ReMix: Shatterhand 'Shattered'

Download MP3
4,587,420 bytes, 3:49, 160kbps

• Trade-in your Games or Anime DVDs!
• OC ReMix Shirts & Merch
• Games:
  • DS | GBA | GC | PS2 | WII | XBOX | 360
  • Imports & Pre-owned
• Anime:
  • DVDs & Merchandise

Hopefully, where applicable, you're enjoying your Fourth... not much being one for fireworks anymore, I get more into the varied array of marathons that stations tend to run, and have been tuning in to The Twilight Zone and The West Wing specifically this holiday. Here to add a little rock to your patriotic goings-on and at the same time lend us our first Shatterhand ReMix are SnappleMan and newcomer collaborator Rubbler. Andreas explains their respective duties:

"Anyway, this is a collaboration between me and a fellow called Rubbler. I handled all the arranging, lead guitar, and drumming. He did the rhythm guitar and bass guitar."

Apparently Majin Geodood also assisted by covering the intro bits on guitar. Shatterhand's a game whose soundtrack has substantial cult appreciation, even amongst those who've never even played it, due to being laced with Konami/Tecmo-esque hard-rockin' NES action. That the first submission we're posting is rock/metal is no surprise, as it's the logical genre to apply, given that the source material already has the right structure and tempo and is essentially only lacking instrumentation and a little spit and polish. Snapple and Rubbler have offered up more than just saliva and varnish, however. Introing with dual clean electric guitars, left and right, there's a drone that fades in and segues to a more upbeat, kickin' mojo at 0'30", where driving bass and especially rhythm guitars start pushing like crazy, excellent acoustic drums with a lovely human touch and plenty of switches and fills pick up, and squealing (and at 2'10", scorching) electric lead owns the melody. When doing a rock mix of a game called "Shatterhand" and naming your mix "shattered", I think some mad skillz shredding is not only appropriate, but downright called for, and Andreas has given us his best yet, with some rapid fire runs that befit the game's relatively quick, intensestuffs action. Brandon says:

"I certainly think that the intro could have been handled better. I like the intro as a separate entity but slow-to-fast works best when there’s some connection between the parts and I’m not feeling that here. Anyway, once things get going the rhythm and the lead guitars are solid with loads of punch. The solo at 2:12 is very cool and makes me feel like loading my Shatterhand rom and punching the life out of everything on screen. Great job. The drum work is complex and avoids the rock cliché of the overused double bass or some monotonous eighth note kick-snare-kick-snare pattern.

There’s a good mix of original material, rearranged and cover sections to keep things moving along and I have very few problems in the arrangement department. Of course it’s not the most expansive take on the theme but there is a lot of creativity and skill packed into a relatively short mix. Nice work from all those involved."

I think that's a fair dig on the intro, actually - it's nice and adds variety, but could have gone on a bit longer, built a bit more, and been bridged more coherently into the body of the song. Still, this mix is sorta like clicking on "Instant Action" when you fire up Unreal Tournament - you know what you want, you know how to get it, and you wanna forego the GUI niceties and configuration options and get straight to the fraggle rock. It's got overt Castlevanian aspects to it that should endear it to fans of that series, and while the ending is a wee smidge abrupt, the right-under-four-minute playing time seems like a good fit. I'm guessing Andreas can play both rhythm guitar and bass as well, so without knowing more about Rubbler, I can at least offer that he's definitely got some skillz, too, and the whole thing comes together admirably. I might have punched the drums up a notch or EQ'd their high-end so they'd cut through just a hair more, but only because they're so tasty to begin with. Excellent work from both artists, possibly Snappleman's best yet, and a strong recommendation to everyone, regardless of familiarity with the game (check that out too, if you've time), to get shattered ASAP.

― djpretzel