ReMix: Final Doom 'Milagro Del Demonio'

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When I think "Milagro" ("miracle"), I usually think "Beanfield War", as to my certain knowledge, there's not too many beanfield wars that have taken place anywhere else. But now I'll also think of this solid Final Doom ReMix from TO, or should I say "The Orichalcon", to avoid any unfortunate confusion with a certain NFL "personality". The ReMixer writes:

"Source was kinda crazy. I shaped a different tune out of the bassline and incorporated the synth thing from the original into the flanged hawaiian guitar. There's some stereo separation on the drums to start with until we lead into the main groove. The rest is pretty much my usual pattern. A Mid-level buildup at the beginning, short atmospheric break, and then an intense finale."

I'm not sure any of the judges found the finale in particular "intense"; the ending seemed to be brought up as the sole negative, but besides that you've got an interesting 7/4 groove that sort of worms around, demonically, as the lead circumscribes an undulating bassline. For some reason the whole thing seems musically... serpentine. But in a good, evil way that befits the Doom multiverse. GrayLightning writes:

"The groove is sweet, as is the bass line - to be expected of TO. Production is definitely solid as well. Really no complaints except the ending felt rushed. Solid, capable and no reason to NO this. Nice work TO."

Now seems like an appropriate time to note that on August 14th, Gray officially resigned from his position on the panel. He'd been around far less frequently and this was clearly just formalizing what had essentially been in effect since the beginning of last month, but it was still a downer to hear the news. As I understand it, he's continuing to pursue a career in audio production, has taken a promising position in Nebraska, and wants to focus solely on work and acclimating to his new environs. In speaking of his time as a judge here at OCR, I can only be overwhelmingly positive; Gray was often far more than a judge. Behind the scenes, he was a motivating force, prolifically voting and compelling others to follow suit, mediating arguments, bringing issues of concern to my attention, and in general facilitating the operation of OverClocked ReMix at large far beyond what was ever asked of him. His tangible contributions to the site are innumerable, but he also brought an intangible sense of calm, diligence, and amicability that is already missed. It's almost impossible to be Gray's enemy, which is really saying something in a diverse community that's bound to harbor differences of opinion and generate friction from time to time. Beyond all this, he's a fantastic artist, with an ability to coax confoundingly intricate arrangements with stellar production from FruityLoops. I'm not sure if he'll still be able to mix something once in awhile, but his existing body of work is already formidable enough (in size, variety, and execution) to make him a household name in the world of unofficial game music arrangements. As a Judge, ReMixer, and as a friend as well, he was simply a great guy, and I wish him the best, which is what he deserves.

Back to the task at hand; I couldn't really identify anything as sounding particularly like a flanged Hawaiian guitar; the lead comes off more like a flanged electric piano, to me, but it sounds good, and that's what counts. In stark contrast to the panel, I actually like the rather unorthodox ending, with the four stinger notes following what would have been a more traditional cymbal roll fadeout; there's enough of those about, ultimately, and this added some character. The build up to the very end could have been more climactic, sure, but these last seconds were well-executed and left a favorable impression. Overall, this is a good groove mix whose 7/4 signature works surprisingly well as background music for surfin' INTARWEB or performing the focused, multi-threaded task of your choice.

― djpretzel