ReMix:Elemental Master "Brother" 5:50

Megalixir debuted on OCR back in 2015 with a sweet Demon's Crest rock mix, and it's fantastic to see them return with another less-mixed game/soundtrack & another prog/metal/rock opus, taking on multiple Elemental Master (GEN) sources and offering up plenty of synth/guitar hero action. Sam Barugh of Megalixir writes:

"Megalixir comprises of:

• Mads Aasvik - Synth Programming
• Sam Barugh - Guitars
• Joe Khan - Bass
• Joey Killam - Drum Programming/Mastering

Medley of themes taken from the 1993 Sega Genesis game Elemental Master, developed and published by TechnoSoft.

• Great Spirit Overture [Opening]
• Dance of Flame [Stage 1]
• Calling on the Dark Dragon King [Boss 5]
• Until the End of the Earth [Stage 3]
• Cursed Destiny [Visual Scene 1]

This is our second submission to OverClocked ReMix. Recently, we have been working with montage compositions and were inspired by Elemental Master. Unfortunately, neither TechnoSoft nor Toshiharu Yamanishi (composer) have a significant library of work, but both the game and the music speak to the quality on the Genesis at the time. This piece took a lot of work to coordinate but we are extremely happy with the outcome -- we feel that it retains the spirit of the original work while incorporating our own sound.

Sorry this resubmission has taken a while to get to you. A few of our members have had significant life changes to deal with, then COVID... I hope everyone at OC ReMix is safe and healthy!

Thank you for all of your feedback on the initial submission. We've taken a close look at the mix based on the notes you provided, and made significant balance changes focused on bringing out the melodies and setting better levels on the drums. We also replaced some of the guitar parts to improve the overall clarity and provide space for the synth. We hope it addresses your concerns and that you enjoy the updated version!"

VERY glad Sam/Mads/Joe/Joey revised this based on judges' feedback; the resulting resubmission is stronger for it, passed the panel unanimously, and kicks a serious quantity of posterior. It's a medley, to be sure, but the transitions are handled well and there's a unifying aesthetic of synth-heavy prog/metal that ties it all together. From the suspenseful, gurgling intro build to those initial dark, ominous hits & power chords, to the synthwavey bits that follow, and through to coverage of several themes, nothing gets too far from the source, but it's always personalized & keeps you guessing. prophetik music voted on the initial submission AND the revision, and weighs in on the improvements:

"this was a fantastic submission arrangement-wise and was so fun to listen to originally, but everyone who voted encouraged the band to go back and remaster it a bit because while it was good, it was hard to listen to long-term. the band did us one better and even did some re-recording and updating of synth profiles to get a more cohesive and overall significantly better track. this is exactly what we hope for when we ask for a resubmit. i can't get enough of the section at 3:30. the unison leads at 4:12 are so great. the last minute is 1000% better than the original was in terms of listenability."

While it (ahem, obviously) introduces some delays, the panel feedback & revision process often results in making good tracks great & great ones even better, and justifies its existence with results like this; it would be a huge mistake to skip this mix due to lack of familiarity with the game/source, because it bops (I'm told this is what the kids are now saying) and also slaps (and again) - truly fantastic stuff, and ends up arranging a sizable chunk of the game's better tunes. Dj Mystix had the first featured mix of Elemental Master back in 2012, incorporating several other tunes from other games (as was his methodology), and it's good to see/hear it again. There's gold in them there Technosoft hills :) Additional comments from Emunator, who only evaluated the revision:

"Having not heard the original sub, I can say with confidence that this sounds GREAT to my ears! I'm loving the energy in the mixdown, each instrument is clearly audible and whatever loudness/overcompression issues may have been present before seem to have been ironed out nicely. Guitars sound punchy and thick. I am in love with the variety of synth leads and the energy they each bring to the table, and similarly, the drums are pulling their weight in a major way and always manage to keep things rhythmically fresh. I honestly can't find any major faults here - nice job ironing out whatever issues may have been present in the original submission, thanks for taking the feedback into consideration and using that to make something that sounds even better!"

Superb work from Megalixir - epic energy, a boatload of fun synth/guitar/drum work, and a fantastic tribute to a large swath of an underrated game's underrated soundtrack. Bravo; highly recommended!