Dracula X Remixies

This is basically a short sampling of the many club and house remixes of Dracula X (Castlevania) game music that are, no doubt, flowing their way through Japanese video game otaku dance clubs. The operative word here is dance, by the way - there won't be any orchestrations of Dracula X's "Olrox's Quarters" on this disc, or even a power rock arrangement of the already blazing "The Tragic Prince". There's nothing but booty bouncin' beats on the CD, and if dancing and Dracula music is your thing, you owe it to yourself to check this one out.

The first track, "Dracula X: Gate To Heaven" (DJ FeiLong Xbeat Mix), is a fairly standard club song, with a constant, steady beat that changes up here and there, but basically sticks to the first pattern. There is a sample of "Dracula's Castle", laced over it, but it really has no other connection to the game's music. This cut is really right where it belongs, at the head of the disc, as it is neither exceptionally good nor aannoyingly bad, and an excellent precursor to some of the other cuts.

Track two features the "Vampire Killer" theme from the original NES Castlevania sung with what seem to be Japanese and English lyrics performed by "carina". The beat here changes up more than the first track's does, but always has this underlying (annoying?) sequence. The idea of using lyrics to sing a game melody is always a sound one, but the beat on this track is rather boring, which, with this being a club song especially, can prevent one from really jammin' with it.

Track three, titled "Big Burn X-Storm Dub" is the worst of the bunch. It starts out with a very bland effect, which is slowly (too slowly) added to. The whole thing doesn't really start to pick up until about five minutes into it, at which point its sequencing reaches its would-be climax. Unfortunately, the entire thing is very, *very* boring, and will ultimately go unlistened to except by those who are feeling too lazy to hit the skip button on their CD player.

The fourth track, "Transform", comes much stronger, and is more danceable than all but the last track of the CD. There are more effects thrown in as it progresses - all of which syncopate in very nicely with the others. Whereas "Big Burn X" just droned on and on, this one turns a little trick here and there to make its full listening enjoyable, rather than painful. If there is a blight on this track's rythmic face it is one of the first few effects added - some strange scream that sticks around for most of the cut. That eventually falls to the wayside, though, as you'll probably be too busy groovin' to let it bug ya.

Track five, "Cemetary of Rainbow", comes in just under Transform, but only because its beat is a little too repetitive. Not boring, mind you, just repetitive. It comes on no less strong, and is just as easy to listen to as any of the other (good) songs on the CD.

Track six, another mix of "Vampire Killer", sung and presumably mixed by "carina", is easily the best song on the whole disc. It features an extended string of the vocals she sang on track two, and a nice, pounding beat. The reason that this song wins out against Transform and Cemetary of Rainbow is the fact that, unlike those and the other tracks, it is a real *song*. Even though it is the shortest track, it has a melody you can grasp, and lyrics you might almost be able to sing with, or at least hum with. It also has the normal progression of a song, and a cohesive feel to it, rather than just sounding like a few different sequences thrown together.

Altogether, Dracula X: Remixies will not disappoint you, should it be dance music you seek. The good (being the last three tracks) far outweighs the bad (the short length of the disc), and there's very little ugly (just those six minutes of Big Burn X). Those of you wanting a more melodic arrangement of the Dracula X songs will have to wait, perhaps indefinitely, but in the meantime, pop this in and shake yo' booty!

Dracula X: Remixies (no that's not a typo, that's how it's written) is basically a mixed bag. With no track listing anywhere on the packaging, I had to buy this one blindly, and for a hefty sum I might add. Being that it's a Castlevania CD I felt it was worth the risk and snatched it.

The CD contains only six songs, but don't fret, they are *long* mixes. Upon playing it, you will immediately recognize track 1, "Dracula X: Gate to Heaven", as the opening BGM to "Dracula X: Symphony of the Night" - only now it has a techno beat to it. It is done very well and would fit right into the game perfectly. Three more of the tracks are also recognizable (the two "Vampire Killer" mixes and "Cemetary of Rainbow") just with new beats, while a couple of tracks have been changed too much to recognize as anything from SotN. Also a few of the tracks have intros that are too long, making a listen somewhat tedious, but others are just so good that they *have* to be heard.

It's tough to make a call on Dracula X: Remixies. There are only six tracks, but they are long and four of them I found to be pretty good. Still, the music isn't nearly as appealing as the originals, which is what I had hoped for. The best advice I can give is: If you are a *big* Castlevania fan (as am I) and have money to burn - pick this CD up. Otherwise don't waste your money.

Being a gigantic fan of Castlevania music, when I heard this CD was coming out I placed my order for it and counted the days for its arrival. In that time, I tried my best to look for any info on it. Was it orchestrated? Was it arranged? Was it just performed with better synths? I really didn't know what to expect.

When I read the contents. I noticed only six tracks, with two being "Vampire Killer". I began to feel a little ripped off, but maybe it's just quality or quantity. It turns out it's mostly originality. Each song averages about 7 minutes or so and they're all dance mixed. The first track, "Gate to Heaven", I didn't even recognize it until about two minutes into the song. Vampire Killer was graced by, I'm assuming, Carina singing some of the melody to the song in a "Hey Handsome, I'm drunk" voice that may appeal to some. Track 3 is mostly a waste of good CD space in my opinion. The song starts as being nothing more than an electric drum in triples, then the 2nd minute is more of the same with claps on every 6th beat.

All in all, it's a pretty short CD is you just fast-forward through most of the songs until it gets to the part that you would recognize from the game. Normally, I'd say that this CD is for any Castlevania fans, but in this case, it's mostly for the dance mix fans out there. Now that we have DracX Remix and Final Fantasy Mix, all we need is a MegaMan Mix and we'll be set.