BadAss: Boss Themes: Volume II / BadAss: Boss Themes: Volume II / BadAss: Boss Themes: Volume II

BadAss: Boss Themes: Volume II
Comments from album director David L. Puga, co-director Pieter van Os (pu_freak) & ReMixers
Album freely available at http://badass2.ocremix.org

You know how in movies or games or whatever, when there is a sequel they tend to be way darker than the original? Well, here's our sequel. But while it's not on a boat and lacks chipmunks, it'll be horrifying nonetheless.

After 2 years of hard work, we bring you BadAss: Volume II. A collection of boss and battle themes done in a style that is both awesome and kick-ass, as well as mean. Really mean. As soon as we released Volume I, we went right to work on Volume II. The thing we wanted to do with this album was make it even meaner than the first; to make the hardest album on OCR yet. Volume I had a few tracks that were meant as a respite from the onslaught of BadAssedness. You'll find none of that here, so abandon all hope... something something... OH! Abandon all hope, ye who enter here!

This will also be the last BadAss I direct, but I think it's a great swan song. There will most likely be newer entries in the BA line, and I've no doubt they will be excellent. As for me, I couldn't have asked for a better album than this one here. I've always been a big fan of the more intense VG ReMixes, and this is a fulfillment of what I wanted to do with BadAss, and one of the best things I've gotten to be a part of in OCR. I thank all the arrangers, and artists for all their hard work. We made a damn fine album, filled with kickassery hardcore style.

They say the sequel is always darker. From everyone involved in the project: Welcome to BadAss 2, hope you're ready for a beating! We swear you'll enjoy it, though, or your money back.

- David L. Puga

After the success of the first album, it's time to present its twisted brother. BadAss: Volume II is darker, grittier, and even more BadAss than the first volume was! As we did the first time around, David and I searched around to find the most twisted of artists to bring you the terror that is contained within BadAss 2. The sometimes heroic vibe of the first volume is completely gone now. This is the darkest stuff you'll find on all of OCR!

From the darkest guitar solos to the most sinister synths: You'll be terrified the entire way. And you'll love it because of that. Ladies and gentlemen, from the deepest depths of hell, BadAss 2 will swallow you whole! Enjoy, but listen at your own risk…

- Pieter van Os (pu_freak)

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01. Baby Bowser (Super Mario World 2 - Yoshi's Island) - Bowzilla
Arranger: Lashmush
Composer: Koji Kondo
Sources: Big Boss BGM, Koopa

David L. Puga: Though I was glad we got as many relatively obscure themes (as far as remixes go), I remember when we first released BadAss I, everyone kept asking where the more recognizable boss tracks were. We hoped to remedy that with Volume II, while at the same time making every track more mean and more kick ass than they've been heard.

To help us with this mission of Ass Kickery, Lashmush stepped up to do a Baby Bowser arrangement that is filled with venom, as well as some of that good old-fashion metal! The thing I liked the most about the track was how the intro gets you ready for one thing, then just totally shifts gears into an all-out assault on the adrenal glands. Not too different from expecting to fight a child, only to end up with a hulking Kaiju with daddy issues. That's drama, folks, musical drama.

Lashmush: I've long wanted to do the final boss theme from Yoshi's Island for many many years and never managed to capture it properly, but I lacked the virtual instruments to really get the job done. It's such a heavily shred-based track and that stuff was out of my reach until these past couple of years. Now that I've learned to use VST guitars and, more importantly, gotten comfortable with the keyswitch mechanism that's common in the more comprehensive virtual instruments, I felt I could really give this the power and wild attitude that it deserves. When I got my studio monitors, I started working on it a little for fun and it just snowballed on its own. Also, it's the fight against a giant baby Bowser! The title alone should explain enough, amirite?

With the recent news of the new Godzilla project from Legendary Pictures (proper TOHO Godzilla!), I started playing with the idea of a Godzilla spin to the project and combined some elements from the "Big Boss BGM" track to give it that dramatic and big feel. I've worked on my mixing a lot since my last submission ("Light's Out") and hopefully you will see the effort I've put in. Your feedback helped a lot last time around, so it will be good to see how I've done since then.

02. Robot Bosses (Sonic & Knuckles) - Hedgehog Fodder
Arranger: Devastus
Composers: Sega Sound Team
Source: Boss - Act I

03. Teddy Bear (Splatterhouse 3) - Hunger
Arranger: Mak Eightman
Composer: Eiko Kaneda
Source: Stage 1, 3 Boss

David L. Puga: I never played Splatterhouse, but I remember seeing others play it as a kid. I was always fascinated by just how dark & violent the game was, especially by the standards back then. When Mak submitted a wip for the project I knew we had to have it. It hit the tone we were going for in spades, even adding a bit of creepiness & fear into the equation.

If I ever need to battle a possessed Teddy Ruxpin to the death, I couldn't think of a more befitting theme for my troubles, though I'd need to transfer it to a cassette tape first... damn.

Mak Eightman: One of my favorite games ever. I love this game, I love OST. I want to play first game, but I can't find it.

I hate the new one, 'cause it's boring. Stupid remake.

As for my remix... I'm kinda surprised. It sounds good! Hope you like it.

I chose this source because it was easy to work with. Source tune has lot of mystery stuff, IMO, but lack of power and hardness. I tried to give some for it. Still, I love melodic music, so I tried to make it hard, heavy, powerful and beautiful. Hope I did that.

Still... some compression and timing issues.

Best of all!! :)

04. The Combine (Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2 - Episode Two) - Mister Freeman
Arranger: Justin Lassen
Composer: Kelly Bailey
Sources: Hazardous Environments, Combine Harvester, CP Violation (HL2); Hunting Party (HL2: E2)

05. 0² (Kirby 64) - Tough It Out!
Arrangers: DaMonz, Trainbeat
Composer: Jun Ishikawa
Source: 0² (Zero-Two)

David L. Puga: I was really surprised with this track. The original source was good, but I had no idea how you could make it fit the tone we were going for with Volume II; I was wrong, oh so very wrong.

I'd first heard an early WIP and could tell it had potential, but I wasn't completely sold on the grit it had. Enter Trainbeat. When that build towards the middle came and the guitar drops, oh man, the metalhead in me was in love. Even after the guitar stops, the aggressive tone & punch never lets up, the lead synth line picking up where the geet left off and making me love the buildup that came before, as well as making me eat crow about my doubts in the beginning (though, I didn't get any crow powers, 'cept a craving for corn).

DaMonz: I always thought the fight against Zero-Two was a very unique moment (even if it's way too easy!). My intention behind this ReMix was to express my own interpretation of that moment. The glitchy drum intro is my interpretation of Zero-Two's weird and disturbing character, and the main portion of the track represents the battle. I went all-out with my most powerful synth sounds, and Trainbeat's EPIC guitar solo was just perfect. Get ready for the most awesomest of awesome guitar solos by Sébastien! He really worked hard on it! I'm very grateful of his help.

06. Dr. Eggman (Sonic the Hedgehog 3) - Broken Dreams
Arranger: Nightmare Sequence
Composers: Sega Sound Team
Source: Boss - Final

07. Ganondorf (Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time, A Link to the Past) - Ganonize
Arrangers: DaMonz, Trainbeat
Composer: Koji Kondo
Sources: Last Battle (OoT); Ganon's Message, Battle with Ganon (ALttP)

08. Dr. Wily (Mega Man 1, 3) - Top This
Arranger: Flexstyle
Composers: Manami Matsumae (MM1), Yasuaki Fujita (MM3)
Sources: Dr. Wily Stage 1 (MM1), Top Man Stage (MM3)

Flexstyle: This was my third and final entry into the Wily Castle Remix Gauntlet 2011, and it's also the one I'm most proud of. Unlike my other two tracks, I nailed what I wanted it to sound like the first time, for the most part -- this only has a couple of very minor tweaks.

This particular track is a crazy mix of hard house with energetic live drums, tortured synths, and a bit of a dubstep breakdown for good measure. Inspired to some degree by Le Castle Vania and his similarly-adrenaline-infused music, particularly this track: http://soundcloud.com/lecastlevania/le-castle-vania-computer-club-the-messiah-one.

This song also marks perhaps my most adventurous take on any VGM track, too, with a lot of original material intertwined with my usual source-mangling ways.

Hope you enjoy it!

09. The Dark Legion (Doom Troopers) - Skull-Head
Arranger: Mak Eightman
Composer: Fletcher Beasley
Source: Boss

10. The Syndicate (Streets of Rage 2) - Syndication
Arranger: DusK
Composer: Yuzo Koshiro
Source: Never Return Alive

11. The Magi (RosenkreuzStilette) - Oblivion
Arranger: Mak Eightman
Composer: AM3
Source: 03

12. Ultimate Phalanx (Demon's Crest) - Red Retaliation
Arranger: Torzelan
Composer: Toshihiko Horiyama
Source: The Infinite Demon (Ultimate Phalanx)

13. The Great Mighty Poo (Conker's Bad Fur Day) - Poop
Arranger: Brandon Strader
Composer: Robin Beanland
Source: Sloprano

David L. Puga: This was one of the last tracks finished for BadAss, and it almost didn't make it. I'm really glad it did, because was one of the tracks that surprised me the most.

When Brandon told me he was going for a rock opera sound, I was skeptical. When he told me it was going to be funny, I was worried that it wouldn't fit the album. When he showed me the almost finished WIP, I looked into the mirror and was sporting one of them awesome face smiles. The track hits the comedy, but never loses its mean streak. It's a black comedy that hits you in the face repeatedly while you cry, laugh, and ask for more. Lots of people will point to lopsided angels and pig dragons and the lot as their favorite bosses. The Mighty Poo is mine, and this track is filled with the things that made him awesome to me. Poop. I'm talking about poop.

Brandon Strader: Ladies and gentlemen, it is my esteemed honor and privilege to present to you my Poop.

Made it like a stage play... operatic! How many voices did I do? There's a special guest who did a voice too (he's the wimpy pooper), but out of shame would not be credited. :3 There's clear and obvious source usage with "Sloprano," so I'll let you listen and "Find Your Way" on your own. IT'S A GAME. PLAY IT! I played LIVE KAZOO, try to find that too! FIND IT. HAVE SOME MORE CAVIAR! I turned the overload up to 5 for extra brutalness.

And now for the regular..... mix notes..... for when this inevitably lays upon the front lawn-esque page like the turd that it is.

srsly, I'm pretty confident in this one... it sounds awesome, I'd buy an album if it sounded like dis. :3

You are poop. This song is poop. This whole damn site is poop!

Poop is art. Like all art, this is a combination of inspirations, influences, and encouragement compressed into a neatly coiled and refined pile. Just as Poop is art, you are art -- a combination of your experiences and conditioning.

The Poop was inside of you all along. You are the Poop. Be proud to be poop.

14. Dr. Robotnik (Sonic the Hedgehog 2) - Egg-Shaped Prison
Arranger: David L. Puga
Composer: Masato Nakamura
Source: Boss