ReMix:Biker Mice from Mars "Rock and Ride" 3:26

By WillRock

Arranging the music of one song...

"Race Theme 4"

Primary Game: Biker Mice from Mars (Konami , 1994, SNES), music by Keroppy Inoue, Nobuyuki Akena

Posted 2014-10-20, evaluated by the judges panel


There was a time when, if you were interested in marketing a cartoon & corresponding merchandise to kids, you needed a trifecta. I think it might have started with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, who - let's face the facts on this one - were really just mutant ninja turtles. Nothing about them was particularly "teenage" - their respect for team structure and tutelage, their relative lack of angst, and their disinterest in all things sexual thoroughly excludes the demographic. So really, the age descriptor was superfluous, leaving the ever-desirable trinity in its wake. You can't sell kids "Pizza Cats"... what the hell is a pizza cat? No one wants that. Take that shit away from me and don't ever speak of it again. But samurai pizza cats? Money in the bank. Likewise, biker mice alone may have seemed otherwise impractical and even a bit stupid. But what if... stay with me... what if they were from Mars?? Shut the front door, NOW we've got got a winner. It doesn't always work, as the unfortunate & ill-concieved "Impotent Cocaine Lemurs" debacle proved, but it's usually a sure thing...

I mention all of this because it's COMPLETELY relevant (read: not at ALL relevant) to our latest ReMix from WillRock, which tackles the previously-untackled tunage of the Biker Mice from Mars SNES game with a completely badass hard-rock jam fit for ANY of the fight scenes in Roadhouse with Patrick Swayze. High praise, perhaps, but Will definitely had his guitar hat on for this one - he cut out the Will and went full Rock:

"Oh man, it's been a LONG time since I've done a remix for OCR. Time to start again. Sooooooooooo, I saw Stevo "Teh Beard" Bortz post a status on Facebook using the Obscure Video Game Music group (which I strongly recommend looking at). He had posted about Biker Mice from Mars for the SNES, and, after listening to Race Theme 4, I got inspired.

Unlike my other more 80s style remixes, this one takes more from the 70s channelling some mega Deep Purple vibes, which the source was undoubtedly influenced by as well. I had a lot of fun with the sound design trying to get the sound of Jon Lord's organ right :P (best keyboardist ever, BTW). Anyways, fans of UFO, Deep Purple, Whitesnake and Uriah Heep should give this one a listen.I hope you all enjoy it. :D"

So we've got STEVO to thank for this - thanks, Stevo! Congrats on the house, again! Hi, Val! Right... this is a different sound for Will but one I DEFINITELY hope he returns to for other sources; as much as I love me some WillRock synth-hero noodling, he's captured a certain guitar-centric rock sound that we don't hear a lot of, he's captured it quite well, and it's a style that I could easily see being applicable to many more source tunes out there. Please? Chimpazilla writes:

"Ok, so a WillRock song, hhhmmm let's listen. Again. Ok dude I already gave you my feedback on this like four times. *sigh* Yeah this track is amazing. Arrangement, performances, mixing, all just great. I still can't believe those drums are sequenced, you did a great job with them. You're a terrific guitarist! Fadeout ending? I AM OUTRAGED. Still, YES."

In the interest of expediency, I chimed in on the vote, too. Here's what I said:

"The funny thing here is that the original SOUNDS LIKE WILL WROTE IT ;) Some wicked soloing and a big fuzzy guitar tone definitely bring out the Deep Purple. Fadeout ending, well... not gonna lie, I'm not an AUTOMATIC hater of all fadeout endings EVER (like some people), but in this case it didn't sit entirely right - would have ended this one with a bang, not a whimper. Nitpicks aside, love to hear Will covering an unmixed game and putting some seventies in his walk & his talk."

This mix has grown on me since, and some of the beef I had with the drums doesn't seem to bug me as much now. It's not perfection incarnate, and the fadeout still rubs me the wrong way, but it's hot, it's happening, and I'd love to see Will dial things back a decade more often, plus it's nice to see some more obscure VGM get some quality lovin'. Grab it, and then grab on to something, because you're in for a wild ride!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 10 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Slither2Unknown
on 2023-01-29 16:13:59

I believe the word is "overdriven". This track is so grunged and bled out that the sounds have very little definition. If you like that kind of thing, this might be fun I guess, but while the rollin' riffs are pretty cool, and I respect the break into chill and slower performance in the middle, I feel the distortion drags it down. I also find the drum solos kinda self-indulgent and don't personally feel they add much but a momentary interruption.

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Chernabogue
on 2015-12-02 06:58:42

Your typical WillRock remix -- electric guitars, synths, and lots of energy. This one is maybe more aggressive in terms of writing and mixing. Lots of crazy solos everywhere -- a realy pleasure to follow. Nice breakdown(s) in the middle -- I love the section with the drum solo. A real rollercoaster of emotions. Moar please!

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timaeus222
on 2014-10-26 17:36:48

MOAR OVERDRIVE! :grin:

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Nitwit
on 2014-10-24 21:23:51

Oh come on! Are you saying that the bifecta of Street Sharks or Cheetahmen wasn't as successful as the COW boys of Moo Mesa? - - Now that I reread my own sentence, I take it all back.

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gercr
on 2014-10-22 16:02:20

Biker Mice From Mars !!!

I love that game, I still play it every christmas with my brothers, for me is a classic.

Awesome remix of a great game.

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Vilecat
on 2014-10-22 12:13:56

Haaaai! :)!!

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Crulex
on 2014-10-21 09:44:29

Yeah, man, let the rock flow! Willrock taking one of the Biker Mice Race themes and going full on 70's with it is a real treat. This game's soundtrack was made to be ReMixed, and I'm glad Willrock gave it a proper treatment with rolling background riffs, some major drum hits and various sets of guitar solos at different tempos. Fadeout doesn't bug me either. That's how it was done in those days for a lot of songs, so it fits. Great mix, Willrock.

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OverClocked PodCast
on 2014-10-20 17:54:40

I'm with djpretzel all the way-- is it possible that WillRock was writing SNES game tunes in the '90s? Or perhaps it was his esteemed father, WilliamRock. Either way, this is a bodacious ReMix with some killer drum fills!

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Txai
on 2014-10-20 16:44:45

A Biker Mice remix by WillRock? Today is my (and OCR's) lucky day!

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djpretzel
on 2014-10-20 16:06:05

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

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Biker Mice from Mars (Konami , 1994, SNES)
Music by Keroppy Inoue,Nobuyuki Akena
Songs:
"Race Theme 4"

Tags (3)


Genre:
Rock
Mood:
Aggressive
Instrumentation:
Electric Guitar
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Biker_Mice_from_Mars_Rock_and_Ride_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,508,645 bytes
MD5:
4796b8d4c0e4e4cd03df380510f4d8da
Bitrate:
210Kbps
Duration:
3:26

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