Posted 2021-09-14, evaluated by the judges panel


While "Creep Colony" could probably be used to describe more than a few college fraternities or subreddits, in *this* case it's a badass post-rock take on StarCraft's "Zerg 2" - our first standards-compliant featured mix from the game AND our first from newcomer Cory Johnson:

"I feel like it's usually Terran music that gets most of the attention when people cover this game, but Zerg and Protoss have some of the best moody, ambient tracks in the series. That also makes it more of a challenge to cover, so I took that challenge. This was originally recorded for Dwelling of Duels' August 2019 Free Month and later released on my Dwelling of Duels entry compilation album called Duels in 2020."

So much to love here: great sound design, where a guitar-centric ambient/distorted soundscape has some occasional pairings against synths, but in a completely cohesive manner that maintains the "tortured wasteland" aesthetic. On top of that, you've got discrete sections that range from suspenseful to sinister to heavy - I especially dig the 5/4 bits toward the end. Judges were unanimous, and Emunator had clearly been waiting for a submission from Cory:

"Hell yes, we finally get a Cory Johnson submission! I've been a huge fan of your work ever since your post-rock Zelda album ages ago.

The sound design here is absolutely off the hook, and the way you've integrated it with more traditional rock instrumentation is incredibly seamless and well-produced across the board. A lot has been said about the guitars and the various effect chains you've employed here, but I also want to comment on the drums, which are written with a lot of finesse and nuance as well and always suit the energy level of the track at any given moment. There's a great ebb and flow throughout the entire track while always pushing toward a final climax, which finally comes at 5:22 - while I was expecting something to happen, the absolute ferocity of it caught me totally off guard and REALLY sold me on this arrangement as a whole. Way to bring it all home!

There's a lot of good to speak about this arrangement, and I'm glad you've chosen to send it our way. I sincerely hope we hear more from you in the future!!"

Yes indeed; all of that. Gario had a good comment about "alien sweeps" and other otherworldly FX coaxed from the guitars, and MindWanderer added the following:

"Not much to add to the above. It's indeed tricky to work with less melodic source material and not have it come out similar in mood. This is still definitely sci-fi, but I could never accuse it of being conservative. It's a bit more Doom or Mutant Chronicles than Starcraft. Excellent sound design, production, performance, the works."

This mix manages to be substantive, engrossing/enveloping, & varied in timbre and composition, using its near-six minute duration wisely to manipulate both texture & tension. Smart, high-impact way to handle the source material & a fantastic debut from Cory - highly recommended!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 5 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
avatar
CJthemusicdude
on 2024-04-01 19:54:50

I felt appropriately put into a state of disease. I also feel like my APM needs to go... or down, who is to say. There is some very cool stuff going on in this remix if you listen closely. Much like Starcraft, this remix benefits from a good micro analysis and deep dive!

avatar
coryjohnsonvgm
on 2021-09-27 03:08:01

Thank you! ❤️

Yeah, I've mostly heard Terran covers so that pushed me to do a Zerg track.

And I remember searching on here to see what Starcraft tracks were added and found no results and a forum post from like ten years ago lamenting the lack of SC tracks. I knew I had to submit it lol.

avatar
Geoffrey Taucer
on 2021-09-24 21:34:27

I don't know what shocks me more: that it took twenty years to get a Starcraft remix on OCR, or that the aforementioned remix WASN'T terran.

Anyway, awesome work! This makes my zerg-maining soul happy.

avatar
Skinner3D
on 2021-09-15 10:55:14

Duuuuude. My Zergling soul is so happy right now. Despite playing primarily Zerg and having all three races' music on my computer; it seems like Terran music is heard more regularly for some reason. I am definitely downloading this.
Also the drop right around 2min is so complete that I freaked out for a couple of seconds. I thought that was the end of the song and it was too good for me to accept that.

avatar
Liontamer
on 2021-09-13 10:31:41
What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
StarCraft (Blizzard Entertainment , 1998, WIN)
Music by Derek Duke,Glenn Stafford,Jason Hayes,Tracy W. Bush
Songs:
"Zerg Two"

Tags (15)


Genre:
Post-rock,Rock
Mood:
Aggressive,Dark,Spooky,Suspenseful
Instrumentation:
Electric Guitar,Flute,Synth
Additional:
Effects > Distortion
Origin > Competition > Dwelling of Duels
Production > Live Instruments
Time > 4/4 Time Signature
Time > 5/4 Time Signature
Time > Tempo: Variable

File Information


Name:
StarCraft_Creep_Colony_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
10,018,737 bytes
MD5:
b6824140c12da1ffec4a71906625f84f
Bitrate:
228Kbps
Duration:
5:48

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