ReMix:Metal Gear "Snake's in the Jungle" 3:47

Newcomer Astral Tales (Ernesto Bernal) makes a strong Metal Gear debut by giving Snake a much-needed synthwave vacation:

"I've had this song stuck in my head since a long time ago and I wanted to write a synthwave version of it. The OST of this game is great and I am very happy on how it turned out! I hope you enjoy it. :)"

Shoutout to Redditor Redsubdivisions for recommending Astral Tales submit this here! It's a catchy melody and one we haven't heard too much of, especially in recent years. Ernesto throws down some 80s beats, indulgent tom rolls, & thick walls of synth/bell goodness, with a driving pulse that initially plays with the darker, minor-key motifs before jumping into the major-key climax to round things out. Plus, a snap. Most judges picked up on some intonation issues in the initial version the artist submitted; Rexy writes:

"What we have here is an adaptation for the A section in the first two thirds, then the B section in the final minute. Though the melodies have mostly remained as they are, the beauty here is in the subtractive arranging underneath that are appropriate for the genre - arpeggios, pads, that driving bass, and engaging drum work throughout. That breakdown at 1:21 did good in building anticipation for some more original writing at 1:36, which had some beautiful glides to complement the change of lead tone.

And yes, while I can mention the off-notes that are here, prophetik already did a great job in pointing them out. I can let them slide due to the complexity of the chords picked up, but it is something to look out for in your next work."

This mix actually passed the panel in *spite* of some dissonance/intonation issues, and (interestingly enough!) these issues bothered me *more* than they did the judges, so we asked Ernesto for some quick fixes. He turned around a tweaked version VERY quickly - I love it when a plan comes together - and I'm thrilled that we can present this improved rendition of his vision that I can endorse without equivocation. Okay, MAYBE the fadeout ending is still a nitpick, but the preceding climax has at that point accomplished its goal of delivering toe-tapping, head-bobbing anthemic Kazuki Muraoka joy, so there wasn't much left to say, regardless. Excellent, FUN take on Metal Gear; the melody works great with this genre, and Astral Tales does a beautiful job capitalizing on that. Definitely hope to hear more from Ernesto in the future - enjoy!