Echoes of Betrayal, Light of Redemption

FINAL FANTASY IV ALBUM BY OVERCLOCKED REMIX: http://ff4.ocremix.org

The OC Remix community has done it again.  In a new project, spanning 14 months from inception to release, designed to honor the great Nobuo Uematsu and his soundtrack from Final Fantasy IV, the wonderful artists who contribute to OverClocked Remix for our listening pleasure have captured the heart and memory of a grand tale of, as they put it, betrayal, strife, and redemption.

I enjoyed nearly every track on this album.  Now, I am not completely geeked out when it comes to video game music, but as with each of OC Remix’s albums in the past, I find that while every song is a wonderful capture and tribute of the feeling and emotion of the original, blended with the spirit and style of the idea the artist wanted to convey, I usually want to add only a few to my mp3 player to listen to over and over again.

In what is a record for me, there are 10 tracks from Echoes of Betrayal, Light of Redemption that I felt I had to add to listen to every day.  Let me put my thoughts down on these.

(Just because I didn’t put a track here doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it, I loved just about every track, and I had a love-hate relationship with the rap song [name purposefully left unmentioned], but these are the ones that made me go “OOH, I want to listen to that every day!”)

ACT 1: BETRAYAL

2. The Might of Baron, remix of “Kingdom of Baron”, remixed by audio fidelity

The inordinate amount of time spent in Final Fantasy IV’s Kingdom of Baron really made me lose touch with this song and what it really represented.  This song brings it all back.  The introduction seriously puts me into a state of awe.  The beginning bells and marching, followed by the guitar intro sets the tone and setting of the Kingdom so much better than the limited graphics of the time ever could.  Walking into the center stronghold of a large kingdom, flexing its military might across the world at any cost, threading through its people, troops in the streets…

The guitars carry it through, painting one’s stroll through the military powerhouse.  Midway through, the song slows to a soft melody, while a nice piece, serves to further highlight its rock components.  An awesome solo around 3:40 really pulls in the artist’s mark, showing what he can really do with the genre, built to the background of the original song.

Personally, I think rolling into a unique take on the Prologue and the airship theme was a brilliant idea, and a great deference to the story of the original game.  

3. Overture ~ Tellah’s Prophecy, medley remix of many songs in FFIV, Remixed by AeroZ

Wow! Every memory you’ve ever had from Final Fantasy IV can be found right here.  Every 20 – 30 seconds, AeroZ is switching up the notes on you, weaving the notes to flow through a large part of the games’ tunes.  I was almost disappointed when this one ended, because I was being driven through so much nostalgia through each tune, remembering when I first heard them, that it was kind of a jolt to hit the end. 

My favorite is his mix of one of the battle themes around 2:30.  I enjoy the spin he put on it.  Overall, a well done piece!

5. Ana(pro)logue, remix of “Prologue”, remixed by Another Soundscape

Let me tell you something about Prologue.  I have seen so many renditions of the Final Fantasy prologue, that I very rarely get past a minute or two before realizing it’s just the same old song.  This remix brings so much more to the song while staying undeniably catchy that I could not put it down after listening to it the first time.

The songs starts with a wide, glorious sound, almost the kind you would hear at the victory phase of the game, as opposed to its placement at the beginning of the album.  The electronica is so fresh and upbeat, and carries between the main passages so wonderfully, without being overly long.  And the clever ditty at 2:29 was so perfectly placed that it made me laugh at the reference to Van Halen.  Very awesomely done.

14. Golbez ‘n Goblins, remix of “Golbez” and “Clad in Darkness”, remixed by bLiNd

The beginning of this song grabs me by the throat and MAKES me dance.  I have this 80’s to 90’s funk beat that pulls at you, moving your entire body from the get go.  The running bass behind the Golbez theme makes it that much more catchy.  My head has no choice but to move with this song.

bLiNd takes some liberties at 1:16, mixing up the original melody with some fancy side effects that just improves on that trance form.  But it’s build up to the true dance rhythm starting at 1:50 is the best genius of all.  This stuff right here is the stuff music videos were choreographed to.  I swear I heard this song played at the night club last week…

The song breaks down and rebuilds around the 3:00 mark, taking you back to the Golbez refrain, before breaking up again at the end.  This is one of those songs I put on repeat a few times driving down the road!

15. Fighting for Tomorrow, remix of “Fabul”, remixed by OA, Nutritious, and the Fabul Men’s Choir

What a new way to rendition this song!  To be honest, the original song Fabul in the game, I was not a very big fan of.  (The only part I really liked in Fabul was when it was invaded and the game let you attempt to hold them off.)  So, when I heard the song begin, I *almost* skipped it.  But the vocals intrigued me.  I had to listen more.

It has a very far-eastern beginning, fitting for its theme, a slow rhythmic march.  Then at 1:20, the main rhythm pulls into a subrock, and frankly, I imagined myself in the scene I described before, where I wish I had been fighting to this music during the invasion.  (If there is one thing I have a weakness for, it’s opera or choir type music set to a rock backdrop.)  The guitar at 3:20 fits between the main pieces well, and keeps your head bopping.  This took a song that I did not like to begin with, and transformed it into something I truly enjoy. 

By the time the breakdown came at 4:30, my whole body was rocking to the song, and the slow down just sucks you in even more.  I am very glad to have been able to experience this one.

ACT 2: STRIFE

2. Metal Mage, remix of “Palom and Parom”, remixed by Cyril the Wolf, Lil’ Wolfie, and OA

Hahaha, Mysidia’s twin mages were a favorite part for me.  The song was the epitome of translating “*rolling my eyes*” into song.  That song rarely came out without a grin and the shake of the head waiting to see what that silly pair would do next. 

That’s exactly what happens here.  The song starts with an immediate facepalm, as I’m like, “Oh, here we go.”  It then goes on to turn into a medley of different metal strokes put behind the classic melody.  In itself, it is a spectacular display of skill and downright cool beats.  I was surprised at how many different styles could be stuffed in one song without sounding overkill, but they did well.

What takes it from just “awesome” to “over-the-top”, is the child’s voice that is demanding the performance.  Not sure how to picture that one.  I get a mental image of some kind of cross between Palom himself and some spoiled rich kid.  Which… is still kind of Palom, if you think about it.

Final note – “Guitar Solo!”  – Best part of the entire track.

11. Somewhere to Hide, remix of “Somewhere in the World…”, remixed by Hy Bound and Loka Lafevre

This song has my favorite vocals of the entire album.  The voice here is incredibly beautiful, the song is catchy, and I find myself humming the lyrics over and over again.  On one hand I’d love to hear her sing more in this song, but on the other, I’m glad they kept it simple and didn’t turn the whole remix into a song based on vocal accompaniment, instead focusing on the remix.

The remix does an incredible job of creating an astounding beat that makes you move.  I loved the intro, I spent the first few seconds mind-racing how this song was going to take off, but then it exploded much better than I could have imagined.

But yeah, those vocals really closed it for me, absolutely beautiful.  I’m gonna look and see if this Loka has some more work out somewhere, and spread the word, she’s made an instant fan out of me!

ACT 3: REDEMPTION

11. Finale Part One ~ Éminence Grise, remix of “Another Moon”, remixed by OA and DragonAvenger

This one had me hooked from the very beginning.  Adding the skip beats to the familiar tune made me want to hear what would happen next.  The vocals play off of the rhythm with a sound that is just captivating, and paints the emotion of the once-dark hero as he immerses himself in that darkness to save the world.  The dank emotion that fills this song, suppressed hope, is accurate in its portrayal of the game’s buildup to the final battle.  Combined with Part Two of Finale, it is a beautifully done complement, demonstrating suspense towards the final battle, while standing on its own as a work of art.

12. Finale Part Two ~ Genesis of Destruction, remix of “The Final Battle”, remixed by Audio Fidelity, Nutritious, OA, lisabela, Cyril the Wolf, and Voices of the Blue Planet

This is by far my favorite track.  They paint the entire fight from start to end, with a quick intro setting the stage, the declaration of the good party to do, well, good, and then the banter back and forth as the battle really starts.  The female vocals declaring into the darkness that “We must prevail,” while the hard metal grunting of the representation of Zeromus snaps back in what was a beautiful choice of form.

At 1:30, the battle truly starts, and the mixture of rock beat, the beautiful vocals and rough evil retorts scream “Nightwish” at me.  Definitely not a copy by any means, just a comparison that I think best describes what this song makes me feel.  It is a mix I love more than anything, and I found myself at home in this track.

Now, honestly, there are a couple phrases in particular that make me blink.  I’m not a musician in the strictest sense, having only been exposed to basic music theory, but some things don’t always sound right to me.  The phrase in the introduction, “We believe in you” seems off to me, but maybe that’s just me.  Also, “Together, we’ll fight for our world” itself seems out of place in tone.  The rest of it sounds perfect, but those two phrases make me wonder what I’m missing, exactly.  The parts of the song with the higher-pitched vocals seem to be more in tune with the feeling of the song, but the parts I mentioned above almost hit a Broadway type feel, and it really seems to clash.

If you think I was kidding about the Nightwish thing, fast forward to 4:26 where the calm chanting begins, carrying you through the soft lull between the major passages with a feeling of getting ready to put out that last effort.  It is so reminiscent of the opera metal rock that I’m familiar with from several European bands.

This is not just a remix, this whole track is its own culmination of all the work that went into this album, and I enjoy almost every piece of it.

BONUS TRACKS

4. Morphine Kyck, remix of “Battle 1”, remixed by 2Radical

You know that Uematsu-san had to sit down every game and very carefully construct that game’s battle theme.  Someone *must* have said to him: “Be careful, it has to never get old.  It has to be a song that the player can listen to over and over and over again throughout forty to sixty hours of gameplay and still be fresh at the end.”  He delivered, time and time again. 

That’s why I have a weakness for all of the original battle theme remixes, ever.  The starting song is so fresh, constructed from scratch to always be fresh and carrying, that it makes it really difficult to top that.  Successful remixes of main battle themes have to find a way to keep that feeling while putting the remixers’ spin on it. 

2Radical just does that.  I love how he keeps the core beat running through the entire song, but changes up what he’s doing just enough that it is still recognizable, and yet completely different.  He accompanies the fast-paced beat with a mellow mix of notes that just barely fits with the original melody.  It makes for a very smooth flow that just keeps beating on its own.  It could easily loop on its own, over and over and over…