ReMix:Cave Story "The Angels of Hell" 5:54

By Random Hero

Arranging the music of 3 songs from 2 games ( view all )...

"Cave Story (Theme Song)", "Running Hell", "Scorching Back"

Primary Game: Cave Story (Studio Pixel , 2004, WIN), music by Pixel

Posted 2010-12-30, evaluated by the judges panel


Just in the nick of time! Random Hero, aka Ryan Roberts, has had a single mix posted each year in '06, '07, '08, and '09, and we couldn't let that mix-a-year track record lapse, so here at the 11th hour we've got a Cave Story arrangement of his for your listening pleasure. He writes:

"This remix came about from watching my brother, known as ‘jmr’ on the site, playing Cave Story, and in particular, a special level which has become known as Hell, a name well-earned. He spent hours trying to finish it and to my knowledge still hasn’t. But the music that plays during that level caught my ear and I knew something good be done with it and “The Angels of Hell” is the result.

For this song I really tried to make the instruments sound more real using many more of the advanced features in my sample library that I haven’t touched before. Things like Key switching. Samples recorded with mics positioned in different places with respect to the instrument being sampled and so on, but it is still hard to get the realism of the actual instrument and musician playing the material. What I wouldn’t give to hear an actually professional orchestra to play this or any of my songs. One can dream!"

Epic, dynamic orchestral, with lots of tempo fluctuations, running patterns, and orchestral percussion, and myriad string articulations. Ryan's asking a LOT of these string samples, and a little of that shines through at times, although some tweaking here and there may have masked it more. But what an arrangement! There are darker, starker moments, juxtaposed against epic, major key fanfares, and the sense of adventure and storytelling is superb. At almost six minutes, the artist does an excellent job of keeping things moving and keeping them interesting, filling the time with substantive arrangement and tonal development. CHz writes:

"Fairly nice arrangement. The short usage of the main theme starting at 0:36 stuck out a bit to me, since the happy lilt of the melody is a odd contrast to the darkness and intensity of the rest of the track. That's a relatively minor nitpick, and the rest of the writing is spot on. I especially liked the second half, starting at about 3:07 or so, when it stops following Running Hell's structure and mixes things up. The sequencing is definitely this mix's soft spot, especially those string articulations, but I've heard a lot worse. Otherwise, a job well done. Let's see if this gets posted before 2011!"

...and it does! You had doubts? Very elaborate and striking arrangement that packs in a lot of ideas & substance and employs a wide arsenal of instrumentation and articulations to drive home the point. I'd love to hear this arrangement performed by an orchestra, too - maybe the Gamer Symphony Orchestra? (wink wink, nudge nudge) At any rate, great stuff from Random Hero, who keeps his annual mix track record intact!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Black_Doom
on 2015-12-02 14:22:31

I've been always facinated by this game, just because it was totally made by one person! So, that means that all the OST is his creation as well. And this is eciting fact too, isn't it? I remember my initial reaction when I first got to this so-called "Hell" - I just did nothing, except for listening to the music that was playing. It just struck me. And RH's orchestration makes it literally shine! It's atmosphere is a great combination of somewhat adventureous, epic, dramatic, and even evil! Like Kefka's theme or something alike :P Great track!

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Martin Penwald
on 2011-03-02 15:59:47

6 minutes so full of variety that they just fly by. Excellent.

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ZealPath
on 2011-01-10 17:46:29

Oh man that alternate ending was great, considering how many deaths and how much time one typically spends in Hell, there really couldn't be a better way to end it!

I really enjoyed the mix itself as well, Cave Story is a game I only discovered last year but I instantly fell in love with it and it's old school music. Hearing the Hell theme on a more grand scale was a lot of fun, the mix takes a bit of time to get going but the theme was plain as day once it started, providing instant visions of that second part in hell where you are constantly barraged by angels. Orchestral mixes can be pretty hit or miss sometimes, this one I definitely feel preserved the feel of the original though.

Great stuff, hopefully all this positive feedback means we'll get more than 1 mix this year :lol: .

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Random Hero
on 2011-01-10 17:02:30

Thanx Guys.

This was definitely a fun song to work on and I still catch myself listening, and analysing it from time to time. I'm very proud of it, flaws and all. I wonder if anyone picked up on my little homage to the theme song from Fringe at about 3:10? ;)

I am also very glad that I didn't miss 2010 with a mixpost! lol

I know a few people have said I should do more, and I do actually produce more then one mix a year. But I don't submit the 'not so good' stuff and there is a bit of that. I should start work on 2011 mix now and maybe get 2 in this year! haha

And for all those that loved it, here is the alternate ending to the song, which was just cut off the end of version posted here. It features music from the original WII version of Cave Store, not the updated one! ENJOY

Click here to listen to The Angels of Hell alt ending.mp3

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EC2151
on 2011-01-07 03:25:16

It was pretty awesome seeing this grow and change in the WIP forum. I am glad this got in, because it's pretty much dripping with quality.

Though the old ending was pretty hilarious.

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WesternZypher
on 2011-01-02 12:41:09

Loving the 6 minute length on this song - so many songs get me in, start to feel like they're transporting me somewhere - and then they're already over. This does not fail to deliver on that feeling.

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Matt E. Waldman
on 2011-01-01 04:56:13

Ooh, another cave story mix!

Very neat arrangement ideas for this one. This could adapt to a live symphony quite beautifully! The production could've used a little bit of touch-up, though. The samples were nice for the most part(with the exception of some string sections), but personally I think you could've spent a little more time doing audio mastering/adjusting EQ/etc. It just needs more punch!

Overall though, I enjoyed it, and it's a worthy take on Cave Story's music! The arrangement is what matters more here, and it's fantastic. Keep it up! :D

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Level 99
on 2010-12-31 22:08:01

Gorgeous orchestration, great sample quality, a testament to the original source tune, man is this remix top notch! I guess if you can only do one remix a year, you better make it a knockout, and you definitely have here!

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Chernabogue
on 2010-12-31 09:50:12

Very epic, very well done, very nice samples.

Please, Mr. Random Hero, make more good music.

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Crulex
on 2010-12-31 08:45:03

Grand and epic, man. I love the contrast between the opening majestic-like theme and going (literally) into the dark, tense Hell and then back to grander things. This orchestration does not stop short and yet it still doesn't sound like 6:00, which shows great spacing and keeps the listeners drawn in. Wonderful arrangement, the instruments sound tip top and a damn good way to go out in 2010! Highly recommended.

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Liontamer
on 2010-12-31 02:03:33

Retweeted pimped by Nicalis, FTW! Nice work! :nicework:

http://twitter.com/nicalis/status/20656209812000768

@ocremix Angels of Hell Remix= FAWESOME! Who's responsible for this?!?

Luckily Jeffrey's on Twitter, so he's going to bat for you, Ryan! :-P Get on that Tweeter thing sometime!

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Tables
on 2010-12-31 01:12:58

I feel like I post this type of comment into everything lately but regardless:

Great to see this out of the WIP stage! Although I do miss that (admittedly silly) ending of dying and trying again... but I suppose that for the sake of the seriousness of the mix it had to go.

I must admit don't download many full-on orchestral remixes from this site, but I have to say this is incredibly awesome and so worth it. Loved this theme, and this interpretation suits it very well. It barely even feels like its six minutes, in the best way possible. Good work guy!

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Capt. Stupidity
on 2010-12-31 00:56:32

I love a good orchestral remix, and this one does not disappoint. I thought the samples were pretty good, considering. The solo strings weren't bad. The piano was very synthetic, however. At 6 minutes long this mix is epic and keeps things moving.

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OA
on 2010-12-31 00:19:54

insanely good. Why you only sub 1 track a year is beyond me, that is so not enough :-D

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zircon
on 2010-12-30 22:28:01

The more orchestral music I write and arrange, the more I appreciate the work and creativity that goes into mixes like this. RH deserves massive props for a well-executed, well-orchestrated and dynamic arrangement. The exposed solo strings were the weakest elements, but I know those are really hard to deal with since there are basically no good solo string sample libraries around. Overall, great movement and energy, which is an accomplishment given the length.

On a side note, I had no idea Random Hero was JMR's brother. That's awesome. :

Sources Arranged (3 Songs, 2 Games)


Primary Game:
Cave Story (Studio Pixel , 2004, WIN)
Music by Pixel
Songs:
"Cave Story (Theme Song)"
"Running Hell"
Additional Game:
Cave Story (Nicalis , 2010, WII)
Music by Pixel
Songs:
"Scorching Back"

Tags (4)


Genre:
Mood:
Epic
Instrumentation:
Brass,Orchestral,Strings
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Cave_Story_The_Angels_of_Hell_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
8,134,423 bytes
MD5:
5462a74f2bf25cf82e25fd39620b60a4
Bitrate:
181Kbps
Duration:
5:54

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