Jam of the Day: Rockman X Opening Stage by ROCK-MEN (We are ROCK-MEN!)

You can’t swing a bat without hitting a thousand remixes from the original Mega Man series. Strangely enough, that isn’t the case with the offshoots. That’s a real shame since (for the most part) they have music that’s often just as good and occasionally better.

The first Mega Man X in particular is one of my all-time favorite soundtracks. It’s pretty rare that it gets any love in the remix scene, and when it does it’s almost exclusively Storm Eagle.

Fortunately, the ROCK-MEN gave Mega Man X the proper treatment with a couple tracks on their recently released We are ROCK-MEN album. Their take on the game’s opening stage is exactly what I wanted to hear. It takes the high energy of the source and adds some original flair without abandoning what made the song great in the first place. The entire album is great, so much so that I’d argue it might just be the best Mega Man album out there (and there are lot).

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Original Composition: Setsuo Yamamoto
Guitar & Arrangement: Masahiro Aoki
Bass: Yasumasa Kitagawa
Drums: Mitsuhiro Takano (Hokkyoku Men/ホッキョクメン)

The following may or may not apply to this track:
Keyboard: Azusa Kato (Guest Musician)
Guitar: Reo Uratani (Guest Musician)

Jam of the Day: Magoichi Saika’s Theme by Kow Otani, Masahiro Aoki, Chamy Ishi, Rei Kondoh, Yasutaka Hatade, and/or Sara Sakurai (Sengoku BASARA 3 Original Soundtracks)

This is one of those instances where a lot of people are credited for a soundtrack, but I can’t actually find who is responsible for each specific song.

I just started playing Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes, a game based on Japanese history, but with magic and robots. Much like the how the game’s concept meshes real history and absurd fantasy, the soundtrack blends traditional Japanese instrumentation with more modern styles of music.

Throughout the soundtrack, you’ll find classic Japanese styles mixed with rock, electronica, jazz, and in this case, flamenco. It creates some interesting hybrids that are worth checking out.