Posted 2024-02-15, evaluated by Liontamer


From the newly released tribute album, EXCALIBUR (now available on alllll the services), Jorito can finally unveil his heavy-hitting folk/rock tribute to Secret of Mana, his liveliest... or is that "livest"... arrangement yet! Lookit dat lineup!

There's 46 more tracks on EXCALIBUR with a nice blend of new and familiar faces, as Jorito, along with dozens of other arrangers, ended up needing a new home for the album:

"This is a track I did back in 2020 for a Secret of Mana album that was supposed to be released by Materia Collective. That never happened (but the album may or may not be released under a new umbrella by the time you're reading this), and, since I felt it'd be a shame to let this track fade into obscurity, I figured it'd be a neat idea to try and get it on OC ReMix and share it with the world."

Well, wouldn't you know it, EXCALIBUR has finally been released TODAY through Jayson Napolitano's Scarlet Moon Records, so big props to Jayson as well as album director Peter "XenoKeyz" Jones for seeing this through! We're always eager to signal boost VGM arrangements from across the scene, and these cross-promotions sure are fun to stage, especially with something as ambitious as this track, according to Jorito:

"The original idea was to try and turn it into a bit of a folk metal track, with most parts performed by actual people, and to give the track a bit of a new vibe. Folksy instruments are always a good match for Secret of Mana music, and, with the metal elements, the idea was to give it both a lot of energy and an interesting, different style. It may have turned out more like rock than metal, but at least it's an interesting blend!

The source track is a bit of a weird one, and, initially, I struggled a bit to make it work in the intended style. Especially, the second half took some head scratching, but I managed to sneakily work through it and I'd like to think it all turned out rather well. This also the first track of mine where 99.9% of the instruments are actually performed by humans! (The only non-recorded parts are the whale sound in the beginning and orchestral bells tucked away somewhere.) Anyway, hope you enjoy!"

Once it gets going, "Eternal Recurrence" is quite the unorthodox Kikuta theme, I agree, so therein lies the challenge to arrange it. Love the intro with plenty of Earth Kid, and I swear, one of these days, we're gonna get a Jorito-voice-led track -- as much as I rock with this accordion, the fates are calling for Jorito lead vocals! Dulcimer and harp tracks make me smile too, and there's lots more other live instrumentation involved. Andrew's chill bass as well as the violin highlight at 3:56 were key components, and then we've got Gamer of the Winds, who's also apparently an eternal recurrence on our front page with his fourth OCR mixpost this year. :-) Jorito's not wrong that this didn't turn out as metal, but Matheus's guitar work has just the right kind of bite to show off those kind of chops, and you could also say the same for thebitterroost & his complex and sophisticated drums. The live performer synergy's in full effect with this one, and Jorito's clearly a master of magic (or coercion, or charisma ;-D) for banding these folks together!

Liontamer

Discussion

Latest 5 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
avatar
CJthemusicdude
on 2024-03-24 01:50:23

The interlude near the end was definitely my favorite part. Very enthralling!

avatar
Jorito
on 2024-03-15 17:47:33
3 hours ago, Nase said:

what is the german title about?? you have me intrigued.

The German title simply means “Master of Magic”, I just thought it sounded cool and fitting for the track, no further story behind it really.

avatar
Nase
on 2024-03-15 14:25:49

hey this has beautiful energy!!

what is the german title about?? you have me intrigued.

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Eino Keskitalo
on 2024-02-16 13:11:11

Cool blend of prog metal -style power trio with voices and acoustic instruments! It gives the original some nice kick, and the same theme that is in the boss music too (at least, don't shoot me, I'm not a Secret of Mana OST scholar) is interesting to pick out in this arrangement! I'm most familiar with the boss theme for this melody, so it's just cool to hear it here so differently.

It might be just a matter of personal taste, but I think I'd prefer the arrangement with a different bass arrangement with more sustain. It would tie the arrangement together better, the instrumentation sounds kind of "scattered" now. (But to me this bass style reminds me of certain prog metal type of music and fans of it might call me just crazy ?)

The final movement 1.5 minutes actually do sound really good and it comes together the best.

avatar
Liontamer
on 2024-02-15 04:55:23
What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Secret of Mana (Square , 1993, SNES)
Music by Hiroki Kikuta
Songs:
"Eternal Recurrence"

Tags (16)


Genre:
Folk,Rock
Mood:
Energetic,Epic
Instrumentation:
Bells,Dulcimer,Electric Guitar,Flute,Harp,Recorder,Violin,Vocals: Female,Vocals: Male,Vocals: Soprano
Additional:
Origin > Collaboration
Production > Live Instruments

File Information


Name:
Secret_of_Mana_Meister_der_Magie_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
8,093,576 bytes
MD5:
1546b538b8e0eeb72c8f07b31f922c75
Bitrate:
231Kbps
Duration:
4:37

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