ReMix:Chrono Trigger "Find the Frozen Flame" 5:16

Ivan Hakštok + Chrono Trigger = big business! Amazing to have Hakštok back in the mix, and, dayum, we're not only posting our second Yasunori Mitsuda ReMix this week, we're also posting our second gold medal Dwelling of Duels track this week! This came about because Ivan tried to find the ultimate CT final battle arrangement to rock out to, but never uncovered the perfect fit, so he felt the scene was in need:

"An epic orchestral metal cover of the final boss themes from Chrono Trigger, inspired by the FF16 soundtrack. This was the winning entry in July 2023 Silent Protagonist Month on Dwelling of Duels.

I have to be honest, I've listened to a ton of metal remixes of Chrono Trigger's final boss gauntlet, but none of them really clicked for me, either because they were straightforward medleys, had bad production, didn't add anything to the original, or because they went too metal with it. I've never heard a single "World Revolution" cover to my liking, so I guess it was about time I made one. :)

I've been thinking of doing my own take on "World Revolution" for years now, but I didn't have a clear vision of what to do, that was until I played FF16 in June and heard a small part, one lick, in "Find the Flame" which immediately reminded me of "World Revolution", so when the Dwelling of Duels theme was announced, I immediately knew what I was gonna do. What if Lavos was a boss in FF16? I got inspired and I wanted to mix that style with some hard rock/metal."

A daunting but exciting premise, trying to adapt the Lavos battle into Final Fantasy XVI's modern style, but that was all just fodder for impressive creativity in Ivan's hands, according to judge Emunator:

"You bit off a LOT with this arrangement but, man, is that arrangement a triumph! Easily one of your strongest to date, especially for a solo endeavor."

We did have some Js take issue with the overall mixing, but as judge prophetik music affirmatively explained, "this is guitar-driven orchestral rock, not orchestral-driven rock, if that makes sense - the orchestra isn't the main event", paving the way for the majority, including fellow panelist Chimpazilla, to strongly endorse Ivan's execution:

"Absolutely epic mixture of these themes, arrangement is terrific. Guitar performances are wonderful."

No kidding, this thing rocks, and, going more low-key, were Ivan's bass cameos at 3:24 & 3:57 not a thing of beauty as well? Judge Rexy also tipped her cap to Hakštok ambitious efforts, rattling off aspects of the effective transformation of themes:

"Working on orchestral metal isn't easy, but you managed to nail source recognizability down to a T, going as far as doing a lot of chopping around and overlaying the chosen sources while still making World Revolution your leading hook. Rather than relying on two keys like the source, you kept the structure's first minute in the same C minor key as the original's beginning. The two segments with the time signature changes (9/4 at 1:44 and 7/4 at 2:50) allowed the sources to transform themselves to fit the overall pacing, as did the sudden slow-down for your bass solo at 3:57 before going into your build and ramp-up for the ending. Add in your trademark juicy guitar solos, well-articulated arps, and textural changes to divert it from the pure orchestration of the source material, and what we have here is classic Hakštok, just with multiple more instruments this time."

The three sources themes combined seamlessly and Hakštok's definitely crafted a grandiose interpretation per his objective, rather than merely a straightforward medley like he was trying to avoid. Kick back, because this is a tour de force orchestral rock epic! \m/