ReMix:Final Fantasy VIII "The Tolls of Stringent Obligation" 4:18

Ran into Darkflamewolf on our Discord a couple of nights ago and they were like "Hay u summamabeetch, y u not post more SeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeDs", ya know, something like that, I could be misrememberizing. [sic] :-) Well, waving the stick worked and it's time to showcase ZackParrish's holiday-album-worthy SeeDs of Pandora sendup of Trans-Siberian Orchestra while the snow's still falling this season! Our lineup:

• ZackParrish: arrangement, guitar, mixing, production
• Pearl Pixel: flute
• Chromatic Apparatus: cello
• Cyril the Wolf: bass
• Masikus: drums

ZackParrish was super productive for SeeDs of Pandora as an arranger, performer, mastering-er...er... person (engineer, AH, that's it!), and frequent collaborator, basically being a rising tide that lifted ALL boats across the album! Here, Zack once again displayed his chops for creative arranging alongside ambitious collaborations (and maybe a secret love of snowmen):

"Having already done 3 tracks on the album, and seeing this iconic track open up on the list toward the end of the album's deadline for submission... I thought... why not give it a chance. When I listened to the track, the first thing that popped into my head was "Christmas Eve" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra (most people just call it "Carol of the Bells"...).

I was determined at that point to craft an FF8 arrangement in the style of that particular track of theirs. Originally, I was going to use a couple of other guitarists to perform all the guitar parts but because of life and lack of time in the end I just did them all myself, but still kept the door open for someone to record cello (Chromatic Apparatus), flute (Alex Parrish, le wife), bass (Cyril the Wolf), and drums (Angel Hernandez).

The core of the track is still very much "The Landing" but peppered with nods to the TSO inspiration. Even the title of the track is an acronym for them. :)

All 4 performers did awesome work. I've of course used my wife several times over for flute, oboe, etc.... This is my second time working with Chrom and he's a delight as always and did awesome once again. First time working with Cyril or Angel, but they both brought their A game. For the drums, I gutted that part and left it entirely in Angel's hands to craft that part, and he cranked it out in 2 hours. Cyril also contributed some additional parts and variations throughout his part that brought the bass into a much more exciting place than the typical "just dub the rhythm..." spiel. Also a nod to Viking Guitar for linking me up with Angel for the drum part. I had planned on using him in this track but alas... time wasn't my friend this time.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the track and get a feeling of nostalgia not just for FF8 but also for TSO."

TSO's own Tony Dickinson, a member since 2017 and a DoD/OCR veteran, recently repped the group for performances on Good Morning America (front left!!), and we saw a ton of Tony's hair waving around! Absolutely amazing the accomplishments of people from this scene, though it's no surprise given the talent involved, especially Prince uf Darkness! Judge prophetik music praised Zack & crew for successfully channeling that TSO spirit:

"definitely feels like a TSO song. intro is very evocative between the guitar, cello, and chimes. big hit at 0:40 to build up a very full band sound. the adaptation to 6/8 - and particularly the inspiration to alternate your measure groupings between triple and duple - is great, really adds a ton of energy.

there's a drop around 1:32 that brings it back to focus on the orchestral elements with some drums helping to amp the energy over time. this builds for close to a minute before finally really hitting hard at 2:14. i really liked the harmonized lead guitars here over the top of the very active bassline."

I'll just interrupt to say that the string lead at :11 has the right sense of somber, foreboding sadness before things shift to rock. Great stuff. The direct reference to TSO's track (the piano lead from 1:40 of that piece, the 8-note "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" melody) is around from 1:31-2:14, and is in tandem with arranging "The Landing". I've always been a big fan of this FF8 theme, so it's great to hear how ever-present it is in the arrangement. Not something I'd expect to be combined with TSO or be adapted to a winter flavor, but Zack in particular, and the scene in general, always manages to surprise us! Through Tony, the scene is collectively one degree removed from TSO, and, wouldn't you know it, judge Chimpazilla herself is personally two degrees removed as well:

"Interesting anecdote: My husband Steve was in a band called Mariah in high school, waaaay back in the day. Steve played guitar, they had a drummer named Mark, and the bass player was John Middleton. John now goes by Johnny Lee Middleton, and he is still the bass player for Trans-Siberian Orchestra which was an offshoot from his other band called Savatage. They all still keep in touch. Johnny Lee has the interesting side-hobby of beekeeping.

As for the remix: Oh yeah, I can hear the TSO influence! Gentle intro, busting out into some truly excellent guitar playing. Elements are balanced really nicely. The soundscape is often quite full, but all elements are audible. I'm loving the varied and interesting 6/8 arrangement and competent performances, wonderfully full of emotion. Terrific stuff, let's go."

Wonderful concept in arranging "The Landing" this way by Zack, with Chromatic Apparatus, Zack's better half Pearl Pixel, Cyril the Wolf, and Masikus all breathing tons of life into it! Maybe Zack and Tony can chat, they slide this FF8 piece into a TSO album as a bonus... Would TSO ever do a VGM arrangement? Don't mind me, gears are turning... ;-D