ReMix:Final Fantasy VII "Make Who React Her" 4:20

By Artificial Fear

Arranging the music of one song...

"Mako Reactor"

Primary Game: Final Fantasy VII (Sony , 1997, PS1), music by Nobuo Uematsu

Posted 2015-08-25, evaluated by the judges panel


Excited for the remake?? In addition to our Voices of the Lifestream album, we've posted 80+ FF7 ReMixes over the years. Newcomer Artificial Fear (Mat Graham) comes screaming onto OCR with another addition, in the form of an epic rock/metal arrangement of "Mako Reactor" that's heavier than uranium:

"Final Fantasy VII was one of my favorite games during my childhood and Nobuo Uematsu's soundtrack to the game always stuck with me. Once I had the ability to remix songs, I knew I wanted to cover some songs from the Final Fantasy VII soundtrack. I chose "Mako Reactor" in particular, because it's a song that any Final Fantasy VII fan would recognize, and it has such a dark and brooding feel to it. I thought it would work perfectly as a heavy metal cover.

Here's the list of gear that I used to record this song:

Picks: Timber Tone Plectrums
Headphones: Razer Kraken and Razer BlackShark
Guitars: B.C. Rich Warlock (Bronze Series), Ibanez RGD320, Ibanez RG7321
Acoustic Guitar: Walden Acoustic/Electric, Ibanez Acoustic
Bass Guitar: Ibanez Soundgear
Drums: Toontrack Superior Drummer, Cinesamples Drums of War
Microphone: Audio-Technica AT2020
Guitar Software: Guitar Rig 4, EZmix 2
Guitar Hardware: DigiTech RP355
Audio Software: Logic Pro 9"

Cool gear list; very detailed. The source definitely lends itself to a dense, malevolent metal take, and that's what this is; Clem nailed it with his vote:

"Uuurrgggh. This is heavy shit. I like it. Connection to the source is clear, and you spice things up with some well-done metal style rearrangements. The lo-fi intro leading into the heavy smack-down is cool. Production quality is there... individual elements are distinct, percussion has beef, rhythm guitars are mean. I think the rearrangement could be made more interesting with some rhythmically striking riffs and drum parts (Meshuggah and Dillinger are my metal fixes), but as a straight forward slow thrash rearrangement of some of the darkest stuff from FFVII, this does the trick."

Beatdrop adds:

"The mastering could use some work, as it gets kind of muddy at some points, particularly during the opening section, but I can forgive it because the arrangement is just so good. This is littered with amazing guitarwork, and the soloing in the latter half of the song melted my brain."

What he said; you can nitpick some aspects of production as not being 110% perfect, perhaps, but the overall presentation & execution are pretty damn solid, and the arrangement is transformative without veering too far off the beaten path. Great stuff!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 8 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Crulex
on 2016-12-02 19:36:27

Brooding choir? Check. Evil electric guitar? Check. Hard hitting percussion? Check. Menacing breakdown followed by a killer solo? Damn straight! This is very much the definition of solid as all hell heavy metal and perhaps my favorite take on Mako Reactor that I've heard thus far. Yeah, sure, there are nitpicks to be had here and there and I personally wasn't a fan of the almost sudden end, even though it was built up properly the way most metal endings are after the solo, but all in all, this was a very kick ass ReMix and I quite liked it.

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jnWake
on 2016-07-12 23:18:24

Awesome remix! I kinda wish the guitars had more palm mutes and stuff though.

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Chernabogue
on 2015-12-12 09:18:15

I wasn't expecting metal by the intro, but I like this rendition. This track sounds very dark and heavy, the rhythm guitars are nicely mixed IMO. The lead+delay works wonders at the beginning. Some samples later on (choir? synth?) sound a little MIDI-ish, as do the drums at some points -- but who cares since the arrangement rocks? :) Nice effort! :)

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DimeTower
on 2015-08-30 23:21:33

Man, this is what the terms 'heavy' and 'metal' were put together for in the first place. Old school power and some truly great attention to pace - the track luxuriates in delivering powerful notes but isn't ponderous, a really neat accomplishment - bring this song to an upper echelon of hardcore FF. No tricks here - just downright heavy and GREAT metal. Loved it.

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Ramify
on 2015-08-30 17:27:21

Awesome metal rendition of this song. I think it really captures the dark nature of the theme.

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jordanbtucker
on 2015-08-29 03:11:03

I liked this song so much that I created a looped OGG version for FF7Music—a mod that let's you change the music in the PC version of FFVII.

When the song started playing in game, I thought I had made a mistake because, at first, it sounded just like the original... and then the guitar dropped in and I literally got goosebumps.

I especially love how you integrated all of the nuances of the song, especially the stuttering helicopter type sound that is iconic of this track. And you managed to do it without straying very far from the source material.

This is the third looping track I've made tonight, along with Final Ecstasy (OCR00063) and Every Story Begins with a Name (OCR01841). I'm planning on doing the whole game to make an awesome remixed soundtrack—playable in-game—in honor of the FFVII Remake announcement. If anyone wants a copy of my tracks, just let me know.

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timaeus222
on 2015-08-29 01:31:27

That intro kinda irked me a bit with the stiff bells and piano, but it was short-lived, so that's aight. Nice dark, brooding soundscape there. Kinda wish the kick had more low end; feels too clicky but not thumpy enough, so Larry's not going all old-fart on us. ;) Snare almost makes it through but is just quiet. Rhythm guitars have a bit too much low-mids. The writing's great though; dissonant in the good way, a fittingly unsettling atmosphere, and pretty heavy guitar tones. Nice work!

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Liontamer
on 2015-08-25 10:37:46

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

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Final Fantasy VII (Sony , 1997, PS1)
Music by Nobuo Uematsu
Songs:
"Mako Reactor"

Tags (5)


Genre:
Metal
Mood:
Dark
Instrumentation:
Choir,Electric Guitar
Additional:
Time > 4/4 Time Signature

File Information


Name:
Final_Fantasy_7_Make_Who_React_Her_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
7,754,662 bytes
MD5:
d9fdaba590ffe3d722bbbefe57114177
Bitrate:
236Kbps
Duration:
4:20

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