ReMix:Mega Man 7 "Seventh Climb" 4:13

Ever since his Peter Gabriel-esque debut ReMix of Sonic (2006) more than five years ago, Cyril the Wolf's participated in a handful of great & memorable mixes, many of them vocal arrangements. Now he takes on Mega Man 7 with a new, hard-hitting rock vocal interpretation of Wily:

"For those who don't know, I am a huge fan of the Blue Bomber. If you need proof, just look at my contributions to the Mega Man X project, Maverick Rising. This was a DoD entry I conceived of for MAGFest 9. The lyrics were inspired by a fanfiction series that I had read that novelized the original Mega Man series up to Mega Man 7. For those who don't want to read a 92,000 word fanfiction, I can sum it up by basically saying that Mega Man is getting tired and fed up with Wily continually returning to the point where he almost breaks Asimov's First Law of Robotics. I wanted to capture the feelings I got from the characterization in the lyrics, so I hope you feel it.

As for the arrangement itself, neither source by itself was long enough for a good ReMix/cover to me. As a stroke of luck though, they were in the same key, so I just used pieces of each to create a coherent song with the typical rock song structure. This song is really a vocal piece, so hopefully I've gotten good enough in the past three years to make your ears happy... even if you haven't liked my voice in the past. Enjoy and thanks. :D"

It occurs to me that Asimov's laws of robotics are really more like laws of artificial intelligence, or even just software in general... just because something isn't a "robot" per se doesn't mean it can't encounter the ethical dilemmas/contexts the laws are intended to address. But I digress... crisp, crunchy production on the drums & guitars here that reminds me of "The Ken Song," and I think Connor took EXACTLY the right approach in combining two themes to make up a unified whole. Vocally, I dig the panning L/R alternation tricks, the stylized chorus, and the passion - the vocal runs aren't always pristine, but Connor sings like he means it & sells the drama and emotion of the lyric at all times. Panning, doubling, and transition into falsetto durring the high octane conclusion all help make this Connor's best vocal to date, and one that really works in context with the instrumentation. Beatdrop writes:

"So yeah, as has been said, obviously the guitars sound great. Actually, the overall mix is really good, although I agree the vocals sink into the background at various times. Could have done with some level automation to bring them out in spots. Arrangement is (somewhat) conservative, like Jivemaster mentioned, but adapted well. I really like the lyrics you've put together, as well."

Deia adds:

"Nice take on the source, love the emotion you put into your vocals as always. I can definitely feel the frustration that the Blue Bomber is feeling of having to save the world from Wily....again...and again..."

Lyrics definitely go a good job of contextualizing Mega Man's plight & making his hardships seem a bit more tangible & relatable, which is quite cool. I'd encourage Connor to keep exploring how effects can elevate his vocals; love the panning, could have actually used more doubling/harmonization, and it might be cool to throw in a radio/distortion/lofi effect on certain lines, sparingly. That said, some of the exposed passages here did end up having a certain raw charm to them relative to the emotions being expressed in the lyric, so it's really about what's right for the song. Meaty rock with satisfying drum work, thick guitars, a vocal & lyric that you can sink your teeth into, and energetic development towards a dramatic finale. Sounds good to me!