ReMix: Sonic & Knuckles 'Doomsday'

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Sonic & Knuckles

Hey look, Larry & I did an interview w/ Minnesota Public Radio's Top Score podcast!! Check it out for some (hopefully) compelling insights & observations on VGM & stuff!!

In other news, Elliot Newman, aka elzfernomusic, follows up his 2010 Castlevania: Bloodlines debut with a hard rockin' S&K metal arrangement of the apocalyptic 'Doomsday Zone' theme:

"Have always loved the source track, and although I knew that Sonic 3 & Knuckles has been remixed a lot in the past, I got an idea for this remix and just sort of ran with it. I've heard a lot of straight metal covers of Doomsday Zone in the past and figured it'd be an interesting experiment to slow the tempo and take away some of the "thrash" elements and replace it with groove based elements."

Some REALLY nice things going on here; in addition to a riff the size of Texas that dominates throughout (would LOVE to play this sucka on Rock Band), there are other highlights like the frenetic build at 2'06", the mean shreddage at 2'27" (did I mention I would LOVE to play this sucka... on Rock Band??), and the sweet harmonics at 3'02". I think Elliot made a great call on his approach to the arrangement, and it totally works. Thank goodness he resubmitted this based on some initial critiques on production, since the arrangement is kickin' and definitely deserved the polish; halc writes:

"glad to see this one on the panel again. :D the mixing definitely sounds better in this version, and the arrangement is just as rocking as I remember. nice job addressing the criticisms from last time, this is a mighty fine track now imo."

OA corroborates:

"That is what I'm talking about! Once I heard the drums, I was definitely hyped for this one. Nice soloing, and a meat-and-potatoes simplicity to the instrumentation makes the performance aspect crucial. The playing was great, and I think the no-nonsense approach works well. Good resub."

Modern metal is often unashamedly heavy in terms of pure rage, volume, and density - and that's fine - but I think you can ALSO achieve equal if not greater metallic weight through rhythm & attitude. Led Zeppelin were frackin' brilliant at that, and while this mix may not be in that league (what is, really?), I think some of the same values and emphases are at play. Which is FINE by me - my cup of tea, actually - and makes this a metal mix I'm gonna come back to more often. Great second mix from Elliot, who most certainly kicks out the jams but also explores the periphery a bit & ties it all together in an older-school metal jam that's damn hard not to like.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 13 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
The opening with the soft, almost pleasant guitar was a cool lead in, cause you just knew that it was the beginning of a musical ass-kicking, and you had to wait for the moment it would hit. And as soon as 1:05 hit, you were in for an adrenaline rush. This is probably one of the most focused rock songs I've heard in a long time, with every drum hit sounding sharp and the guitar-work hitting that rough groove that a song like this needs to. It brings back those memories of trying to catch up to the Deathegg ship in the asteroid field after going super, for me at least. Awesome ReMix, man.

- Crulex on December 2, 2012
Zerothemaster;892260 wrote: this mix is full of sweaty southern swagger :3

/\ agree and stolen for sig

- KingTiger on November 25, 2012
YOU GUYS WERE IN MINNESOTA? WHY DID YOU NO TELL ME? ;_;
I would have... cheered... or something...
I suppose not much would have changed...
Also, damn, this mix is full of sweaty southern swagger :3

- Zerothemaster on November 21, 2012
I can't imagine what mixing problems this had before, it sounds amazing now! Everything is clear, there's no mud at all, and I can hear each instrument clearly. I just love how old school rockin' this is! Great job!!

- KingTiger on November 21, 2012
Mrf, this was rockin, and it had some brilliant, and I mean brilliant moments. But I felt it was a little bit less cohesive than it should have been.

- Snow Taradien on November 20, 2012
WillRock;892061 wrote: A man remixes Doomsday Zone. A man calls his remix Doomday. And nobody on OCR has yet to mention this?? :D

Well, SnappleMan's Doomsday remix on Project Chaos was called "The Doomsday," so it's not like there isn't precedence. :-P
Also, Inimitable is totally on the ball. That needs to be a full RB custom, STAT.

- KyleJCrb on November 20, 2012
Gentlemen, we can RBuild him. [URL="http://i.imgur.com/cInzV.jpg"]We have the technology[/URL].
We also now have a [URL="http://youtu.be/NsKwqFYPqsw"]Guitar/Bass/Drums video[/URL], and a thread detailing how you can play it yourself! :)

- Inimitable on November 19, 2012
Rockin song! I enjoyed it a lot, especially the guitar shenanigans that kick in around 2:30. A really nice personalization of the theme. Well done!

- SuperiorX on November 19, 2012
Wow. This is a fantastic heavy remake of one of my favorite songs in all of videogame history. I like that it is hard rock/metal in an unusual way. It doesn't sound like anything you'd commonly hear. I was a little nervous during the intro, but the performance really shines and cleans up a lot when the drums kick in. I'm sure I'll be listening to this a lot, and I think I've got a new Remixer to add to my list of favorites.

- Seraph on November 19, 2012
A man remixes Doomsday Zone. A man calls his remix Doomday. And nobody on OCR has yet to mention this?? :D
hahaha in all seriousness this is a cool remix, I love that intro, its dark, its moody, and its awesome :) Great work man

- WillRock on November 19, 2012
Dang, I remember seeing this one almost four years ago? Good stuff from elzfernomusic!

- Swann on November 19, 2012
I didn't play many video games as I grew up but of the few I did play S&K was at the top. This captures the frantic pace from the game nicely. My only complaint is that it feels a little sparse in the background; another rhythm layer would've helped. Still a great piece though!

- Consigned to Oblivion on November 19, 2012
What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

- djpretzel on November 19, 2012