ReMix:Super Castlevania IV "The Harbinger of Death" 3:26

By timaeus222

Arranging the music of one song...

"Treasure Room (Stage 9 BGM)"

Primary Game: Super Castlevania IV (Konami , 1991, SNES), music by Masanori Adachi, Taro Kudo

Posted 2015-10-31, evaluated by djpretzel


timaeus222 (Truong-Son Nguyen) provides one of the more unusual contributions to Vampire Variations: Volume III with this blend of cinematic and EDM components that doesn't shortchange either genre and employs a wide variety of textures & creative sound design. It's a new sound for him, it's a good sound for him, and it certainly fits Super Castlevania IV like a glove; VV series director Chernabogue writes:

"Who would have guessed that dubstep and orchestra would be a great combination? Well, Tim certainly did. His arrangement are very creative, and this one is no exception, as he blends a lot of elements into this cinematic remix, with a certain Henry Jackman influence (X-Men: First Class). The breakdown is a very nice addition and allows for more crazy stuff later on. A really unique mix - drop the bass!"

Indeed; some wub bass, but never really goes full dubstep in a way that made me think of this as a dubstep-orchestral hybrid... more an amalgamation of components & influences coming together for a complex, rich tapestry of epic percussion, undulating bass, & percolating synths that whooshes by pretty quickly and achieves a great deal in just 3'25"; the artist writes:

"This started out with me just trying out some new sounds from The Unfinished's Zebra soundset, Serenity, which is a mixed batch of atmospheric and distorted sounds aimed at cinematic music. As I was looking through it, I found a fair amount of scary tones that fit pretty well with some of the sounds I've been creating recently (one of mine is called "Alien Tuning Fork"), so, as an experiment, I wrote an intro out for Vampire Variations III using these horror sounds. Then, I remembered that there was something I've been meaning to try ever since I heard, on Lindsey Stirling's Shatter Me album, a particular bonus track (the orchestra version of "Take Flight"). I'll admit, it was a little underwhelming of a track for me, compared to how awesome the rest of the album was, but it did inspire me to try to pull that style off myself.

It's a little hard to describe to you guys the style I was going for in the climax without yet hearing either that bonus track or this ReMix yourselves, but I guess I could say it's like... a mangled orchestra with dubstep-style processing. ...Yeah, sure. That. As I kept writing this ReMix (mainly inspired by Stephen Anderson, zircon, and Maxim Zhdanov), I also ended up finally buying a cool new synth called Serum by Xfer Records, which is basically an NI-Massive-meets-Zebra wavetable synth. I'll be honest, I wasn't really feeling the presets, but, man, the synthesis engine is SO GOOD (it really only took a few days to get used to it). The previous synth I bought was Zebra, three years ago, so that really says something on how good Serum is. By the time I got to the drop I was waiting to do at 2:08, I decided, "You know what, I just need something to go the extra mile and make this one second absolutely insane." I whipped out Serum for this, and it delivered in spades. The rest of the wobbles were Zebra, though, and that laugh at the end was me, recorded at midnight. =3"

timaeus knows his synths, having programmed some commercial presets for Zebra himself, and Serum is all the rage these days for some very good reasons. And damn... that laugh was really well done! Kudos for an on-point haughtily-superior-lord-of-vampires impression! There's tons of detail in this arrangement and it tends to whizz by faster than you can get a close look at it, so make sure you listen a few times to get the full effect - lots of attention paid to programming, especially in the transitions. Great stuff from timaeus222 that lends an electronic feel to VV3 while still bringing the unifying orchestral aesthetic to the table in a stylish, suspenseful, & cinematic fashion!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 7 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Crulex
on 2018-03-31 19:40:16

I got a huge feeling of old-school Sci-Fi vibes from the intro right before it breaks into more of an action piece. Plenty of creepiness to go around at around 1:28, with the chimes and strings at work, which works so well to bridge together the more vicious wubs and the drop. Good ending as well, never a bad choice to end with an evil laugh. Definitely one of my favorite tracks off Vampire Variations 3.

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Necrox
on 2015-12-24 16:47:20

Great sound synthesis here, as expected. That intro is sick. Aside from the electronics, great job blending orchestral instruments in. The drop section is some seriously creative writing. The beat-focused section felt like an odd way to climax things, but great mix anyways.

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nitrozsz
on 2015-12-21 15:13:31

Orchestrated music that’s blended with electronic music could not sound anymore dark and eerie than it does in this track. I loved the entire track, but 2:10 – 2:40 was phenomenal work. The “wub wub” transitions between each section of this track was incredible. It almost makes me fear the “wub wub" for when I hear it, I'm immediately anticipating a ferocious battle on the horizon.

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timaeus222
on 2015-12-20 01:46:20
On 12/2/2015 at 7:17 AM, Nostalvania said:

Really nice mix of orchestral and electronic elements. The arrangement is actually pretty varied, there is a lot going on, which demands the attention of the listener. That tempo change at 1:52 was very well done, i had to listen a few times to be really sure, ha ha.

That part from 2:08 - 2:35 was great too, although i noticed a bit a lack of bass in that section, but no big deal.

Nice take on one of the less popular sources, with spooky sounds, a detailed soundscape and tight production that makes you want to repeatedly hit the play button.

Thanks @Nostalvania, appreciate it! And yeah, that tempo change at 1:52 was pretty subtle! I went from 152 BPM to 144 BPM, and then after 2:35, I went back to 152 BPM. :lol:

On 12/2/2015 at 7:34 AM, Daniel Caton said:

Ooh, very nice! The combination and feel you have going here is absolutely spot on! The percussion was well done, the wubs were sufficiently wubby, and the orchestral writing was definitely realistic enough. I mean, I’d have liked a bit more realism and perhaps something a bit fancier for the cello, but I’m more than happy to have this in my music library. And hey, the cello thing might just be personal preference. I like cellos. Sue me. I’ll admit, at first listen I wasn’t entirely sure how well the intro worked, but on a second and third run through, I can’t really imagine the song without it. Most impressive!

The same to @Daniel Caton! I don't play cello, but I sing at my local church, and one day my director decided to take up a guest cellist for the day, and it was the first time I heard a cello up close. So I figured I'd put one in here. :P

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Daniel Caton
on 2015-12-02 10:34:54

Ooh, very nice! The combination and feel you have going here is absolutely spot on! The percussion was well done, the wubs were sufficiently wubby, and the orchestral writing was definitely realistic enough. I mean, I’d have liked a bit more realism and perhaps something a bit fancier for the cello, but I’m more than happy to have this in my music library. And hey, the cello thing might just be personal preference. I like cellos. Sue me. I’ll admit, at first listen I wasn’t entirely sure how well the intro worked, but on a second and third run through, I can’t really imagine the song without it. Most impressive!

avatar
Nostalvania
on 2015-12-02 10:17:22

Really nice mix of orchestral and electronic elements. The arrangement is actually pretty varied, there is a lot going on, which demands the attention of the listener. That tempo change at 1:52 was very well done, i had to listen a few times to be really sure, ha ha.

That part from 2:08 - 2:35 was great too, although i noticed a bit a lack of bass in that section, but no big deal.

Nice take on one of the less popular sources, with spooky sounds, a detailed soundscape and tight production that makes you want to repeatedly hit the play button.

avatar
Liontamer
on 2015-10-31 07:33:50

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Super Castlevania IV (Konami , 1991, SNES)
Music by Masanori Adachi,Taro Kudo
Songs:
"Treasure Room (Stage 9 BGM)"

Tags (8)


Genre:
Cinematic,Dubstep,EDM
Mood:
Aggressive,Suspenseful
Instrumentation:
Strings,Synth
Additional:
Time > Tempo: Variable

File Information


Name:
Super_Castlevania_4_The_Harbinger_of_Death_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,952,721 bytes
MD5:
cb2d2269d0fd273cf421c23f6b1f82cc
Bitrate:
227Kbps
Duration:
3:26

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