ReMix:Final Fantasy VI "Black Genesis" 5:35

Up next from Balance & Ruin we've got a sinister, slightly proggy rock/metal arrangement from Rexy, with partner-in-crime Brandon Strader collaborating:

"This was another track that was done for OCR's FF6 contest, and consequently zircon and McVaffe's project Balance & Ruin, this time taking the New Continent spot. There had to be some production fixes since the initial contest version, but Brandon took the time to knock it out of the park, and that's the version we are sending here.

Due to my previous track record with Brandon, it was fair that one of the three entries involved would be another epic pair-up between us. And I'm glad that New Continent was listed as a source to cover, as that's something I had been wanting to do for a long time. The scenes around the Floating Continent in the game itself were among the scariest I had ever seen in a video game at this time, and the changing moment for me in making me think that the good guys don't necessarily win every time. To see something so dark after being exposed to generally happier games in my youth seemed to mark a change in perception at this point, and thus the re-shaping of the world for Kefka's needs is one of those scenes that to this day is a powerful image on my mind, and thus makes him BY FAR the GREATEST Final Fantasy villain in my opinion.

And so that inspired the direction for the track. For pacing, I found myself taking inspirations from some of the earlier works of Black Sabbath, and managed to similarly mold this into a track that starts out with as much determination as possible to go against Kefka's ordeal, before morphing and bringing the more sinister meaning to his plan to light. Brandon even managed to fill some dead space up with a couple of awesome synth solos too, further adding to the tension and as well as adding some deviation to his usual solo mastery. What we have as a result is one of our more intense collabs to date, and believe me - THIS to me is what the end of the world feels like in musical form!"

Definitely a minor-key malevolence prevalent, as that basic (but classic) guitar interval-riff smashes things into the ground & synths swirl around in the resulting destruction. There's an "apocalyptic carnival" vibe of sorts, which of course fits Kefka perfectly, but the slower pacing really conveys the weight of something very large (in scope and in actual geographic size) occurring. Brandon's contributions are seamlessly integrated - these are two artists who work quite well together, and the resulting music always sounds very whole & consistent. He writes:

[19:46] <Rexy> brandon
[19:46] <Rexy> do you have anything to add to the submission email?
[19:46] <Rexy> or say rather
[19:49] <@Brandon> hmm
[19:49] <@Brandon> I played guitar pretty good tbh
[19:50] <@Brandon> THAT IS ALL!!

Indeed you did, sir. Great job coming through on this source via the FF6 compo from team R&B, contributing a track that helped fill out Balance & Ruin and solidifed the musical menace surrounding the game's most loved/hated antagonist, painting a dark & stark picture of the continental chaos he creates! 2013 has been a great year for Bev & Brandon, individually AND working as a team, and I'm eager to see what 2014 brings!