#darkesword

OCR04500: Final Fantasy XIV: In Mountains We Will Sleep - Darkesword

[The Measure of His Reach (Ala Mhigan Anthem), Beyond the Wall (The Fringes Daytime), Stormblood Prelude - Long March Home]

OCR03607: Kirby Super Star: The Super Star Returns - DarkeSword

[Gourmet Race, Green Greens]

Artist: Darkesword

Original: Chozo Ruins, Tallon Overworld 2, Sunken Frigate by Kenji Yamamoto

Length: 5:18

The Chozo Ruins theme from Metroid Prime is an ambiental piece that strongly demonstrates the IDM influence on the soundtrack, with lots of unusual percussion and very little melody. It has a dark and sparse first section for the player's first trip through the desolate ruins, and a second section with smatterings of melody as Samus becomes familiar with the area. For this remix, Darkesword (who holds the unusual status of two remixes on the same disc for this album) focuses on the melodic parts and adds in phrases from "Tallon Overworld 2" and "Sunken Frigate" from the same game, while grounding it in the Ruins theme. This remix also makes the interesting choice to take a bleak IDM track and push it into funkadelic jazz.

The changes work extremely well. Drawing out the melody and mixing it with other tracks from the same game gives a broad sense of the world of Tallon IV. The new, lively tone builds off the darkness of the original track, bringing a totally different vibe without sacrificing the original track's identity. The final result feels like an "Act 1" version of the original track, like Samus is visiting Tallon IV in its heyday before it fell to corruption.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐️

Artist: Darkesword

Original: Bryyo by Kenji Yamamoto, Minako Hamano, and Masaru Tajima; The Luminoth by Kenji Yamamoto

Length: 3:51

"Lore Hunter" is a remix of the haunting theme that plays in the ruins of Bryyo Cliffside in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. This remix by Darkesword forgos the threatening chanting, instead focusing on a reed-like instrument and piano, and brings the tempo up to make it a little livelier. At the midpoint of the song, the remix briefly segues into "The Luminoth", the ominous choral theme associated with U-Mos in Echoes, before softly returning to "Bryyo" again.

This remix trades the imposing vibe for a more melancholy feel. Integrating "The Luminoth" is perfect; not only do they both represent fallen or falling civilizations, they both have in-your-face choruses, so the mix works on both a musical and a thematic level. I really like the Bryyo theme, and even though Darkesword eschews the pounds and pounds of beef chant, this remix perfectly captures the richness of Bryyo's past and the profound sadness at what it has become.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

OC ReMix #3339: Final Fantasy V 'A Silver Light Shines' [Dungeon] by DarkeSword

Beautiful track with great “ethnic” percussion work!