Posted 2005-02-22, evaluated by the judges panel


We encourage listeners to check out every mix, regardless of the game it came from, the ReMixer who made it, or the genre it's in, but newcomer Dennis Mott presents a ReMix that may challenge some who aren't huge fans of metal - specifically death metal - to broaden their horizons a bit and embrace this ideology. Honestly, I went through a phase where I mostly listened to NIN, KMFDM, and Front 242's harder, later stuff, but nowadays the more aggressive genres aren't what I go to first for general listening - big into Keane lately, for example. If you're not into death metal, and simply dismiss anything with screamed lyrics or walls of shredded guitar outright, perhaps the fact that this is from Castlevania 2 won't be enough for you to appreciate it, I'll just offer that lil proviso up front. If, however, you're all about unbounding energy and shouting lyrics like you're trying to communicate to someone from hell through the peripheral din of tortured souls' lamentations, well then, your ship has come in. Dennis achieves near-clipdom levels of volume and velocity but stays within the realm of listenability with this very quick, very distorted, very primal metal construction of the familiar "Bloody Tears" theme. I shall now quote the entirety of Gray's decision, because I am a lazy bastard, but also because it most closely resembles my own two cents:

"Though this is not my cup of tea genre, I can easily appreciate quality work. The way Dennis puts together this mix in concept and execution is just impressive. The arrangement, production is all there. While it may be acceptable for this genre, I feel the rhythm distortion at times overpowers the vocals too much. I'd personally prefer the vocals have more presence in the mix. Minor complaint though. I personally liked the guitar sections the best where the distortion wasn't overpowering the rest of the mix. Quality work that shines through regardless of whether or not one likes the genre. "

Like I said initially, I'm not expecting throngs of conversions from people who previously disliked death metal over this ReMix, but I do think if you give it a try you'll hear some of what Gray's talking about; it's a different take not only on the theme in question, but on game mixing in general, and while not necessarily as accessible as electronica or orchestral, it still manages to amply display the basic ingredients of production and arrangement.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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OneUp
on 2017-08-02 14:45:31

I just have to give this overlooked tune some more love. It's still on my top 5 OC Remixes ever. It's perfectly adapted to the genre. You can tell that this is an experienced and established death metal band/artist playing a cover, which is a good premise for any remixe or cover.

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Legion303
on 2012-01-03 08:50:07

What...I...

\m/ \m/

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LostChronos
on 2011-01-20 11:56:17

I hurt my neck on this one. Good job.

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Gario
on 2010-06-11 11:34:04

I... completely missed this one for years. Being a heavy metal fan, myself, it's a damn shame I missed it.

You basically turned Castlevania into Death Metal. On here it's rock, perhaps; hell, even thrash, but death metal? It always surprises me how accepting OCR is to other genres. Great live performance, too - love to see the footage of the moshers kicking the crap outta each other in there, since I can assure you there were moshers to a song like this :twisted:.

It's good death metal - there's a lot of crap death metal out there (I mean a lot of crap death metal - in New Mexico, crap death metal is all the rave :x), but this is certainly one of the gems from the genre. Great work with this one!

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Geoffrey Taucer
on 2010-06-09 22:51:17
If anyone's interested, my band, Dissolution recently played a show and we played Cursed Bloodline live, and it was caught on video and you can watch it here:

hooray?

This = win

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Dennis
on 2010-06-09 22:37:33

If anyone's interested, my band, Dissolution recently played a show and we played Cursed Bloodline live, and it was caught on video and you can watch it here:

hooray?

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Koka2785
on 2010-06-08 15:43:37

Now this has bloody written all over it, as in bloody fingers from rocking out so much, I can see skeletons in the mansions just falling to pieces from this hardcore version. Perhaps you could try Dwelling of Doom next? The change from 2:14 or so onward gives a legendary rock feeling, while the drums add the spikes to the morning star flavor. I agree that the lyrics are somewhat lost, they are fitting lyrics, maybe you could strengthen the vocals a tad or reduce the rest while they are going? Other then that, I'm happy to see this type of remix, CV was always metal to me, from the whip to the final stake in the coffin. Nice job Dennis Mott, you have a great direction with this type of music.

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OA
on 2010-06-08 12:32:34

Pretty brutal stuff, my only real complaint is that the vocals are lost a little in the mix, and the rhythm guitars have a bit too much distortion on them. Otherwise, it was packed with vigor, and I felt like Ragnarok was upon us. Well played, metal remixer dude!

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Dennis
on 2010-01-09 23:49:54

....but i'm glad so many people seemed to enjoy this mix, and STILL seem to enjoy it (at least, according to last.fm it still gets tons of plays, which is awesome!)

now if only i could get off my ass and make another mix to keep my "1 song every 5 years quota" up......

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cremdogz
on 2009-12-12 01:19:12

I've been listening to a whole bunch of new remixes lately from games I've gotten into, and I've heard so many weird and interesting remixes, and this is one of them. I'm not a fan of death metal, but this was just so impressive. At first when I listened to it, I thought it was alright, but felt like I had missed something, so I listened to it again, then again, and I've been listening to it non-stop now. This is just incredible, I liked the 2nd verse the most though, I thought the verses were the best part of this song.

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Liontamer
on 2009-05-24 02:12:09

Just fired this one up again to listen to the lyrics. So awesome. Hahaha!

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Marmiduke
on 2009-02-11 01:37:12

Club Kukeiha is Club Kukeiha. Death metal or no, its going to have that Castlevania backbone that should make lovers of metal very satisfied and those who hate it mildly tolerant of it. And if you aren't a fan of Club... why?

I wouldn't class myself as a death metal fan, although I do like some of those heavy folk metal bands. People have said that this isn't melodic enough, but truly, I thought there was more than enough to carry the song. Having too complex a melody or introducing new variations too consistently combined with the surging power of the mix would be total overload and would be a mess of noise. As this stands, its just enough energy when those big wall of sound events happen, I think "Nice!" rather than "Ouch."

I mean, I couldn't listen to a 70 minute album of this stuff, but I do think that its a very welcome addition, and a benchmark for the encouraged diversity of the site. Great track, Dennis.

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The Author
on 2008-05-16 11:01:10

So I finally decided to listen to this. I used to be that when the shuffle landed on that song, I would press next. I realized I wasn't being fair.

So I listened to it once. I rated it 3 stars on my ipod (which puts it in an occasionally listened to playlist). During the next song, I was kinda missing the energy. So I hit back.

I liked it more the second time around, because I could pick out elements more, and stop seeing the song as a whole.

So I listened to it a third time. And a fourth.

That was yesterday.

Today, I start up my ipod, it's this song again. I simply put it on repeat. I have been listening to it in a loop for about an hour now. Still not bored of it. I uped its rating to 5 stars.

I think the energy in this remix is what makes it a song I can listen to in a loop. The technical aspect is great, but where it shines is in the performance. And it is rare to see a performance oriented mix, most songs here are technical oriented songs.

All in all, I just have to say: I love this song.

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evktalo
on 2007-12-11 16:48:53

Had to play this five times in a row. Can't say I usually like the genre, but this track is great and I can't resist a good track. The 7/8 part is tres cool.

--Eino

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The Legendary Zoltan
on 2007-11-03 09:35:13

Hmmmmm. Waaaaa. やっぱり。 The fact that this thread has been on my mind the entire time I was taking the dog for a walk means that I have, indeed made a mistake. So I guess it's time to apologize. There was no reason for me to say what I disagreed with in the way that I did. Instead of making that big long explanation, I should have just done one of those quick, one-liners that JJT and Vig often do. Then, maybe I wouldn't have been referred to as "busting someone's chops." And perhaps I wouldn't FEEL like I've been "busting someone's chops." That feels crappy for everyone probably. And actually, after Tensei's idea of "repetition of certain sections, which gives the listener a chance to 'grasp' the song." I'm starting to see a good thing in the way it comes back.

So, to Dennis Mott...

I'm sorry for tearing your remix up to shreds over just one negative aspect, especially when I love ALL the other aspects of it. What kind of review is that?!

And to Zircon and the judges...

I'm sorry for getting on your cases about giving praise where you did, just cause I thought it wasn't deserved.

I think I'll go and edit the previous posts later to reflect the "one-liner" philosophy because I think if Dennis Mott saw that, it'd only bum him out, which is not what I really want.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (Konami , 1988, NES)
Music by Kenichi Matsubara,Satoe Terashima
Songs:
"Bloody Tears (Street-day time-Stage BGM)"

Tags (9)


Genre:
Metal,Rock
Mood:
Aggressive,Angry
Instrumentation:
Electric Guitar,Singing,Vocals: Male
Additional:
Lyrics > Lyrics: Original
Usage > Halloween

File Information


Name:
Castlevania_2_Cursed_Bloodline_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
4,832,428 bytes
MD5:
ea0a056d15c3c1fcf238986a40bbcf2a
Bitrate:
160Kbps
Duration:
3:57

a bloodline charged
with ridding dracula from the land
they never fail to do so
except dracula has his hand
upon the dark art of necromancy
and a grasp betwixt the times in which
he lives and dies and lives again

[Chorus]
you're born to die in vain
to rid a curse insane
frivolous time serene
the curse returns again

a whip in hand
and holy water strapped to the belt
a sharpened wooden cross
impaled black heart, sure death is dealt
time and again
the vicious cycle repeats once more
for the belmonts, dracula laughs
in their face and gives them what for

[Chorus]
you're born to die in vain
to rid a curse insane
frivolous time serene
the curse returns again

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