ReMix:Super Metroid "Phytotoxin" 5:00

Ooooooh, Super Metroid drum & bass by 744, let's go, let's go right now! By going the DnB route, 744 chose to add a new trick into his bag o':

"Drum 'n bass remix of a classic Super Metroid theme. In keeping with the not-intentional theme of submitting two themes from the same game in a row (FTL and, now, Super Metroid -- LT's note: AND Donkey Kong Country), here's my first-ever attempt at drum 'n bass. After having listened to the Unreal Tournament, Bomberman Hero, and Orbo's Odyssey soundtracks a bit too much, and having gotten very stuck in a DnB kind of mood, I ditched two previous attempts at covering this theme and started over a third time.

Since this piece doesn't do a lot with regard to chord modulation, there's some orchestral breaks and switches between a rock beat and back to DnB to maintain some variety. I used some of the Xtreme Lead and Proteus 2000 patches used in the Metroid Prime soundtracks. There's a specific one used in the Metroid Prime 2 multiplayer battle mode theme, which is itself a remix of the Brinstar jungle theme, and a choir patch used in the Meta Ridley theme from Prime 1, to add some... authenticity, is the word that comes to mind? These sounds have that bespoke "alien planet" sound to them and ooze pure Metroid, just to add a little bit of additional Metroid aesthetic. I also decided to give Logic's new Beat Breaker a shot, and naturally immediately went overboard with stuttering glitch effects just because I was having probably too much fun playing around. I tossed in a few lightly processed sound effects from the game as an accent where they seemed appropriate (credit to "latranchedepain" and sounds-resource.com for making those available from a quick search).

I'm not great at track titles, so enjoy a dictionary word relating to poisons from plants! Other track title suggestions I received included "Green Kill Zone," "why this room pink," and "PLANTS", so I think "Phytotoxin" is acceptable enough in comparison.

Thanks to the folks in the Discord (esp. Hemo) for some useful feedback, and thanks for listening!"

There's of course no issue with using the actual samples employed in Metroid games; Emunator also effectively weaponized this tactic recently (and we'll hear from him later about it, so keep reading)! Meanwhile, judge prophetik music didn't find 744's first-time DnB attempt toxic -- in fact, it was quite the opposite, environmentally friendly even:

"initial vibe is much more upbeat. bass is surprisingly high. there's some fun bitcrushing effects right off the bat. the first real break section at 0:34 hits nice with the orchestral element there. this kind of trucks through on autopilot until 1:18 (nice break going into this section) when the beat drops and it goes to a very rich interstellar-style orchestration. i like the tempo-synced synth there to keep it moving.

after ridley peeks through the bookshelf at his past self, he apparently learns guitar - i liked the change in style here, it's a good change and was needed by this point. the theremin lead [...] i liked the idea. there's a short break, then some breaks, then at 2:18 we get some intentional detuning around some of the synths alongside some glitchiness. it's a fun idea that visualizes the title. this escalates until 2:57 when we get more theremin lead and orchestration, which fades out over time. this is a nice trail-off.

the orchestration comes back with more rich chord blocks at 3:10, and eventually picks back up with the guitar as well. [...] there's a final big hit, we get more interstellar orchestral chord stacks and rhythmic synth, and then it's done with a tape stop.

[...] i think the highly technical dnb alongside the big cinematic scoring elements works great. kudos on continuing to do different stuff and not stick with a single vibe."

Like proph, I dug the string writing at 1:19, which was a novel instrumentation approach to the chorus that I'd never heard before in an arrangement, ever. The glitchy sounds in 2:18's section were cool and added nice tension up to 2:57. The electric guitar chugs gave some Duke Nukem 3D vibes. Love the sudden finish too, that'll catch people off guard the first time around. With such a varied arrangement, there was a lot for both prophetik music and also fellow judge Emunator to hold up as positives:

"The rhythmic expansion on both the drums and the synth arpeggios is wild and carries the song on its own. On top of that, your arrangement goes a ton of places and never feels like it grows stagnant, which is a major risk for the genre. Orchestral and piano elements are integrated with a lot of care to showcase some really great original writing that bridges together the sections of Super Metroid material. Really expansive arrangement. I recognized the Metroid Prime 2 multiplayer sounds before I even read your submission letter, that did a great job of drawing me into the Metroid universe. The arrangement is killer. [...]

Easily skates by on the merits of a super creative arrangement and some great rhythmic work all around [...] I'm glad to see you pushing the envelope with your own skillset. Keep em coming!"

Don't let the poisonous name fool you, there's nothing noxious, or even obnoxious, about 744's latest. :-) In featuring lots of creative textural changes that kept the presentation interesting, we've got a super-creative Super Metroid arrangement with tons of personality! Massive respect to 744 for regularly, boldy, and successfully embracing new challenges!