ReMix:Gunstar Heroes "Loadout (Single-Player Edit)" 2:51

Back from Otakon 2014 - for those whose schedules allowed them to attend our 11:15AM panel on Friday, many thanks for coming out!! Let's get back on track & rolling right along with an accessible, enjoyable, straightforward Gunstar Heroes rock jam from DusK:

"Continuing on the "gameplay" concept of Be Aggressive!, I wrote this remix to embody the player moving through several menus and screens before actually getting into the actual shooter "gameplay," which begins with CJthemusicdude's take on "Military on the Max-Power."

The beginning of the track, for the first minute or so, represents the player choosing a character, and deciding his loadout. The beat drops away to a sort of "spacey" take on the source, designed to be the player viewing a zoomed-out G-9 with the moons circling the planet, deciding where to embark. The music picks back up as Professor White briefs the player on the chosen mission, with the outro being the departure of the player to the moon to fight the forces of the Empire and recover the Treasure Gem."

To be honest, I didn't get a super-narrative vibe, but the general flow and pull back were well-executed, held my interest, and I was tapping my toes the whole time... Larry writes:

"This one's an early track in the DusK & Dj Mokram-directed Be Aggressive! album that leads lead the way for more action. The chorused synths first used at :15 are a little shrill and seem like the same intensity for every note, which is an unforced error, and I think Dustin's guitar tone could be smoother and more expressive. Keep working on polishing your material, Dustin, so that everything's clicking on all cylinders. That said, the creativity and expansiveness of the arrangement compared to the original tune ultimately makes up for that, with good percussion writing driving things forward and textures that generally work well, especially the breakdown and rebuild from 1:29-2:12."

Some of those criticisms didn't bother me as much, and I dig what Dustin did with the dropout and repeating triplets on the guitar lead @ 1'55", bridging over the re-entrance of the beat. It's the right blend of dirtier, grittier rock and cleaner, spacier synths, and feels appropriate especially for Gunstar Heroes and the larger Be Aggressive! effort. Good stuff from DusK that brought a more positive, upbeat form of aggression to the album!