ReMix:Silent Hill "There's Something in the Church..." 4:04

H36T doesn't just bring heat to his music; when called for, he's also more than capable of incorporating unsettling tension. H36T managed to combine eerie vox, piano, and strings for quite the unnerving extended intro before a belltone signaled the arrival of a pulsating cinematic vision of Silent Hill's "Claw Finger". H36T tread down a dark and mysterious path that somehow wound up at a haunted house of worship:

"Hello there again! I made this song a while back for a PRC remix compo. I really liked what came out my mind for this, haha. Full disclosure, I've never played Silent Hill or really any horror game, and I don't really watch too many horror movies. I just kind of thought to myself, "How do I... be spooky?" First thing that came to mind was Albion IV. As such, I've employed a few patches from that library but I knew (or at least I thought) adding these effects alone would make anything substantial. Still, after adding some layers here and there (as well as some solo vocal patches which I use too often!), I started to get the hang of things. A few choirs later and we have this!

The whole first section utilizes the first few notes of the main theme -- Bb, down p4 to F, and then up an octave to F and back down to Bb -- as a motif and plays with it. It's very subtle and without much or anything in terms of harmony . I think it could be quite difficult to pick up on without knowing that's what it's doing explicitly. Whether it works or not... well, I'll leave that up to the judges. However, that is my usage of the source in the beginning. From an actual creation standpoint, I sort of ran out of time and I couldn't EQ some things, but I don't think anything reached a level of egregious. I'm happy with this little experiment and I learned a lot."

This one threw the judges for a loop because it sandwiches the meat of the source tune arrangement between a liberal intro with smatterings of source tune allusions as well as a wholly original outro, but the "Claw Finger" treatment in the middle was the dominant component. As judge Emunator put it, "at the end of the day that can still be a valid arrangement technique and I think it works effectively here." Arrangements come in all shapes and sizes, including a cerebral "concept piece" like this, as H36T so aptly describes it, and it's quite the study in setting a foreboding mood!

Each of H36T's previous ReMixes involved him sharing the mental picture he had while making it, so let's end this in the most captivating way possible by appreciating H36T's penchant for fashioning immersive imagery and backstory to supplement his music. (And, hey... stay away from those scary-ass churches... :-P)

"This is more of a concept piece than a straightforward mix. My goal was to recreate a space in my head that was uncomfortable. A place that's not exactly as it should be. A place where the unnatural can form -- a place for monsters. Initially, floating around is the low motif of the main theme. It is... very unsure. Not quite the same and ever-evolving into something more sinister. Here, I wanted to create the essence of a monster, eventually showing you its claws and leaving you to face this new reality that it exists in. That you now exist in.

Further down the road, as you get used to the piece and this new atmosphere, there is something familiar about. Voices, choirs... church choirs (seeing as this part of the game takes place in a church). Still, there is something a bit off and dissonant about it all. A slow walk through a church at night... and, as you move forward, you begin to feel you are not alone. You hear things... dark things. No matter how much you try to shake it, you know there is only one conclusion to all this. There's something in the church... and, as you go further and further, a cold chill stops your feet... and your heart. The voices in your head get louder and louder and louder still. And you see it. You see the end.

This ends in a cumulation of voices but a single message. Crucifixus. Condemnation. Leaving you to wonder... what the hell did I just go through? What were those demons? What the hell is this place?!"