ReMix: Final Fantasy VII 'The Twelfth Commandment'

 prev   list all   next 

Download MP3
5,285,533 bytes, 4:20, 162kbps

Midee (Jason Zaffary) writes:

"This is a goth/thrashy rock-opera rendition of FF7's "Judgement Day" in the style of the brit rock group, MUSE. This song borrows from "Apocalypse Please" and a little from "Stockholm Syndrome". This was originally a DoD entry for this past summer, and was revised since. Arrangement, production, and everything but guitars is by me. Dan "prozax" Orosz did the guitars. Violins are real (performed by me) mixed with Sonic Implants strings."

I've actually just gotten into Muse this year, but they were on the cover of Keyboard awhile back and I remember reading about them and thinking they'd be worth checking out. Strong orchestral elements achieve synergy with heavy drums and guitar; the arrangement also cleverly utilizes piano eighth-note chords at 2'32" in a rather Beatlesque turn, when the strings break. Jason's done an ace job of playing with the string dynamics - SI is a fantastic library, but you still need to work to get the best out of it, and he's done amazingly well. 3'16" exposes Dan's clean electric guitar more, as one part panned right covers the melody over backing chords on the left, with faint choral pads in the distance; quite beautiful. Immediately following is the section that seems "Musest" to me, as things get both heavier and more metric/classical. Jason's clearly honed an ability specifically for string arrangement, which is strong here, and it mixes great with Dan's guitar work and the hard rock motif. Even if the arrangement was missing the bit at 2'32", it'd be great, but I felt like that addition in particular made the piece quite memorable and creative. Dan and Jason previously collaborated on a kicking Lifeforce ReMix, and this FF7 follow-up cements the clear success these two have working together - great stuff.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.

This remix sounds a lot like what you would hear during an opening montage to a James Bond movie. I can see Cloud, Sephiroth and the Turks running around in well pressed suits and silhouettes of the Aeris, Tifa and the other ladies in the background, as Bond films are notorious for. Very well done.

- Darth Magus on June 17, 2009

Apocalypse Now is my favourite Muse song, so I was destined to love this mix. I don't think it is overly Muse-ish, however. The beginning and end are unapologetically Muse-ish, but the real meat of the mix is a definite straying from the path.
While I liked the strings overall, I did note they sounded different. But then, I'm a string freak and always notice them above all other sections of a song/piece.
The impression of the mix is just awesome. It's muscled, powerful stuff that isn't afraid to be quirky. Great characteristics for a mix that might have otherwise suffered from homage-itis or pretentiousness.
I'm kind of a noob when it comes to FF7 music, but I'm quickly learning why its so heralded. Certainly some of the strongest additions to OCR have come from FF7 source material, this one included. Nice job.

- Marmiduke on January 9, 2009

I never get tired of this song. I've listened to it consistently since the day I discovered it over two years ago and it is still fantastic. The imagery, energy, and power of it never cease to affect me.
Bravo.

- leofungo on December 8, 2008

Really, it is.
As you mentioned yourself, it is a bit a la Muse. And I dig Muse.
The only thing I'm a bit "unhappy" about, are the violins. They end too sudden and don't fade out at certain places.
Good job.

- EgoDeusEst on February 7, 2007

You mean with all the songs that have been remixed dozens of times - this one gets remixed twice and you get sick of it? And if you dislike violins - which must exclude you from a LOT of songs not only on this site but in the world of music - that's hardly a strike against the song.
I don't see how the song has little artistic value, the arrangment is expertly done. From the melody interplay between the guitar and orchestra, as well as the change. This remains one of, if not my flat-out favorite song on the site.

- cloudkitt on January 12, 2007

jorgandar wrote: I agree with artemisjaeger. I may get flamed for it, but i cant seem to bring myself to care about the opinion of idiots.
This song has little artistic value other than competent guitar playing. So why did it get approved? It uses guitar! OMG! Lets face it..there are certain "forumlas" on this site that will always get an approval from DJJudges. it's getting old.
-jorg

As others have said...completely baseless.
I even agree with artemisjaeger. I really liked the chord progressions in the beginning, and my expectations for the rest were crushed. Plus that I didn't like the violins. I think...I just don't like violins...at all. I like many other string instruments. They're really loud and dry to boot. I need to find a song where I actually like violins. Perhaps even 50000 songs I would like that have them, but I can't recall their sound being good. I just don't know!™
With the other judgement day mix on this site, it's sort of the same. Somehow in the past it was one of my favorite songs, but recently I couldn't stand it, and got rid of it. I guess the source tune just got repetitive.

- Audity on November 1, 2006

I didn't know this song was OCR. Just stumbled upon it. I encourage anybody who hasn't heard this to listen, because it is the awesomes.

- Blake on October 2, 2006

This track is amazing. I've always liked Judgement Day, I had hoped for a remix, and this is better than the original by a fair amount.
The string-work contains a fantastic arrangement and harmony. The key and stylized changes make this my favorite remix yet.

- cloudkitt on September 13, 2006

I absolutely love everything about this remix, i had a go at this track once, and it was no where near as creative as this one. Those key changes are fantastic, excellent string work. Guitar tone was not my obvious choice, but worked exetremely well, sounded great. The beatles section blew me away first time i heard it. You two should definately work together lots, this was really refreshing.

- Fishy on August 26, 2006

I'm not that much into FF remixes, but I like this one. It starts powerful, and continues like that up until the Beatles part. Latter is also done very well (I often find myself noddin' my head to it), but I still prefer the first part. Diggin' the violin.

- Martin Penwald on August 10, 2006

I still think this song should have won in DoD that month. One of my favorite arrangements.

- housethegrate on August 9, 2006

probably one of my favorites good work ^^

- maniater on August 9, 2006

Paul R Charles Watkins wrote:

Fozzybear wrote: I don't think anyone asked, but, does anyone know where I can find the old version? I really loved this mix and kinda wanted to see how it evolved...

This one? Entered in the Dwelling of Duels competition, came 6th.. if there is any difference at all, it's miniscule (mastering, sample changes).

Dwelling Duels weights big vibrato and long mixes too much. The Twelfth Commandment is awesome. Also the name of the mix is great.

- anclunn on July 30, 2006

Fozzybear wrote: I don't think anyone asked, but, does anyone know where I can find the old version? I really loved this mix and kinda wanted to see how it evolved...

This one? Entered in the Dwelling of Duels competition, came 6th.. if there is any difference at all, it's miniscule (mastering, sample changes).

- watkinzez on July 30, 2006

I don't think anyone asked, but, does anyone know where I can find the old version? I really loved this mix and kinda wanted to see how it evolved...

- Fozzybear on July 30, 2006

Download MP3

• Size: 5,285,533 bytes
• MD5 Checksum: ce19638ad7bb74d45e9bdb1f0f7356bb

• Download from iiens.net
• Download from Aplus
• Download from Dreamhost
• Download from ocrmirror.org

Help us save bandwidth - using our torrents saves us bandwidth and lets you download multiple mixes as a single download. Use the tracker below and scroll for more information, or visit http://bt.ocremix.org directly, and please don't forget to help us seed!!

Chiptunes, as well as sample-based formats like RSN/SPC for the SNES, allow you to replay the original soundtracks to many of your favorite games. The resources below will help you get started downloading and listening to chiptunes.

No Chiptune Available

No chiptune is available on OverClocked ReMix for this game. This could be for several reasons:

• No chiptune has yet been created/released.
• The chiptune for this game is over six megabytes and is thus not hosted here due to bandwidth concerns.
• The game's system does not yet have a chiptune format, or uses redbook audio.
• The chiptune for this game has not yet been added to our database.

If the chiptune is too large or has simply not been added to our site yet, you might be able to find it on one of the links below.

Winamp + Chipamp = Nostalgia

Play chiptunes in 40+ formats with the free Chipamp Plugin Bundle, available at www.chipamp.org. The combination of Winamp and Chipamp is one of the easiest ways to get up and running, playing chiptunes and other game audio formats in no time at all.

Download Chipamp today, and don't worry about tracking down the right plugin - we did the work for you.