ReMix: Super Metroid 'Mother Brain Suite'

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Mr. Douglas writes:

"Like my previous suites for Flashback and Out of this World, this one takes a relatively stripped down (but thematic) chiptune and turns it into something more cinematic. In this case, I'm going for a sound similar to Basil Poledouris' Robocop score as well as Jerry Goldsmith's Total Recall score. Here's the rundown for my suite and what cues were utilized where:

INTRO - DESTRUCTION OF THE SPACE COLONY
00:00 - 01:04
Utilized most of the cue... fairly apparent... and made the end overly epic in sound.

THEME FROM SUPER METROID
01:05 - 02:06
Utilized the brass fanfare and the bassline as well as added in my own brass theme at the end.

MOTHER BRAIN
02:06 - 03:50
Utilized the ascending motif from the original cue but added in a ton of extra orchestration."

Beckett007's Out of this World submission was actually rejected as the medleyitis was prohibitive given our standards; it still sounded pretty darn sweet, but his previous Flashback ReMix and this piece are more cohesive. While hopefully even those who didn't play Flashback checked out the ReMixer's first track, this arrangement from Super Metroid should inevitably reach a larger audience. Things are just as cinematic as before, with Rich laying out an electro-orchestral atmosphere that sounds like it'd be right at home in a Peter Jackson film adaptation of Samus's adventures (pray that Uwe Boll doesn't find her first)... actually, speaking of film, this is a bit of a tangent, but I thought I'd recommend both No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood as truly exceptional films; I suppose everyone's talking about Cloverfield right now, and Atonement has a lot of award buzz, but these two films have been the highlights of my Oscar year, hands down. I can't recommend them enough. Now, back to business: you've got dramatic, booming percussion, synth rhythms (it seems synths are often used for repeating patterns when employed in such pieces - no complaints though, it works well), and orchestral components aplenty, but what particularly gives the intro at least a LotR feel are the choral textures, including staccato "shouts" of the variety employed by Mr. Shore. While more bombastic than the source material, this arrangement does a good job of capturing what I'll call the "stewing menace" of Metroid - that feeling of a cumulative force/evil that dwelleth in the shadows and groweth ever stronger, etc. Brass towards the end gets a wee bit blatty, but overall production is crisp, biting, and theatrical. I see a common link not only in the style of this and the ReMixer's previous submission, but in the source material as well: both Flashback and Super Metroid are enveloping, involved games that create a fantastic sense of environment and suspension of disbelief, and both could really be made into excellent films. In the hands of the right director, of course. Should Hollywood ever clue in and devote the appropriate talent and depth to game-based films (I think it's a "when" and not an "if," personally...), Rich Douglas would be a great asset in scoring the end result. I can close my eyes, listen to this ReMix, and direct key scenes from a hypothetical Metroid film in my head, and it seems like it'd be a blockbuster. Or, at the very least, better than BloodRayne. More awesome, imaginative stuff from Beckett007.

― djpretzel