ReMix: Guilty Gear X 'Alpha Blade'
Download MP3
Play Preview
- Game: Guilty Gear X (Sammy, 2000, DC)
- ReMixer(s): Beatdrop
- Composer(s): Daisuke Ishiwatari
- Song(s): 'Suck a Sage'
- Posted: 2007-12-25, evaluated by the judges
Merry Ho-ho! I'd like to thank Steve Gutenberg this Xmas, for contributing to the epic Single Santa Seeks Mrs. Claus, a mind-numbingly bad Hallmark holiday made-for-TV abomination that our family had great fun providing MST3K-style commentary to. While CHIPP Damage and James George gave us our first mix from the GG series, Dain's here with our first mix from GGX specifically, covering the Suck a Sage theme, trance style. Beatdrop writes:
"... I chopped out most of the soloing, since it didn't really lend itself to the transition to trance."
Makes sense. Like most Beatdrop, this is Grade-A trance, mixed loud, with more synth than you can shake a stick at. A lot of trance works to incorporate live acoustic elements (or emulations), be they ethnic or more traditional stuff like pianos, guitar, etc., but Dain usually sticks to a purely and overtly synthetic arsenal, which definitely gives his tracks a "pure electronica" feel to them, sonically. This mix is pretty straightforward BD, although there's some stutter FX used that feel new to Dain's style, and work well. Of the overall piece, and in particular the volume, BGC writes:
"It's loud, but it's still mixed very well, and there's no clipping. Even during the loudest parts, I didn't notice any loss in the instrumentation. So the volume doesn't bug me. Arrangement is fine, and nice adaptation to Dain's trademark genre. It's loud, it's proud, it's Beatdrop. What more to say?"
I think it's quite cool that both of our Guilty Gear mixes to date deviate so heavily from the original pieces, changing the genre for quite a dramatic effect, and that both do so in different ways. zyko sums things up well, so we'll end with a rather conclusive quote from him:
"the trademark drive, energy and tenacity of a beatdrop groove... menacing synths, all sorts of weird breaks, changes, twists. and its loud... just how i like it"
Word.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the Whenever a mix makes me want to do tai chi to it, it's a great mix,
and this one is no exception. I love the high-energy intensity of
this one.
- Lucentas on December 6, 2008
- Lucentas on December 6, 2008
I loved In The Dark a LOT, and it's no surprise that the same
vision and skill Beatdrop channeled to creat that album workds
fantastically well in this mix.
Nice Work, Beatdrop. Even if you only ever made mixes like this forever, I'd still find them cool :)
- Aninymouse on February 21, 2008
Nice Work, Beatdrop. Even if you only ever made mixes like this forever, I'd still find them cool :)
- Aninymouse on February 21, 2008
I commend you for remixing my most favorite tune in Guilty Gear X.
The opening beat is rough and edgy, and that's enough to know it's
Beatdrop material. Yeah, the high-pitched lead is very grating
sometimes, but it doesn't clip and you can just lower the volume a
bit. Beatdrop lives up to his name yet again!
- CC Ricers on January 16, 2008
- CC Ricers on January 16, 2008
The usual, wonderful high-energy stuff by Beatdrop we have come to
know and love. Good work.
- Martin Penwald on January 12, 2008
- Martin Penwald on January 12, 2008
I first heard this one last night and it's been kind of stuck with
me ever since. Great buildup with some cool scattered glitches, and
when the main theme comes in, it's pretty exciting. I agree that
the lead synth could use a little more body to it, especially
during the chorus; I think doubling it with an epiano would have
made it rich enough without losing the edge it has.
I really thought the segment where it glitched to be slightly off a beat, and then a second later glitched back was really cool. Maybe it wasn't off beat, but the entrance to the ascending riff wasn't at a spot I was anticipating. Very cool surprise.
Overall a really good mix and a very unique way to interpret a theme that I am very familiar with. Awesome work. :-)
- OA on January 8, 2008
I really thought the segment where it glitched to be slightly off a beat, and then a second later glitched back was really cool. Maybe it wasn't off beat, but the entrance to the ascending riff wasn't at a spot I was anticipating. Very cool surprise.
Overall a really good mix and a very unique way to interpret a theme that I am very familiar with. Awesome work. :-)
- OA on January 8, 2008
Ever since the album was released I wondered whether or not this
would show up here. Good stuff.
- Effef on January 6, 2008
- Effef on January 6, 2008
Didn't really want it to be straight-edge generic trance, since
I've had a considerable falling out with the genre as a whole as
time has gone by. Like zyko said on the panel, it basically fell
right in line with some of the more standard styles that can be
heard on 'In The Dark.' Heavily synthetic, difficult to define, and
a tad on the glitchy side. It's like the sister of 'Azure,' one of
the last songs on the album.
And somehow I always seem to make this stuff louder than all the rest. Like Rob Overseer.
- Beatdrop on December 29, 2007
And somehow I always seem to make this stuff louder than all the rest. Like Rob Overseer.
- Beatdrop on December 29, 2007
Man, I swear to god I've been scrobbling more OCR than is healthy.
This is just another song that's gonna push the play count through
the roof. If you don't have it, your ears are lonely for some Alpha
Blade. :mrgreen:
- Removed on December 28, 2007
- Removed on December 28, 2007
Just wanted to drop in and say this is some hot stuff, Dain. I
actually thought it felt a bit short, but good nonetheless. Always
awesome to see more GG representation (and more Beatdrop in
general)!
- Dhsu on December 28, 2007
- Dhsu on December 28, 2007
Energetic as it gets. Once again, Beatdrop shows the mind and
spirit of a trance ReMix. I agree with some sentiments that the
lead options could be revisited, but that's more of an explorative
assessment than a critque.
- The Xyco on December 27, 2007
- The Xyco on December 27, 2007
Definitely sounds like Beatdrop. A nice take on this Guilty Gear
piece, however I think a different lead synth might lend itself
better than the one I hear. Pretty good but it could be better for
trance.
This DJ still waiting for killer trance on OCR.
- Global-Trance on December 27, 2007
This DJ still waiting for killer trance on OCR.
- Global-Trance on December 27, 2007
This is some good stuff from Beatdrop. I've been a fan of his work
for a while, and it's good to see something from him again.
1:42 is my favorite part. Nice trancey stuff, definately worth a listen.
- DragonAvenger on December 26, 2007
1:42 is my favorite part. Nice trancey stuff, definately worth a listen.
- DragonAvenger on December 26, 2007
Beatdrop knows what he's doing. Great synths all around and a solid
beat. The lo-fi drums during the intro took my by surprise but it
was a welcome intro indeed. Squelchy bass together with heavily
reverbed and delayed synths makes the mix sound very big, almost
too big at times in my opinion.
The stutter fills worked great and acted as a break from the huge soundscape that Dain built up. The leads had a lot of character, especially the one entering with full volume at 01:13. Interesting breakdown at 01:43, feels almost like a chiptune in it's nature. Heavily modulated synths all around, might be too much for some. The stutters that follow are pure genious and helps the "main part" at 02:25 sound extremely big indeed, the ravers would go crazy. Very dynamic arrangement.
While I personally think this remix is a bit heavy on the detuned synths with a bit too much delay and reverb it's still an exceptional remix that shows how to make a great trance arrangement and still keeping it fresh. Major props.
- anosou on December 26, 2007
The stutter fills worked great and acted as a break from the huge soundscape that Dain built up. The leads had a lot of character, especially the one entering with full volume at 01:13. Interesting breakdown at 01:43, feels almost like a chiptune in it's nature. Heavily modulated synths all around, might be too much for some. The stutters that follow are pure genious and helps the "main part" at 02:25 sound extremely big indeed, the ravers would go crazy. Very dynamic arrangement.
While I personally think this remix is a bit heavy on the detuned synths with a bit too much delay and reverb it's still an exceptional remix that shows how to make a great trance arrangement and still keeping it fresh. Major props.
- anosou on December 26, 2007
