites the more modern usage.

You learn something new each day. Awesome, thanks.

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djpretzel
on 2008-08-28 11:11:24
Excellent job, good sir. It took me at least a few listens before I realized that the cello was slightly too clean to have been played live. It must have taken you forever to shape those articulations. Those low string attacks from 2:16 to 2:33 are just perfect -- what is that clock-like percussive sound, is that the wooden part of the bow hitting the strings?

First: Thanks! Second:

http://everything2.com/e2node/Bart%25F3k%2520pizzicato

There's a description of the Bartók pizzicato that explains what's going on... pretty cool, too, and cites the more modern usage.

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MrBogus
on 2008-08-28 01:56:32

Excellent job, good sir. It took me at least a few listens before I realized that the cello was slightly too clean to have been played live. It must have taken you forever to shape those articulations. Those low string attacks from 2:16 to 2:33 are just perfect -- what is that clock-like percussive sound, is that the wooden part of the bow hitting the strings?

Aside from the Hollywood caliber production values, the arrangement is wonderful all around. A very nice interpretation of the source material, which I didn't find that interesting to begin with.

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Liontamer
on 2008-08-17 10:49:56
I think it will make this remix stand out more if you had a professional cellist like one from a city orchestra.

Yeah, they're a dime a dozen. djp should just go get one, chop chop! :lol:

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Mio
on 2008-08-17 03:17:13

This is my first review, go easy on me. :-P

Hey I listened to this a few times, and I think at some parts, the cello sounds too much like a woodwind instrument... which is a shame since the cello is usually the solo here and should give out a more rich, deep, mellow tone.. It messed up the piece at 02:35 for me because it sounded really "fake" (no tone or warmth in it at all). I think it will make this remix stand out more if you had a professional cellist like one from a city orchestra.

Don't get me wrong, I like this remix, but the cello just sounds way too artificial.

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Blue Magic
on 2008-08-16 21:10:18

I think this is the best mix I've heard from you in my opinion. We don't get many like this. And the samples you are using are incredible. Almost makes me want to go out and actually pay for samples...almost.

Beautiful work.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Doom II: Hell on Earth (GT Interactive , 1994, DOS)
Music by Bobby Prince
Songs:
"Intermission"

Tags (6)


Genre:
Waltz
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Bells,Cello,Orchestral,Strings
Additional:
Usage > Halloween

File Information


Name:
Doom_2_Red_Waltz_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,851,554 bytes
MD5:
253c18430330fe6425f8b925696eba7a
Bitrate:
211Kbps
Duration:
3:38

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