ReMix:Shadow of the Colossus "On the Shoulders of Giants" 4:32

We TOLD you TheManPF was the man for the job with these ambitious collaborations, so let's pair his nu metal take on Crash Bandicoot with his folk metal twist on Shadow of the Colossus, complete with help from seven live performers:

• TheManPF - arrangement, lyrics, sequencing, mix, electric guitar, vocals
• Zach Chapman - bass

Na Daoine Laghairt is:

• evilsonic - acoustic guitar, mandolin
• Ian Martyn - whistle, Irish bouzouki, percussion, vocals
• Ronin Op F - violin, vocals
• Andromeda - vocals
• atomic - baritone ukulele
• DregsHeartRender - vocals

As much as I love Celtic influences in the pro side of original and arranged VGM, it's an underrepresented aspect of fan-arranged VGM, so credit to Na Daoine Laghairt for carrying the Celtic torch in the scene! The arranger was actually inspired to take on this modern classic by playing the upgraded PS4 version of the game, with TheManPF aiming to amp up this giant medley by standing on the shoulders of Zach and Na Daoine Laghairt:

"Earlier this year in May, I worked on a super-collab for Dwelling of Duels' PlayStation 2 Month, where me and Zach worked with the folk group Na Daoine Laghairt, comprised of several DoD regulars who are very skilled at putting out Celtic-style music. We chose Shadow of the Colossus and did a folk/metal tune that ended up placing 7th out of 23 tracks.

I haven't played the original, but I played the 2018 remake, which stays mostly untouched, and enjoyed the experience. I wanted to arrange something that would evoke that folk, melancholic style while also bringing power through distorted guitars and full choirs. The song is mostly comprised of two parts, which are sandwiched by the other two sources:

-First 30 seconds taken from "Prologue"
-0:30 to 2:10 is taken from "The Farthest Land", with a small original section added at 1:39 to work as a transition
-2:10 to 3:28 is taken from "Demise of the Ritual", the final boss of the game
-3:28 to 3:55 reprises a section of "The Farthest Land"
-Last 40 seconds are taken from "End of the Battle" - the original is pretty dramatic, so I decided to stop on the major chord to give it more of a happy ending

The lyrics for the chants and choir are written in "Runic" language, a fictional language written for both Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, and it's mostly Romanized Japanese inverted with some vowels removed. I wrote the lyrics after going through a bit of a down period I had where I was feeling musically exhausted and couldn't get to the same highs I had before, sort of a "pride before the fall" feeling. You climb to the shoulder of the giant, but then you fall again, and then you have to climb back up."

Boy, this one's a beauty, and stands out among SotC arrangements for the not-as-frequently-arranged themes it included, earning an extra level of astonishment from judge MindWanderer:

"I'm so used to only the intro, main theme, and victory theme being remixed that it's actually weird for me to listen to a remix of other tracks bookended by the stuff I actually know. It sounds great, though [...] production is great, performances are great, arrangement is great."

Great's the operative word indeed, as fellow judge Emunator was similarly impressed across the board:

"The intro immediately sets the mood with a loose acoustic guitar that evokes the melancholy of The Last of Us, before the choir takes us somewhere even more adventurous and mystical. As I've come to expect, you are rarely content to hover around the same musical idea for long, but it always connects cohesively in the end. Tremendous vision and ambition throughout the whole arrangement, and the execution is solid enough to support it!"

With the preponderance of rock and live performers in Dwelling of Duels, it's no surprise to hear a treatment of Shadow of the Colossus that's epic and intense. However, the dynamics and overall approach here are also very sophisticated, as Emu alluded to; for me, the closing vocals were a thing of beauty, as well as the violin and bird SFX, putting the finishing touches on a heck of a musical ride. It's an honor to round another milestone of ReMixes here, 4700 and counting! The energy TheManPF & crew brought certainly nails the melancholy goal with a mysterious, folksy feel; very accessible, energetic, and fun!