ReMix:Castlevania: Bloodlines "Satanic Spire" 4:14

By Gario

Arranging the music of one song...

"The Discolored Wall (Stage 3 BGM · The Leaning Tower of Pisa)"

Primary Game: Castlevania: Bloodlines (Konami , 1994, GEN), music by Michiru Yamane

Posted 2014-09-18, evaluated by djpretzel


You want some Bloodlines? We're gonna get you some Bloodlines... or more accurately, Greg is, with this sinister, shuffling, synth-laden arrangement off VV2 that even comes complete with its own blood-curdling scream. In case you have blood... that needs to be curdled:

"This one is from the Vampire Variations album, my "Discolored Wall" arrangement that I've been planning on making for roughly five years. The game was amazing, and this track always stood out as completely unique, which intrigued me. Dissonant, creepy and all-around insane, it posed to be quite the challenge to make something that reflected the mood, yet was enjoyable in its own right. Before being approached for the album by Chernabogue, I actually tried to arrange this track, but from the combination of Reason 3's lack of meter changing & tempo changing, as well as my own personal lack of production abilities, I felt a bit out of my league. Years later, I can't get it out of my head, and I found an opening for the exact track that I wanted on the album, so I figured it was finally time to take this track head on again. After a few false starts (and a few more sleepless nights), this was the result, and I couldn't be happier with it.

Creepy choir against the raw synths set the mood, and when it picks up, it's just full of electronic flavor. I don't know how to classify it, but it was damn satisfying to make. I hope you all enjoy it, and if you didn't listen to Vampire Variations vol. II, be sure to check it out! ;)"

Reason 3, eh? It's BEEN awhile :) I love the combination of delayed, swirling elements here - it strikes me as very Castlevania, but is cleaner & smoother than the original instrumentation. Some bitcrushed/lofi elements add a bit of edge & grunge, lest you think these vampires are afraid to get their hands dirty. Larry writes:

"I love standout Genesis music, and Konami's sound team always got the job done as far as maximizing the YM2612 chip. Michiru Yamane's source tune has the creepy, eerie factor turned up high, and I love it. When the title of it is "The Discolored Wall," the imagery is apparent: Everything's covered in red, there's BLOOD AND GUTS on the walls! OK, so they didn't actually do that for Castlevania: Bloodlines' Stage 3, but the Leaning Tower of Pisa level was scary nonetheless. In particular, how nerve-wracking is Stage 3-7? Climbing those winding platforms with all the scrolling going on can make your head spin, so leave it to Greg to come up with an even more frenetic version of the theme that sounds only slightly less creepy and now a LOT more uncontrollable once it picks up at 1:51. The chip sounds, vox, synths and driving beats all come together to form something downright sinister. It's a testament to Gario that he didn't let that one clutch arrangement idea go undone. What a great reward we got for his determination. Awesome as hell. ;-)"

Ditto all that; I feel like Gario captured a lot about what makes Bloodlines' music so great in particular, and differentiates it from other CV scores. Excellent, spiralling stuff that embraces & embellishes upon the source smartly & with a twisting, churning malevolence!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 9 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Markham Asylum
on 2014-11-01 12:52:21

Only about 10% of the songs in my collection make it to my Awesome playlist, and this is one of them. It makes me feel as though something dark and sinister is creeping up on me.

Thanks for making my October better, though I certainly look forward to hearing it throughout the seasons. Excellent work, Gario.

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Crulex
on 2014-09-27 10:48:16

Oh god yes.....this is absolutely amazing! My kind of dark ReMix right here! The evil choir, the bells, the creepy synth, and that scream! Damn, man, there is nothing about this ReMix I could complain about. Awesome work, Gario!

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Necrox
on 2014-09-25 18:13:36

Worthy of the repeat button and makes me want to do something evil and occult. Great job!

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OverClocked PodCast
on 2014-09-23 22:47:50

Man, what radical synth choices. So satisfying and insane. I will admit that the screams were a bit on the nose, but I love the descent into grimy madness that follows them.

Hearing this, I'd be curious to find out what Gairo's take on the castle theme from Super Mario World would be!

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Draconiator
on 2014-09-21 16:23:33

"You want some Bloodlines? We're gonna get you some Bloodlines... or more accurately, Greg is, with this sinister, shuffling, synth-laden arrangement off VV2 that even comes complete with its own blood-curdling scream. In case you have blood... that needs to be curdled."

DJP implying here that we're all zombies. :grin:

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Phonetic Hero
on 2014-09-20 07:07:46

There is approximately nothing I don't love about this. I just played through Bloodlines for the first time ever a few weeks ago, and I have to agree - this source stands out as its own entity among an already odd and eerie soundtrack. And you've handled it fantastically, my friend :D

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TillyFun
on 2014-09-19 16:10:11

Man... scares the hell out of me. :dstrbd:

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Chernabogue
on 2014-09-18 13:04:22

Certainely the creepiest remix from VV2. It really pays tribute to the ominous and disturbed original, which I like a lot. Greg did an amazing job and even got a super record: I got his final WAV 3 hours before the KNGI party! :lol:

Nice job, man! Keep creeping people up with such twisted remixes! :)

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Liontamer
on 2014-09-18 10:52:32

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Castlevania: Bloodlines (Konami , 1994, GEN)
Music by Michiru Yamane
Songs:
"The Discolored Wall (Stage 3 BGM · The Leaning Tower of Pisa)"

Tags (5)


Genre:
Mood:
Spooky
Instrumentation:
Chiptune,Choir,Electronic,Synth
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Castlevania_Bloodlines_Satanic_Spire_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
6,911,309 bytes
MD5:
098bd6fb9e996b6cdd45bde573cee5d6
Bitrate:
214Kbps
Duration:
4:14

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