ReMix:Castlevania II: Simon's Quest "The Nature of Evil" 3:04

Back to school! Our 12th FREE independent album release is now available, as OverClocked University follows up two commercial albums with Sophomore Year, featuring 8 arrangements of games like Sonic & Knuckles, Super Mario Galaxy, Street Fighter II, and more!

Download here and help spread the news!

And definitely, most assuredly check out their previous two albums, Freshman Year and Spring Break DJ Set!

We're still putting the finishing touches on Songs of Light & Darkness (SD3), but in the meantime here's a whole album of badass rock/pop/vocal VGM jams, because variety is the spice of life! OverClocked University (OCU) is comprised, for this album, of the following lady & gentlemen & Stevo:

• OceansAndrew (Andrew Luers) - Arrangement, Guitar, and Keyboard
• DragonAvenger (Deia Vengen) - Bass guitar
• Level 99 (Stevo Bortz) - Arrangement, Guitar, Keyboard, and Lyrics
• Thomas Colegrove - Drums

We open with a high-energy alt-rock vocal take on the iconic "Bloody Tears" from CV2, with L99 on vocals and even some spoken word, a three-part RealHuman™ choir, and blazing drums, guitar, & especially tasty rock organ. Credits:

• Lead vocals by Level 99 (Stevo Bortz)
• Choir by BardicKnowledge (Ryan Thompson), DragonAvenger (Deia Vengen), and OceansAndrew (Andrew Luers)
• Mixed and mastered by RoboRob (Rob Anderson)

Regarding the album release, Stevo writes:

"Major kudos to every member, especially OA, who totally picked up the ball and ran with it to finish this."

While several tracks from it have been posted back in the day, these are new & improved versions, and it's very cool to see the final result coming together as a single album. Great, deeply relevant & resonant vampire lyrics from Stevo, whose earnest/indie delivery plants the aesthetic in the late nineties or early naughts, and a frenzied, spontaneous energy to the rhythm parts, plus a pretty swanky 3-person choir make for a fun ride; Larry writes:

"It's great to have OCU back in action (back to school???) with OceansAndrew leading the charge. Whether it's giving Andrew and Stevo's past OC ReMixes a new coat of paint (e.g. Sonic & Knuckles, Ragnarök Online), or unleashing the new hotness like their Super Mario Galaxy and Chrono Trigger mixes, OCU always bring the hits through great game selections coupled with rocked out performances. Be sure to get the band's previous 2 albums, Freshman Year & Spring Break DJ Set!

The main thing that stuck out with this vocal mix for me was that I LOVE Stevo's lyrics. Sometime when you try to fit the cadence of a source melody, it can be an awkward and unnatural fit; I've heard enough on the judges panel where it can be a curse in and of itself. Here, everything clicks perfectly, so major props for making that work without sounding forced and also having really strong subject matter that ties into Castlevania's story. I wouldn't have minded some effects to make Stevo more villainous/ominous, but it's Stevo and he's one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. Beware Dracula, even if he sounds chill, lest you fall into the sweet embrace of death. ;-)"

I would have liked more vocal processing/layering, but I'm with Larry: lyrics are on-point and make the vocal concept work. Accompaniment is tearing it up, don't get me wrong, but since lead vocals are covering the lead melody, they end up being more critical, and it's always good to have verse that taps into the libretto effectively. When the chorus & choir come in, things click just right, and the promise of a catchy alt-rock vocal meditation on Dracula's innermost thoughts is fulfilled. Cool concept, fun execution, and part of an album that features seven MORE similarly creative & high-impact arrangements!