Super Smash Band: Heroes / Super Smash Band: Heroes / Super Smash Band: Heroes

“Super Smash Band is a love letter to the Super Smash Bros. series of videogames by Nintendo. In these games, characters from all different types of franchises and genres that would never otherwise cross paths come together in the spirit of friendly competition.

I have been scheming about doing mashups with videogame themes and music from famous records for a long time. There were signs of this in older DABR recordings, even. Something in my brain causes me to highlight similarities and overlaps between things--especially in music--so I wanted to create an album that would allow me to put to tape my line of thought, as it were.

Super Smash Bros. has been an influence on the band since the very beginning, so it was only natural that I thought of it as a correlation with this project early on. Soon I had created a list of characters from the Smash games and had the idea to do a song that represents each character. Being that there are almost 100 characters now, I had to be a bit more selective and decided to split the project into two albums--one to represent the original 12 characters from the very first Super Smash Bros. game on the Nintendo 64, and a second album to cover a mix of newer characters as well as honorable-mention, fan-favorite characters that players are constantly clamoring for the addition of.

At that point, I presented the project idea to my bandmates, and we started selecting songs immediately from a larger pool that I had put together. A few of the mashup ideas were thought of before we ever started playing, but most of them were realized in the rehearsal space, and some were even refined during the recording phase. We are so immensely proud of this project and the excitement we can bring to audiences with this music. I really hope you enjoy Heroes, and please look forward to the second album Rivals in the near future!”

-Austin Colden


Daniel Brakke - bass guitar
Tom Brooks - guitar
Austin Colden - keyboards, guitar (tracks 2, 4, 6)
Andrew Goulson - drums
Cierra Hill - violin

Engineered by Brian Lenz, Andrew Goulson, and Ryan Tanner at Wooddale Church
Mixed by Andrew Goulson
Mastered by Andrew Hill
Produced by Do a Barrel Roll!
Artwork by Randall Drew

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[Track 1]

"To have any hope of outsmarting the brazen Waluigi, Mario’s skittish little brother will need the help of subterfuge and sneakery. Jim Phelps and Ethan Hunt teamed up to teach Luigi some of their best tricks, but he’s not the most capable plumber...

Luigi's Mansion was the first time that Luigi had a starring role in his own video game, and was the solidification of his timid, scaredy-cat personality that persists today. The soundtrack for Mansion is mostly cinematic, but E. Gadd’s Theme reminds us of an old dubplate or early 90's hip-hop sample. Bringing in elements of Mission: Impossible happened very naturally. This is the first song we started working on for the album, and Austin inserted the descending arpeggios to the intro once during a performance, and the arrangement idea took off from there. Going between 4/4 and 5/4 and making it palatable rather than jarring is a really exciting challenge."

"E. Gadd's Theme" from Luigi's Mansion [GCN]; Kazumi Totaka, Shinobu Tanaka 2001 | "Theme from Mission: Impossible" from Mission: Impossible; Lalo Schifrin 1967


[Track 2]

"The hot-headed Capt. Falcon is a high-speed racer with quick flurries of punches and kicks to match. But the experienced Steve Hermann is a brawler with lots of special abilities at his disposal…

The F-Zero series is focused on racing at very high speeds, so naturally the music is rapid and high-energy. Big Blue is a track that has appeared in most games in the series, as well as most games in the Super Smash Bros. series. For the most part, this is a no-frills recreation of the original track on the Super Nintendo. While there are some awesome remixes to choose from in the Smash Bros. soundtracks and other F-Zero titles, the original is the fastest and punchiest version. With Tom's blazing guitar work, a real organ sound, and some smooth harmonies this makes for an exciting reimagining of a VGM classic."

"Big Blue" from F-Zero [SNES]; Yumiko Kanki, Naoto Ishida 1991


[Track 3]

"Mario knows that Wario has no chill, so the red-wearing plumber hits his evil counterpart hard with the comfy vibes that only Reggae can provide. With the enlisted help of groove titan Stevie Wonder, will Wario stand a chance…?

Super Mario Bros. 3 was actually only the second true Mario game for which Koji Kondo composed music, and stylistically it covers a lot of bases given that he may not have fully solidified the quintessential Mario sound yet. This soundtrack and especially the Ground Theme seems to be heavily influenced by Reggae--the use of one drop is a dead giveaway. Mario gameplay is very bouncy and relaxing, so Reggae is a smart stylistic choice to mirror that. Merging with Master Blaster was very easily done due to the similar grooves and feel between the two tracks, but the contrast between Stevie Wonder’s minor tonality and Kondo’s major tonality makes for a nice ear-catch."

"Ground Theme" & "Athletic Theme" from Super Mario Bros. 3 [NES]; Koji Kondo 1988 | "Master Blaster (Jammin')" by Stevie Wonder 1980


[Track 4]

"Isolated deep in the dark depths of the planet Brinstar, Samus Aran lies in wait to coordinate her attack. On the run from cursed vampire hunter Simon Belmont, Samus will need to be stealthy and swift.

The music of the Metroid series highlights the isolation, barrenness, and unknown associated with outer space so beautifully. Most pieces are so sparse, atonal, or arrhythmic that the lines are blurred between music, sound design, and environmental sound. Kraid’s Lair is one of a handful of structured exceptions, and this one lends itself well to a hard rock aesthetic. When the band set out to arrange this song, we all agreed unanimously that this song would not be a mashup and would highlight the original composition. However, we could not resist the similarity we found with the Fortress Theme from Super Mario World and had to include it as a musical easter egg."

"Mini Boss Room I" from Metroid [NES]; Hirokazu Tanaka 1986 | "Fortress BGM" from Super Mario World; Koji Kondo 1991


[Track 5]

"Get out of here DK! This is Diddy's Quest! Donkey Kong is Nintendo’s original mascot, and he won’t be outdone by any plumbers or his nephew Diddy Kong. Will his groove have enough monkey slap to bring home the bananas…?

Toto, and specifically their song Africa, soared back into the mainstream in 2016 and swept the internet like a second (third?) coming of Rick Astley. It may be an open debate as to why, but there’s no question that Africa has some of the most interesting rhythms and harmonic changes ever to be hidden in a pop chart hit. When selecting a really groovy song for DK, Austin and Andrew agreed that Mining Melancholy hit really hard. As Austin began sketching the arrangement out for the band, he immediately noticed the similarities that Mining had with Africa and thought the mashup would make for an eye-rolling, smile-inducing crowd favorite."

"Mining Melancholy" from Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest [SNES]; David Wise 1995 | "Africa" by Toto; David Paich, Jeff Porcaro 1982


[Track 6]

"Pikachu is known for being able to electrocute just about anything into oblivion, but this time he’s got his work cut out for him. Trapped in the slippery, frozen depths of this cavern, how will Pikachu defeat Shovel Knight, the all-metal stalwart? If Thunderbolt fails him, perhaps the cuddly, yellow mascot will lay down some sludgy ostinatos…

Pokemon Gold and Silver were only the second games in the illustrious and decorated series we know today. Their aesthetic was heavily inspired by the architecture and theology of an older, more traditional Japan. Much of the music was composed to follow this theme, however this is one track that steps out of line and rocks a bit. This song first appears in an area called Dark Cave, but we chose to amplify the shrill, steely tonal palette of the Ice Path where this theme plays later. The dungeon music in early Pokemon titles is very menacing--an impressive mood to be able to evoke with such limited Game Boy hardware."

"Dark Cave" from Pokemon Gold & Silver [GB]; Junichi Masuda, Go Ichinose, Morikazu Aoki 1999


[Track 7]

"The lovable pink ball Kirby has stolen the cutest sword and green hat from an unsuspecting knight in Dreamland and begins warping through time, and Young Link is not happy about someone copying his look AND his time travel…

The Kirby series revolves around copying and chameleoning abilities from enemies to overcome obstacles. The Crystal Shards was the first and is still the only game in the series where abilities could be combined into new ones. So what better a place to create the craziest, decade-spanning mashup of all time? Kirby travels to many worlds via Warp Star, so we wanted this arrangement to sound like he was landing on Rush, Billy Preston, and The Champs and copying their abilities. The intro lick has a very similar rhythm and contour to the part of Tom Sawyer that is quoted, the clavinet part in Neo Star inspired the inclusion of Outa-Space, and finding out that Tequila worked over the Billy Preston vamp was a happy accident partly born out of an old joke amongst the band."

"Korekara Star" from Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards [N64]; Jun Ishikawa, Hirokazu Ando 2000 | "Tom Sawyer" by Rush; Lee/Lifeson/Pearson/Dubois 1981 | "Outa-Space" by Billy Preston; Green/Preston 1971 | "Tequila" by The Champs; Daniel Flores 1958


[Track 8]

"Yoshi. The things this green dinosaur has been through! While trying to safely escort an infant across the land and reunite him with his brother, he’s challenged by Banjo & Kazooie and hit with some heavy psychedelics in a sparkly cavern...

Yoshi's Island is a unanimously beloved game for its vivid colors and catchy music that gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling. Black Sabbath is a band known for a very different kind of fuzz, and is probably one of the last you’d expect to be juxtaposed against Yoshi music. However, Crystal Caves and Planet Caravan share the same type of chord vamp (i-VII) with very different rhythmic feel and interpretation. By borrowing elements from each other and infusing them back and forth, the result is a crossover that falls into the pocket really well. The band uses this song as an opportunity to stretch out with solos by Austin on Rhodes, Tom on guitar, and Cierra on violin."

"Underground Cavern" from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island [SNES]; Koji Kondo 1995 | "Planet Caravan" by Black Sabbath; Iommi/Osbourne/Butler/Ward 1970


[Track 9]

"Link, the Hero of Time encounters another talented swordsman, Cloud Strife. Both fighters are fierce, courageous, and hardly say anything. But who has slain more bosses…?

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a video game that you will find on just about any "all-time" list, whether it be for adventure games, the Zelda series, Nintendo 64 titles, or amongst all games. Every aspect of this game broke boundaries and captivated the masses, and the soundtrack followed suit. You’ll find its tracks in just as many halls of fame as the game itself, which made it very difficult to select just one. Growing up with this game is one of Austin’s fondest memories, and Mid Boss in particular always stuck out as a rockin’ groove. This game is so musical intrinsically that it may have informed the future of someone who would one day become a musician."

"Middle Boss Battle" from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time [N64]; Koji Kondo 1998


[Track 10]

"Ness was just getting patched up at the doctor's office when Lucas showed up to challenge him to a duel of pyschokinetic skill! Which PK kid will come out on top…?

There's simply too much to say about Earthbound for one text blurb. Just know that there's absolutely nothing like it, and that its soundtrack--much like the game--played by absolutely no rules, poked fun at archetypes, and feared nothing. Hospital is undoubtedly a deep cut that you wouldn’t find on any "Top 10 Earthbound Songs" list anywhere, but it stands out from the pack. Reggae in the rhythm section but with a scalar, vocal melody over the top is something that the band really gravitated towards when selecting a track to represent Ness. Of course, we couldn’t resist adding in the A melody from Because I Love You as well."

"Hospital" and "Because I Love You" Earthbound [SNES]; Keiichi Suzuki, Hirokazu Tanaka, Hiroshi Kanazu 1994


[Track 11]

"The conniving Jigglypuff is up to her usual mischief. Luckily she’s taking it out on Team Rocket. But will her tricks be enough to outsmart the magic of wizard-puppet Geno…?

Pokemon Red and Blue were the original games that took the world by storm, sending kids on a collectathon that has continued into their thirties and forties, and is not likely to stop any time soon. Masuda’s soundtrack used only 4 sound channels so smartly to imply so much more and spark the imagination while listening. Team Rocket are an evil band of trainers trying to rule the world with Pokemon, so they are depicted with sinister, slithering music. Taking inspiration from Jigglypuff's personality in the Pokemon anime, you can hear her put all of Team Rocket to sleep in the outro’s nearly-atonal jazz lullaby. Try humming the original Team Rocket Hideout melody over it in half-time, though. You might be surprised!"

"Team Rocket Hideout" from Pokemon Red and Blue [GB]; Junichi Masuda 1996


[Track 12]

"Fox McCloud is mostly known as a cool, collected pilot with style and finesse but outside of the cockpit he’s no slouch with a blaster. Challenged by Mega Man--an android with a gun for an arm and tons of gadgets--Fox is going to need Lady Luck on his side…

Star Fox 64 is one of the most celebrated, formative, and beloved games of all time, but for all its praises often times the soundtrack falls behind other iconic aspects of the game. Because SF64 had full voice-acting and constant sound effects, the music largely played a wallpaper role. Hajime Wakai wrote most of the level themes and did a great job creating spatial and atmospheric moods with a cinematic, orchestral palette. Andross, an evil scientist and the main antagonist of the game, concealed weapons in the oceans of Zoness and poisoned the planet with toxic waste. This dramatic and melancholy piece is an impeccable musical storytelling of the dismayed reaction of the Star Fox team when they enter the atmosphere of the former paradise."

"Zoness" from Star Fox 64 [N64]; Hajime Wakai, Koji Kondo 1997