ReMix: Final Fantasy VI 'Behind Enemy Lines'
- Game: Final Fantasy VI (Square, 1994, SNES)
- ReMixer(s): Nutritious
- Composer(s): Nobuo Uematsu
- Song(s): 'The Serpent Trench', 'Under Martial Law'
- Posted: 2009-12-03, evaluated by the judges
This is Justin's seventh mix posted in 2009, which is all sorts of impressive. It seems several artists this year have managed to be both prolific AND terrific for a solid revolution of the Earth around the Sun; I remember the good ole days when I had more free time to make music myself, but on the other hand I've had some sick degree of fun coding & redesigning the site, so it's all good. Mr. Medford writes:
"This is not part of any project (amazingly enough). This remix was created in response to a post in the request forums for a new take on Martial Law. It's a very memorable theme from FFVI for me and very fitting for the point in the storyline where it's played. I tried to capture some of the same feeling as the original with the duets near the beginning, but also bring more dynamics to the piece with more full-on orchestra later. Eventually, I was starting to exhaust my ideas for takes on Martial Law and felt like the piece needed to have a contrasting section from the first half or so. Serpent Trench seemed to be a great fit for the mood I wanted to set in the next section, so I'm pleased with how the themes turned out together."
So it's FF6, but it's still seldom-tread source material - always cool when folks go exploring the lesser-known nooks and crannies of otherwise hugely popular soundtracks. In this case, in contrast to 'The Masked Man', we've got a straight (but lush) orchestral arrangement, complete with the patented Thus-Timpani'd-Zarathustra conclusion. Shariq was all about this joint:
"Wow, the transition between Martial Law and Trench is seamless. Really nice writing. :D I'm really into this. Lots of dynamics and development"
Vinnie adds:
"You're making orchestral stuff sound totally effortless at this point. Very refined writing and usages of instruments, you can barely tell where your writing begins and Uematsu's writing ends. Loved how the strings handled the chord change at 2:24."
Justin's definitely a force to be reckoned with; he keeps churning out awesome mixes one after the other, but none of them feel rushed or slight in any way. If he had released all of his eight mixes over the course of four years, I'd still be mentally high-fiving him for consistently bringing it, so it's sorta spooky that it's been less than two. Great stuff!
- Crulex on April 16, 2012
Martin Penwald;623811 wrote: the whole thing sounds like it's from a soundtrack to some epic WWII movie (or maybe a game like Valkyria Chronicles).
O_O
Now that you mention it, I can't quite stop imagining it that way. That's really cool, thanks. :<
It does help put this track into some atmospheric/mood perspective to think of it that way. I've always liked this track and now I've found another reason. woo!
As for everything else, the orchestration is wonderful, grandiose, and fun to listen to, and this is simply a wonderful track.
- 42 on December 27, 2009
Nice work.
- Martin Penwald on December 16, 2009
Keep up the great work!
- Triad Orion on December 9, 2009
But outside of a few parts (like at 1:00), I have a hard time finding the original melody in all of this. Under Martial Law was a pretty simple track, so with this remix, a LOT has been added to it. An above poster was right; this makes it sound like a companion of sorts to the Gestahlian Empire, which is a track I think should also be remixed (because it's so good).
This is a really well-made song, but like I said, it can be pretty difficult finding the original placed within.
- Emperor Charlemagne on December 8, 2009
- Level 99 on December 8, 2009
There's not much low-end in this one, it seems a bit mid-range heavy, but still extremely expansive.
I love the increased pace at 1:05. Some of the instruments sound a bit weak (especially some of the high strings), but I don't really think that detracts from the mix.
1:55 gets a bit dull, production wise - not as bright as some of the other areas of the mix where it's more bombastic. The slower "Trench" part in my opinion is definitely weaker than the "Under Martial Law" parts, but that's just me. It helps illustrate the contrast in this track from the fast-paced portions and I think the resulting thrills coming back up at 3:05 is where I get most of the enjoyment from this track. Hearing it all build back up to that point was extremely satisfying.
This is awesome. You should also come back to compos and kick all of our butts again :)
- Arcana on December 8, 2009
- Proven Paradox on December 6, 2009
- ChaosisDelightful on December 5, 2009
I think I would've preferred a little more development in each of the segments, but otherwise not bad.
- Bahamut on December 4, 2009
- avaris on December 4, 2009
I recognize this as being well arranged, but it left almost no impression on me. I dunno, it kind of passed right by. I don't know how to say it. I'm gonna listen to this again.
Ok, yeah. I think there's just not a lot of tension and release...something to grab me and get me interested. But it feels like there are good ideas here. Maybe it's a just the production? You know, it's probably just the style of interpretation Nutritious chose that isn't hitting me as much. That's just a personal taste thing, I suppose.
- ella guro on December 4, 2009
Nice stuff, and I had no idea he did 7 mixes this year, that be crazy.
- OA on December 4, 2009
Glad you're tackling relatively unremixed tracks of FFVI. Great transition to "The Trench" indeed.
Keep it up, man.
- SwordBreaker on December 3, 2009
The strings really accentuate both the tense moods and soft sections, and the transition between the two sources was seamless and fluid. It's a shame these sources aren't covered more (Serpent Trench needs more love), but it's good to that they've been done proper justice here.
Another solid track from Nutritious, and definately worth a listen.
- Sir_Downunder on December 3, 2009