What better way to release some new music than this – a remix of one of my favorite rock themes.  Video game battle themes have moved away from orchestral themes in recent years, opting instead to use a lot more guitars and drums.

Thus we have the newly remixed Defiance.  Soundfonts have been used to render the entire song, and a new intro lends itself more to classic RPG boss battle themes.  The end of the song has also been remixed, including more than 60 seconds of new material.  This remix originally appeared in the TGP/TLA project of 2000-2001, but I’ve never released it online.

So here you go!  Enjoy the new tune, and if you’d like to compare it to its predecessor, the old Defiance theme is available here:

http://www.tannerhelland.com/music/defiance/

Retribution is my favorite rock / battle theme to date.  It’s a great mix of old and new RPG elements, and I doubt you’ve ever heard a song quite like it.

Also – unless you’re a die-hard MIDI fan, I absolutely recommend the mp3/ogg versions of this track. Even a killer MIDI setup won’t be able to replicate the great soundfont arrangement used here.

(last updated 9 March 2010)

“King of the Desert” is kind of a new endeavor for me.  In experimenting with some new soundfonts, I’ve really wanted to bust out a powerful rock ‘n roll number.

This is what happened.

This chord progression has been in the back of my head for awhile, but until this song I’d never found a good use for it.  While I like the melody and structure of “King of the Desert,” the real masterpiece, however, is the countless subtle effects used throughout.  The strum of the guitar, the pitch fades on the high power chords, realistic harmonics on the guitar solos (I’ve never heard a synthesized song use them correctly until this); this song is a product of a lot of carefully implemented effects.  I love way it all came together.  Hopefully this song is indicative of a new style I’ll be able to put to good use in some future songs…

(Originally posted on THIS 1.0 on 24 May 2005)