Fresno, California based rock group Quarter Circle Jab have released a megaton 37 track album! Okay calm down, maybe not really 37 tracks. The free to download, endlessly anticipated, and awesomely titled Kickbutt.exe is actually 7 amazing medleys broken down into different sections.
The 52 minute album kicks off hard with some Street Fighter II. First the title theme, then we get some character select and finally into Ken's theme. The sound effects from the game are also added in accurate key places to add that extra tinge of nostalgia whilst rocking out. Sadly Ken suffers a crushing defeat it seems and we end up at the jazzy RPG shores of the Soul Blazer medley. With plenty of keyboard along with crashing drums and guitars to keep you rocking out as you take on dungeons full of monsters. After Light Shrine brings Soul Blazer to a close we take a step further into the past for Zelda 2! Sound effects are used brilliantly here again to shift between pieces of this hulking medley which busts straight into some Zelda: Link to the Past at the end with a metal rendition of the Hyrule Castle theme.
Once Zelda hits the dust we switch allegiance to that other 16 bit console with some fantastic jazzy upbeat Sonic 2 tunes. This fast paced romp takes us through Casino Night, Mystic Cave, the Special Stage, and finally Chemical Plant which ends the medley on a much more metal note than the piece kicked off on, and shifts from genre to genre very smoothly. Now QCJ hits us with their biggest medley of the album, an intense romp through the many worlds of Final Fantasy. Starting off with a soaring rendition of FF4, which breaks into ominous tones of FF6. We aren't even half way done though as we enter the hard rocking Lava Dome of Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, which segues into the bulk of the piece, which is dedicated to some of the overlooked gems of the FF7 soundtrack, with Oppressed People and Cait Sith's Theme making taking a slow very circus like jazz tone until QCJ pulls out all the stops on Still More Fighting. The medley finally comes to a close with the organ fronted fanfare of the FF6 victory theme.
We round out the album with more RPGs, first off the almost Pink Floyd-esque stylings of Lagoon, which take us into some broad sonic territory which builds up to the epic final battle music. This crash lands us in QCJ's Earthbound medley and closing piece of work on the album. with crazy synths, rocking guitars and jazzy tones spaced throughout the song is a fantastic closer and Coffee Break brings the entire album to a close very well.
I have heard of this band many years ago upon my entrance into the VGrock scene back when this site started, and I am glad they have finally released the fantastic album I and many others have been waiting so long for! Remember to download the album via Concatenation Records, and even though the album is free, definitely take the time to leave a little tip in their paypal link.