Hell March is the main theme of all Red Alert games. All official versions were composed by Frank Klepacki, while two remixes were made by the emocore group From First To Last.
Background
While working on Covert Operations, Frank Klepacki composed Hell March from the idea of "a rock tune to marching boots", finishing the song in one day after inventing the guitar riff.[1] Upon listening, director Brett Sperry insisted this song be used as the signature theme of Command & Conquer: Red Alert.[2] Originally intended for use with the Brotherhood of Nod, it features militaristic samples including marching, industrial sounds, and a commander shouting. The commander's shout was a sampled voice Klepacki discovered and found appropriate for the track. While it is not known what exactly he is saying, the most common theory is that it is "Die Waffen, legt an!" (translated as a command to ready weapons in German).
Later variations
Red Alert 2 and Red Alert 3 received remixed versions of the track, adapted to fit their sound themes, and named Hell March 2 and Hell March 3 respectively. A unique version was made for Sole Survivor, and the band From First to Last was invited to record their own renditions of the first two Hell March tracks, which were featured in promotional material for Red Alert 3 and appeared in the game's soundtrack disc.
In the internal files of Red Alert 2 (ra2.mix\local.mix), a residual early mix of Hell March 2 exists, named intro.aud. Along with a few minor differences in the tune, it features a repeating sample of a man saying "give 'em hell", and while this was intended to be the main menu track before Grinder replaced it, this mix only publicly appeared in the video demo of Red Alert 2 found in the Collector's Edition bonus DVD.
Main versions
Official remixes
Other
References
- ↑ Frank Klepacki (2008-11-08). Interview of Frank Klepacki. Retrieved on 15 June 2009.
- ↑ Frank Klepacki. COMMENTARY: Behind the C&C Soundtrack. frankklepacki.com. Retrieved on 27 July 2006.
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