VGRC

<Dennis - VGRC> How about you introduce yourself to our readers?

<Grant - Metroid Metal> My name is Stemage, but I go by Grant Henry to some, namely people that don't play video games.

<Dennis> And for those who don't know about Metroid Metal, would you like to give a brief bit of background info on it?

<Grant> Well, it started when I unlocked the original Metroid in Metroid Prime for the GameCube.  I was a big fan of the game way back, and not having played it for years, I forgot how awesome the title screen music was. I'd recorded a lot of music by that point, and decided that I should give that theme some attention. At the time, there weren't many guitar driven remixes. The Minibosses were huge, but most everything else were electronic music renditions on ocremix.org.  I decided I'd try the "metal" thing on the title screen theme. It got a lot of attention on various message boards, so I bought the url, did Kraid's Theme after that, and now there's a pretty large library of tunes on metroidmetal.com.

Unlike most "redos," I really tried to add a songwriting element to the mixes and sort of reinvent them.  Its worked out well for the most part.

<Dennis> And you do all of the instrumentation yourself?

<Grant> Yeah, I've been in many bands, but I always work best alone when I can focus.  I play all the instruments, but like most living room musicians, my drums are programmed.  I have a kit, but I just don't have the gear to make a kit sound PUNCHY, which is what metal is all about. I do have a good friend that has played bass on the last 5-6 tracks or so.  He's fabulous and I include him whenever I can.  His name is Dan Taylor.

<Dennis> Are there any other influences on how you do these remixes... such as other artists/bands?

<Grant> Well, obviously I'm a big metal kid, and grew up with guitar players like Steve Vai, Dimebag Darrel, and Joe Satriani.  I'm way into polyrhythmic, more complicated metal like Meshuggah, but I'm also into a lot of space rock like Cave In, Hum, and Failure.  A lot of that plays into my songwriting as well. Self is my favorite band of all time (actually one guy) and is amazing at everything he does.  He changed the way I play and listen to music.  You can check out lots of archived b-sides at selfies.com. And of course The Minibosses, F-zero Guitar Arrange Edition, and Vomitron's rendition of the Contra Theme where what really showed me that metal can go with video game music.

<Dennis> For those who would want to get into the metal-remixing business, care to share how you do it all?

<Grant> Well, all the songs from the original NES Metroid were recorded on my Analog cassette 8-track, mixed down to my computer for compressing, and that's it.  I would program all the drums ahead of time, dump them to tape, and layer all else on top.  You can only go so far with 8-tracks though. I decided to start recording onto my computer with Adobe Audition since I could layer and pan with more precision.  The tracks have gotten more complex, lengthy, and composed since the project first started. For instance, I do a medley of all the Boss themes from Super Metroid that goes on for quite a while with different guitars - something impossible with just 8 tracks. This year I started experimenting with new sampled drums, and my latest Super Metroid Brinstar mix has a new kit that sounds very realistic.  I'm using Cakewalk Sonar for that now. It's really just a matter of dissecting the original songs note for note, find out where you can change up the rhythms, create cool transitions, and put it all down. I want to stay as close to the original tunes as possible so the game theme is obvious, but I like surprises. It's funny because some tracks are people's favorites are other people's least favorites.  I've been chastised for straying too far from the original melodies, but other people love that stuff.

<Dennis> Heh, can't please everybody. I know that feeling. Do you have a favorite track of the ones you've done so far?

<Grant> That's hard.  My favorite ORIGINAL tracks (the ones from the games), are Phendrana Drifts from Metroid Prime, The title screen music from the original Metroid, and The Ending of the original Metroid. My favorite REMIXES are definitely The Ending from the original Metroid, the boss medley from Super Metroid (man that was hard), and Lower Norfair from Super Metroid. The Ending is WAY too epic, the boss medley was hard as hell, and Lower Norfair is my tribute to Dimebag Darrell. Most people I talk too seem to gravitate toward Kraid's Theme or Phendrana Drifts as their favorites.

<Dennis> Yeah, I'd definitely have to agree with you on the Phendrana one. What's next on the list after you take care of Super Metroid and Prime? More Metroid remixes, or perhaps another game?

<Grant> Well, I at least need to hit a few remixes from each game.  Any that are requested I want to do.  I've been thinking about other games I'd like to do.  Dan and I did an Actraiser remix for the Dwelling of Duells content this year.  Anyone who likes remixes should check out dod.vgmix.com You can hear our track on this page.

Mixes have slowed down recently because I'm about to release my full length record.   The album is called Library and I'm going under Stemage.  It's a full 11 song album, vocals and all.  You can hear an instrumental track that didn't make the album on my MySpace page.  The album should be out next month. Needless to say, it has slowed down the release of the next track, but the next track is in the works. But it is full production and I'm going to be taking preorders for it pretty soon.  Of course, anything I do Metroid related or not will be posted at metroidmetal.com.

<Dennis> Any favorite game music remixes that aren't by you?

<Grant> Anything by goat is amazing.  The guys in Arm Cannon are amazing at what they do, and sport live shows.

There's a ton of new blood out there.  Anyone interested in seeing what's out there should visit dod.vgmix.com and check out the competitions from the past year. There's a ton I could mention and a ton I would leave out by accident. The BIG one is Xoc of course.  His tributes and albums worth of material destroys anything that's been done so far, and his instrumentation and genre reach is staggering.

That's enough to get started at least! ha!

<Dennis> And since this is all about Metroid, what's your favorite Metroid game?

<Grant> My favorite Metroid game without a doubt is... Metroid Prime. I was blown away at how they kept to the universe, and placed you in 3D without making it a standard first person shooter. The first Metroid didn't age very well, but it's still up there for nostalgia reasons.  Prime 2 was good, but didn't flow at all. The portal system created a disjointed and wildly confusing adventure, although it was certainly pretty. I did not like Metriod Prime Hunters on DS at all.  Talking about watering it down to a standard FPS, and with wonky controls at that. Halo had a permanent influence on the Metroid franchise unfortunately. It looks like Prime 3 could be amazing though, so here's hoping. What about you?

<Dennis> Really tough one, but it is about even between Prime, Super Metroid and Zero Mission.

<Grant> Ha! Naming one is hard isn't it! I just remember how I hated for Prime to end.

<Dennis> Indeed.

<Grant> Most people I know choose Super Metroid. I didn't play that one until later.

<Dennis> But somebody actually agrees with me on Hunters; this is amazing.

<Grant> Yeah, I feel pretty alone on that one. If I want carpal tunnel, I'll get it from my instruments, not a junky control scheme.

<Dennis> True, true. And since I'm out of questions, are there any closing words you have for our readers?

<Grant> Just keep up the good work on the site man!  Whatever you do, DO NOT root for a Metroid movie.  The only way it would work is with Samus being alone the entire movie with no supporting characters, and that's art house. But by all means, support the franchise. Thanks for the time!

<Dennis> No, thank you for taking your time to chat with us.