ReMix: Final Fantasy VII 'Heavy Mako'
Download MP3
Play Preview
- Game: Final Fantasy VII (Sony, 1997, PS1)
- ReMixer(s): Knight of the Round
- Composer(s): Nobuo Uematsu
- Song(s): 'Mako Reactor'
- Posted: 2011-06-03, evaluated by the judges
How do you prefer your Mako? Medium? Well-done? How about... HEAVY?? Hot on the heels (well, at least warm) of newcomer Neblix with his FF6 dance track comes newcomer Knight of the Round, aka Justin Taylor, with some FF7 metal. This is actually a resubmission, with improvements made specifically to the arrangement, to avoid a copy/paste repetition issue that prevented the first version from being all that it could be. The artist writes:
"Here is my resub for Heavy Mako. Stylistically, it's the same as my previous submission (polyrhythmic metal and death metal). I completely re-recorded the song from scratch and went for a completely over-the-top modern/ultra heavy sound. The song has a slightly different arrangement, so it shouldn't have the same "copy/paste" feel as it did before. Hope you guys enjoy!
All drums were programmed via EZDrummer through Sony Acid, then sound replaced w/ Slate Trigger. Guitars were recorded with an 8 string guitar (tuned to dropped Eb) being played through an ENGL Fireball 60W head, into 2 VHT Fatbottom 4x12 cabinet (one with p50E's and one with V30's), mic'd with a Shure SM57 and an Audix I5, in addition to running a clean track through a marshall amp sim in PodFarm. Bass was recorded direct through a TechNYC SansAmp Bass Driver, then ran into PodFarm. I used Izotope Ozone3 for mastering."
Interesting; not as many Acid users (the program, I mean) out there any more, even though Sony definitely improved the package and added a more serious toolset. Justin's definitely getting tight, meaty results with it, as this mix comes on strong, hitting you in the face with a wall of... Mako. If intense, machine-gun drumming and wall-of-sound, ginormous metal beds that go to eleven aren't your thing, well... move along. This one's pretty brutal on the compression/volume, so the "Heavy" part of the mix title is definitely truth-in-advertising. I dig the intro drum hit and rising string cluster before the guits smack you up, and the tommy gun snare drum ending is a dramatic way to close things out. The arrangement makes no claims to subtlety or nuance and is basically about aggression, power, and good old-fashioned shreddage. Mattias writes:
"This has always been one of my favorite sources from FFVII for some reason. Maybe because of how early it appeared in the game and how horribly exciting it all were...
Anyway, track sounds good! I wouldn't have distorted the bass as much as you did, low frequencies work better cleaner regardless of how heavy you want it. The guitars and playing sound good though! While the drum samples/sequencing aren't perfect, a bit stiff, they definitely get the job done. The choirs add a lot too! The arrangement takes this relatively simple source places by really bringing it rhythmically. Definitely an interesting take on it. There could've been a bit more variations in harmony/melody but there's enough here to make it shine. Nice job!"
Well said; hope to see more from Justin in the future!
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the - Dubanubiel on November 12, 2012
- Crulex on November 1, 2012
I felt the drums could use some more bass to help give them some more oomph, but there's still a good deal of power from those heavy guitars. I would love to see some more of your mixes on the site though!
- Bahamut on December 17, 2011
- Red88Rex on August 6, 2011
Not a bad track, but not one I really care to listen to.
- Sorceror Nobody on July 27, 2011
cfx;784033 wrote: ...it comes across as loud but really, really tame.
This...this is actually pretty spot-on as far as my own feelings for this are concerned.
The entire remix is so loud and brutal throughout its entire runtime that it actually loses impact. tefnek's The End was so impressive because the aggressive, hard parts stuck out, but this here is just one wall of sound without any highlights.
Not my cup of tea, I guess.
- Martin Penwald on July 26, 2011
While there's a bit in the middle somewhere that sounds like a couple of things tried to play at the same time and didn't turn out quite so well, this is AWESOME METAL DUDE~! Need more of this.
- Mockingbird on June 13, 2011
If anyone is concerned about dynamics and melody in my tracks, just wait until the FF9 project is released :-D
- KnightOfTheRound on June 9, 2011
- Fridge on June 9, 2011
I LOVE metal, but this is actually a production style I can't stand becuase yes, I love wall of sound, but I prefer my wall of sound to be more Strapping Young Lad (which fits the ARRANGEMENT of this perfectly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-cQFCCOvX8 <--- still full, but amazing.
I agree with Nekofrog on the grounds that the rhythms having less gain may have helped the issue. I know that its hard to get the perfect crystal clear production style that I love, however all I could hear on my set up was rhythms, kick and snare with the occasional lead popping up from underneath the noise.
Now that I have eviscerated what I don't like about it....
OH MY GOD DUDE! This is sick stuff, I love the rhythmic variation and how its brutal the entire time. You're like "screw dynamics man" and I couldn't be happier about it. God that guitar tone is so beefy and destructive that I think my brain melted a little bit which is why it was hard to enjoy all the way through on the first listen. I had to pause and take in the awesome.
http://youtu.be/wscZhvj_lH4?t=19s <-- this fits quite well.
Overall good work, it really makes me happy to see moar METUL, not just like synth hardrock, but metul!
- Cyril the Wolf on June 6, 2011
But, really, even though I don't enjoy it, I'd have to say that I do appreciate it for what it is, and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes very, very loud metal. Good work.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to peel my ears off the tracks of the sound-train. Dammit, that metaphor really went to hell, didn't it...
- Inferno232 on June 6, 2011
- sirbiggins on June 6, 2011
- Mikeaudio on June 4, 2011
- Watarimono on June 3, 2011
