Frank Klepacki was truly a pioneer of PC game sound design. Without his desire to set the tone for C&C with its music, mp3 might have been skipped over as a format in the industry.
To quote MandaloreGaming on Frank Klepacki "He made Hell March, he's beyond us" Edit: It is a quote from MandaloreGaming, not Civvie11 like the comment originally stated.
There are two kinds of gamer fanboys in 1996, those who fonds Lara Croft akimboing Browing hi-powers, and those who simps Tanya Adams with her dual Colt.45 and C-4s.🤣
@@sterlingwirth7931 That was on the Blade Runner review, where Civvie pointed out that Klepacki remade some of the tracks from the movie *by ear* for the point and click game. It's worth pointing out he had to do the same thing when remaking the Tiberium Dawn and Red Alert tracks for the remaster, since some of the old track files were lost.
This is specifically the remaster done by Tiberian Suns (A Tribute band) and Frank Klepaki (The original artist). Should definitely mix in some of the originals (The original Just Do it up with the different voice samples is imho the superior version) This particular version of No Mercy includes snippets from the second game as well as the first. It's also very much a lot of voice lines that are tied to the games themselves.
I always wonder why I love metal so much from such a young age as early teens. And then I remember what the game OSTs are like in the games that I used to play back then, lol.
The spoken bits are from cutscenes in the games Great tracks to check out are Act on Instinct, Mechanical Man, Killing Machine, Lone Trooper, Mutants, etc I wish you'd check out Deus Ex 1 and Unreal Tournament 99 though.
ooh, I wonder if Foregone Destruction hits the same if you haven't spent hundreds of hours in Facing Worlds personally, I would also love for him to listen to Razorback, that one is my favourite of all the UT tracks
The Command and Conquer and Red Alert series have some great tracks, but keep in mind that they are RTS games; the tracks are there to give music and ambiance to the battles, and it's kind of hard to pick out any long-form story-telling in them because all the tracks are in the pool of music to play at any time (with the minor exception in later games which give factions their own pool of tracks to pull from). I think if you want something that is more meant to impart a tone, try Dusk Hour from Tiberium Sun, which along with a number of the other slower and moodier tracks from that OST reflect the mood of C&C's world- one going through an environmental apocalypse as tiberium (the crystal stuff you collect in game to make money to build) destroys the planet as it converts nearly everything into more tiberium.
there are many amazing C&C tracks (brain freeze, act on instinct, hell march [take your pick], Grinder) but I have fond heart for Destroy as well as The generals tracks, mainly the GLA tracks.
It looks like you already tackled "Hell March 2" from RA2, id still recommend listening to the original despite it being very similar. I would also out myself as a Tiberian Sun Nerd by recommending "Pharotek" from the Firestorm expansion.
True Story: when I first played C&C on my Windows 95 PC back in the day, I had never heard music of this style before. Almost everything from C&C 1 to 3, and Red Alert 1 to 3 is gold. This track, Mechanical Man, Hell March (especially 2), Blow it Up, Act on Instinct etc.
I'm assuming he went for this version because of the Tiberian Sons. I like their take on the track, but when the band playing has 3-4 guitars going that'll naturally skew what the sound sounds like.
Tiberian Sun was pretty formative for me and I played that and other games of it's era like Starcraft and Homeworld when I was in middle school. Love the more driven songs like Killing Machine but also can totally just vibe out to something like Infiltration or Scout.
The CnC franchise is so unapologetically 90's action movie you can't help but love it. It's campy, it's over the top and sports a major boner for war and conflict but that's what I love about it. That, and Kane has to be THE best archvillain of any games franchise ever. He's the quintessential mastermind/terrorist/evil genius/overlord/twisted messiah figure.
Man 90’s/2000’s rts synth metal just hits different. If I were to recommend another C&C track then I’d probably say the Soviet March from RA3. It was made to sound like the Red Army Choir but with broken Russian. It’s definitely one of my favorite tracks, I remember sitting in the main menu and just listening. It’s a great track that gets your excitement up before you even start playing the game.
An absolute wicked opportunity to listen to c&c anytime! you should really check out the LIVE version in BRNO with frank and the sons, it ties in the Chant/Crowd chant perfectly and even makes it better. The Text really makes sense. Always amped to see you react to c&c
the original Hell March is the best hype music for a war themed videogame. i haven't played c&c or red alert for decades but i still think about that song all the time. such a banger.
Holy crap Command & Conquer! Now you just HAVE GOT to check out the rest of Frank Klepacki's masterworks on the franchise starting with the entire Tiberian Dawn music and then Red Alert!! Life-long fan of Command & Conquer here and let me tell you one thing: Command & Conquer's world of Tiberium is the work of geniuses! From the lore to the music!!! When EA lost Westwood's talent, roughly 15 years ago, they were NEVER able to replicate the genius behind Westwood's masterwork since then It all starts with Act on Instinct, if Command & Conquer had a theme song it would be Act on Instinct And then other songs are right behind: Target (Mechanical Man in the original game), Full Stop (Warfare in the original game), In the Line of Fire and then you most definitely got some of my favorites ever; Brain Freeze, Drok, Blow It Up, Motorized, Destroy and of course Hell March 2 (all from Red Alert 2) just to name a few :D Tiberian Sun and Red Alert 1 also have their cool music but im biased towards Tiberian Dawn (the OG) and Red Alert 2 :P
I hope this is a sign you will checkout more songs from RTS games, they have some of the best BGM since it's mostly instrumental so being able to tell a story or set a mood with just music is really part of why RTS games were so beloved back in the day. Of course like I recommended last time I suggest checking out the OSTs to Total Annihilation, Stronghold, Battle Realms and of course Starcraft.
Worth pointing out that this is not just the original track, it's a concert version added to the remaster which includes extra lines that will only make any sense or sound cool if you're a fan of the saga and have played at least to Tiberian Sun (the second game in the Tiberium line)
I think people love the truly outstanding songs in the C&C Lineup, Hell March, Grinder, Act on Instinct, Mechanical Man/Target, but I've always found the super industrial or "alien" music in C&C games to be just as interesting. Like Valves, Killing Machine, Prepare for Battle, Dusk Hour and Nod Crush. Killing Machine and Prepare for Battle are personal favorites of mine. Also I'm a massive Tiberian Sun/Firestorm simp. Best games in the series IMO
Command and Conquer defined my childhood growing up, I played so much on my N64, that I could do missions blindfolded. I loved Just do it Up myself, and No Mercy is #2
I didn't see those here on channel, so you should try: 1) Iconoclasts OST - Moonlight 2) Salt and Sanctuary OST - The Nameless God ...not a masterpiece, but when I first heard it, I was in a little shock.
My personal fav is act on instinct by frank klepancki i think his name is, that one is a banger well almost all CC series is banger u should tried red alert too its fun gameplay quirky story and banger music too
This was always a great track. Your forces are pushing forward, laying waste to all that they meet. Then one of your tanks drives over some enemy troops, crushing them. C&C always had more of a metal and electronic sound, while Dune 2000 had the more ethereal and thought provoking music.
A second C&C song! Always great to see, but the second I saw what song this was I was kinda dreading it. Don't get me wrong, I love Frank Klepacki, The Tiberian Sons, and 'No Mercy', but, and I say this as someone who grew up with the franchise, I REALLY don't think this is a good entry song for Marco or the channel. Not only is the song itself a little weird and admittedly dated, but this specific version by The Tiberian Sons is an intentional homage to the fanbase and series a whole. Between the extra guitars and changed voice lines, I just don't think this version would be the one to start with. Hell, I don't even think the original 'No Mercy' would be good, and would generally avoid the tracks with spoken words from the original and Red Alert (sans maybe 'Act on Instinct') as yeah, they do come off as goofy and dated, especially out of context to unfamiliar and modern ears. Definitely appreciated the decidedly positive but still honest take and analysis, but I can't say I disagree with any of the criticisms here. Here's to hoping that the next C&C video features a song that is both more accessible and more to Marco's liking. As a side note, to date 'No Mercy' and 'Hell March 2' have appeared on this channel, and I just find it funny that both tracks have the 'No Mercy' theme within them. If 'Approach', 'Reload Fire', 'Airstrike' or even 'Surf No Mercy' or any of the other tracks with the 'No Mercy' theme get shown on this channel I wonder if that will come up in the video.
Kind of off topic , but recently I discovered an old release from Vanguard Sound , called Flame of Hope . It’s really nice , I wonder what’s your thoughts on it.
I remember when I was still a kid, my first CnC game was red Alert 2 and I didn’t understand computer games yet. But I found out could order my troops to destroy the world trade centers. So I did. Guess what, just a few months later the real twin towers were destroyed. And as a kid I thought it was my fault……
Command and Conquer is a timeless classic series and the music just as much, they are such great moodsetters ingame thats its hard not to enjoy them. Such a shame that EA destroyed the franchise out of greed, its one of the few i truly miss these days.
I love how goofy and 90's the voices in the middle of this track are. Not a track I have on my playlist though haha. I think they work a little better in Act on Instinct.
To be honest, this wasn't the strongest entry in the command and conquer series. Especially the remix. So surprised you chose this one to listen to after the solid entry that was hell march 2.
Feel like rts games have this issue where most of the big narrative moments are moments you have to play through which in an rts game, that means doing this long 30 minute chess match in a nutshell. It's not like Ace Combat where you can have narrative stages like the Arcbird. You need a track that can run on repeat for an hour. I mean I didn't really like this remix either bit I think your criticism applies to the original and just about every rts ost out there imo.
As much as I like the music done for C&C by Frank Klepacki, its still not the best RTS soundtrack out there. That has to be StarCraft. The Terran themes are basically the Korean national anthem.
I feel like the composition is not as clear in this remaster as it was in the original version. the stereo field, reverb, and just timbre of the instruments is whack
I find it kinda sad you picked this track of all of the ones you could have from the C&C library, while I don't dislike it it is not my favorite and it is mostly for the same reasons I just never cared for the repetitive talking bits in either this nor the original even though they are moments from the game put into the song. I would have suggested 100% reacting to Act On Instinct or Target/Mechanical Man the New digital Remastered Versions actually done by Frank Klepacki for the game not the recorded versions if you ever revisit this. Thanks for covering Frank's music it was basically my childhood and I hope your dislike of this one song does not dissuade you form looking any further into his music.
Act of instinct, Hell march, Blow it up, Brain freeze...
Frank Klepacki, what a legend.💘
If you haven't yet, please go check the Tiberian Sons's rendering of ace combat soundtracks, because one has to.😍
IN THE NAME OF KANE!
KANE LIVES IN DEATH!
PEACE THROUGH POWER
KANE LIVES
The technology of Peace!
ONE VISSION! ONE PURPOSE!
Frank Klepacki was truly a pioneer of PC game sound design. Without his desire to set the tone for C&C with its music, mp3 might have been skipped over as a format in the industry.
To quote MandaloreGaming on Frank Klepacki
"He made Hell March, he's beyond us"
Edit: It is a quote from MandaloreGaming, not Civvie11 like the comment originally stated.
I don’t remember that episode
There are two kinds of gamer fanboys in 1996, those who fonds Lara Croft akimboing Browing hi-powers, and those who simps Tanya Adams with her dual Colt.45 and C-4s.🤣
@@sterlingwirth7931 That was on the Blade Runner review, where Civvie pointed out that Klepacki remade some of the tracks from the movie *by ear* for the point and click game.
It's worth pointing out he had to do the same thing when remaking the Tiberium Dawn and Red Alert tracks for the remaster, since some of the old track files were lost.
That was MandaloreGaming (unless they're the same person, but I never have heard anyone referred to them interchangeably)
@@nikolasrhine3252 They are aren't, I shall correct my comment.
This is specifically the remaster done by Tiberian Suns (A Tribute band) and Frank Klepaki (The original artist). Should definitely mix in some of the originals (The original Just Do it up with the different voice samples is imho the superior version)
This particular version of No Mercy includes snippets from the second game as well as the first. It's also very much a lot of voice lines that are tied to the games themselves.
I always wonder why I love metal so much from such a young age as early teens. And then I remember what the game OSTs are like in the games that I used to play back then, lol.
The spoken bits are from cutscenes in the games
Great tracks to check out are Act on Instinct, Mechanical Man, Killing Machine, Lone Trooper, Mutants, etc
I wish you'd check out Deus Ex 1 and Unreal Tournament 99 though.
ooh, I wonder if Foregone Destruction hits the same if you haven't spent hundreds of hours in Facing Worlds
personally, I would also love for him to listen to Razorback, that one is my favourite of all the UT tracks
The Command and Conquer and Red Alert series have some great tracks, but keep in mind that they are RTS games; the tracks are there to give music and ambiance to the battles, and it's kind of hard to pick out any long-form story-telling in them because all the tracks are in the pool of music to play at any time (with the minor exception in later games which give factions their own pool of tracks to pull from).
I think if you want something that is more meant to impart a tone, try Dusk Hour from Tiberium Sun, which along with a number of the other slower and moodier tracks from that OST reflect the mood of C&C's world- one going through an environmental apocalypse as tiberium (the crystal stuff you collect in game to make money to build) destroys the planet as it converts nearly everything into more tiberium.
there are many amazing C&C tracks (brain freeze, act on instinct, hell march [take your pick], Grinder) but I have fond heart for Destroy as well as The generals tracks, mainly the GLA tracks.
It looks like you already tackled "Hell March 2" from RA2, id still recommend listening to the original despite it being very similar. I would also out myself as a Tiberian Sun Nerd by recommending "Pharotek" from the Firestorm expansion.
Pharotek was in base game. However Nod Crush slaps way more than Pharotek
Pharotek is fantastic
True Story: when I first played C&C on my Windows 95 PC back in the day, I had never heard music of this style before.
Almost everything from C&C 1 to 3, and Red Alert 1 to 3 is gold.
This track, Mechanical Man, Hell March (especially 2), Blow it Up, Act on Instinct etc.
I've always loved C&C music.
Doggo video bombed in the background.
A tad bit off that you went for the remake of the track rather than the original. Still nice that you decided to cover this one, Marco
I'm assuming he went for this version because of the Tiberian Sons. I like their take on the track, but when the band playing has 3-4 guitars going that'll naturally skew what the sound sounds like.
Tiberian Sun was pretty formative for me and I played that and other games of it's era like Starcraft and Homeworld when I was in middle school. Love the more driven songs like Killing Machine but also can totally just vibe out to something like Infiltration or Scout.
LUNA MEATBALL HYPE.
Love CnC, hope more is on the way
the soundtrack is very 90's action movie, starring jean claude van damme
The CnC franchise is so unapologetically 90's action movie you can't help but love it.
It's campy, it's over the top and sports a major boner for war and conflict but that's what I love about it.
That, and Kane has to be THE best archvillain of any games franchise ever.
He's the quintessential mastermind/terrorist/evil genius/overlord/twisted messiah figure.
Man 90’s/2000’s rts synth metal just hits different.
If I were to recommend another C&C track then I’d probably say the Soviet March from RA3. It was made to sound like the Red Army Choir but with broken Russian. It’s definitely one of my favorite tracks, I remember sitting in the main menu and just listening. It’s a great track that gets your excitement up before you even start playing the game.
Luna!! Doggy cameo!!
An absolute wicked opportunity to listen to c&c anytime! you should really check out the LIVE version in BRNO with frank and the sons, it ties in the Chant/Crowd chant perfectly and even makes it better. The Text really makes sense. Always amped to see you react to c&c
the original Hell March is the best hype music for a war themed videogame. i haven't played c&c or red alert for decades but i still think about that song all the time. such a banger.
RA2 may have the best overall OST of the C&C series.
I love the Tiberium soundtracks so much. Klepacki is amazing.
Holy crap Command & Conquer!
Now you just HAVE GOT to check out the rest of Frank Klepacki's masterworks on the franchise starting with the entire Tiberian Dawn music and then Red Alert!!
Life-long fan of Command & Conquer here and let me tell you one thing: Command & Conquer's world of Tiberium is the work of geniuses! From the lore to the music!!!
When EA lost Westwood's talent, roughly 15 years ago, they were NEVER able to replicate the genius behind Westwood's masterwork since then
It all starts with Act on Instinct, if Command & Conquer had a theme song it would be Act on Instinct
And then other songs are right behind: Target (Mechanical Man in the original game), Full Stop (Warfare in the original game), In the Line of Fire and then you most definitely got some of my favorites ever; Brain Freeze, Drok, Blow It Up, Motorized, Destroy and of course Hell March 2 (all from Red Alert 2) just to name a few :D
Tiberian Sun and Red Alert 1 also have their cool music but im biased towards Tiberian Dawn (the OG) and Red Alert 2 :P
I hope this is a sign you will checkout more songs from RTS games, they have some of the best BGM since it's mostly instrumental so being able to tell a story or set a mood with just music is really part of why RTS games were so beloved back in the day. Of course like I recommended last time I suggest checking out the OSTs to Total Annihilation, Stronghold, Battle Realms and of course Starcraft.
Worth pointing out that this is not just the original track, it's a concert version added to the remaster which includes extra lines that will only make any sense or sound cool if you're a fan of the saga and have played at least to Tiberian Sun (the second game in the Tiberium line)
Ooooh i hope this is a sign of more CnC reacts to come! those games were my damn childhood.
I think people love the truly outstanding songs in the C&C Lineup, Hell March, Grinder, Act on Instinct, Mechanical Man/Target, but I've always found the super industrial or "alien" music in C&C games to be just as interesting. Like Valves, Killing Machine, Prepare for Battle, Dusk Hour and Nod Crush.
Killing Machine and Prepare for Battle are personal favorites of mine.
Also I'm a massive Tiberian Sun/Firestorm simp. Best games in the series IMO
Command and Conquer defined my childhood growing up, I played so much on my N64, that I could do missions blindfolded. I loved Just do it Up myself, and No Mercy is #2
I didn't see those here on channel, so you should try:
1) Iconoclasts OST - Moonlight
2) Salt and Sanctuary OST - The Nameless God ...not a masterpiece, but when I first heard it, I was in a little shock.
My personal fav is act on instinct by frank klepancki i think his name is, that one is a banger well almost all CC series is banger u should tried red alert too its fun gameplay quirky story and banger music too
This was always a great track. Your forces are pushing forward, laying waste to all that they meet. Then one of your tanks drives over some enemy troops, crushing them. C&C always had more of a metal and electronic sound, while Dune 2000 had the more ethereal and thought provoking music.
A second C&C song! Always great to see, but the second I saw what song this was I was kinda dreading it. Don't get me wrong, I love Frank Klepacki, The Tiberian Sons, and 'No Mercy', but, and I say this as someone who grew up with the franchise, I REALLY don't think this is a good entry song for Marco or the channel. Not only is the song itself a little weird and admittedly dated, but this specific version by The Tiberian Sons is an intentional homage to the fanbase and series a whole. Between the extra guitars and changed voice lines, I just don't think this version would be the one to start with. Hell, I don't even think the original 'No Mercy' would be good, and would generally avoid the tracks with spoken words from the original and Red Alert (sans maybe 'Act on Instinct') as yeah, they do come off as goofy and dated, especially out of context to unfamiliar and modern ears.
Definitely appreciated the decidedly positive but still honest take and analysis, but I can't say I disagree with any of the criticisms here. Here's to hoping that the next C&C video features a song that is both more accessible and more to Marco's liking.
As a side note, to date 'No Mercy' and 'Hell March 2' have appeared on this channel, and I just find it funny that both tracks have the 'No Mercy' theme within them. If 'Approach', 'Reload Fire', 'Airstrike' or even 'Surf No Mercy' or any of the other tracks with the 'No Mercy' theme get shown on this channel I wonder if that will come up in the video.
Kind of off topic , but recently I discovered an old release from Vanguard Sound , called Flame of Hope . It’s really nice , I wonder what’s your thoughts on it.
i really like the path you're on with the music. i hope you hit the mechwarrior 2 soundtrack somewhen hehe
Check out “think about mutation” the band who did the soundtrack for CC3 Tiberium sun. Even got a tattoo of that bands logo 😂🎉
I don't know what it is, but this really has that command&conquer feel.
Personally speaking I prefer the original version of No Mercy. I don't know what it is exactly about it but it just sounds better to me.
I remember when I was still a kid, my first CnC game was red Alert 2 and I didn’t understand computer games yet. But I found out could order my troops to destroy the world trade centers. So I did.
Guess what, just a few months later the real twin towers were destroyed.
And as a kid I thought it was my fault……
IN THE NAME OF KANE
Act on Instinct and Hell March are the goats
The opera musician for the first time collided with industrial LOL)
Command and Conquer is a timeless classic series and the music just as much, they are such great moodsetters ingame thats its hard not to enjoy them.
Such a shame that EA destroyed the franchise out of greed, its one of the few i truly miss these days.
I think you would love Netflix's Castlevania Nocturne Lamento della Ninfa it is hauntingly beautiful
This was my first videogame. Warfare/full stop is my favorite from the remastered tracks.
I love how goofy and 90's the voices in the middle of this track are. Not a track I have on my playlist though haha. I think they work a little better in Act on Instinct.
This is captain bones approved
To be honest, this wasn't the strongest entry in the command and conquer series. Especially the remix. So surprised you chose this one to listen to after the solid entry that was hell march 2.
Oh the good old times
If you are listening to C&C music, you better check some of the music from the generals/zero hour. They are very good.
Never thought you will be interest in C&C music.
Peace through power
Has Marco listened to Asura's Wrath ost?
Where is "WITH THE AID OF MY SECRET WEAPON!"?
That was in the original version. This one is the remix that uses some elements from Tiberian Sun.
"NO LONGER WILL THE WORLD BE DOMINATED BY THE LEGACY OF THESE ＦＯＯＬＳ!"
The much better version imo.
Should listen to Hell March from Red Alert
You should react to the Roboquest ost mainly the song Guardian by Noisecream, but all the songs are great.
Feel like rts games have this issue where most of the big narrative moments are moments you have to play through which in an rts game, that means doing this long 30 minute chess match in a nutshell. It's not like Ace Combat where you can have narrative stages like the Arcbird. You need a track that can run on repeat for an hour. I mean I didn't really like this remix either bit I think your criticism applies to the original and just about every rts ost out there imo.
Marco you must listen to ,,Maiden Astraea" from demon's souls (another fromsoft game), this is a fucking masterpiece
OUR LIVES FOR KANE!
As much as I like the music done for C&C by Frank Klepacki, its still not the best RTS soundtrack out there. That has to be StarCraft. The Terran themes are basically the Korean national anthem.
Would recommend listening to the originals over the remakes at some point.
Command & Conquer in general is very cheesy, and leans more and more into the cheesiness as time goes on.
CnC Have my Childhood
Yakuza 6 destiny
Day 3 of asking Marco to play Limbus Company
I feel like the composition is not as clear in this remaster as it was in the original version. the stereo field, reverb, and just timbre of the instruments is whack
I find it kinda sad you picked this track of all of the ones you could have from the C&C library, while I don't dislike it it is not my favorite and it is mostly for the same reasons I just never cared for the repetitive talking bits in either this nor the original even though they are moments from the game put into the song.
I would have suggested 100% reacting to Act On Instinct or Target/Mechanical Man the New digital Remastered Versions actually done by Frank Klepacki for the game not the recorded versions if you ever revisit this. Thanks for covering Frank's music it was basically my childhood and I hope your dislike of this one song does not dissuade you form looking any further into his music.
Just want to point out that the crowd is shouting "Help! Help! Help!" followed by "No mercy"
Really adds another layer of Terminator level horror
Wait what?
I always thought they were yelling "no".
Pls react to Jhana character song (Incarnation) from Houkai Gakuen/GGZ
*IN THE NAME OF KANE!*