Uploaded January 2018 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The Occultist is my sole contribution to the soundtrack of Realm of Parthoris, a small pack of Heretic levels released in 2015. It accompanies E1M5, a large level with underground passages and your traditional Heretic/Hexen Gothic dungeons and castles. I wanted something with the same gist as the original Heretic soundtracks (symphonic with some rock influences) but doing my own take on the style. It took me about 3 weeks to write, and although Realm of Parthoris itself mostly flew under the radar, The Occultist has become one of my more well known works. I think.
Something I wanted to rectify in this version was the tempo change in the middle. In retrospect I don't feel that the MIDI or the original recording had enough impact when the fast part started, so I added a bit more and played with some volumes at the end of mixing so that it hits a bit harder. For recording, the fast part of this song was the most challenging for bass and keyboard so far, I spent about 15 hours practising the piano solo. The piano part that immediately follows it is technically easier, but took more recording attempts - the ever changing hand movements there required a lot of consistent focus, whereas the solo at least has some gaps between its craziest moments.
In that same part after the piano solo, the bass, even in the original, was more melodic and crazier to the bass lines I usually write, and what I'm used to playing, though I was able to pick it up quite easily - actually the bigger trouble at first was fatigue in the right hand due to the speed of the song (This also happened with Blood Rush). I only play bass now when I'm practising for these recordings so I have to build up the strength for faster passages.
Gone are the days where I was teaching myself bass by learning DragonForce songs and hence 8ths @ 200BPM (the same tempo as this, actually) were effortless, heh. Given that the next song on the list reaches 210BPM with 16ths as well as 8ths, I think I'll be playing bass a lot more over the next few weeks.
Well, looks like my prediction of 2 weeks for this was spot on :P Now we will see if my prediction for Arctic Voyage was also accurate. Thanks very much for listening again, and see you..sometime in the future.
--
The Occultist, originally written by Tristan Clark for Realm of Parthoris in June-July 2015. Recorded 7-19 January 2018.
Original video: youtu.be/lM15ePIkR44
MIDI version: youtube.com/watch?v=GounVnLCuL4
--
Twitter: twitter.com/TristanClark97
Bandcamp: tristanclark.bandcamp.com/releases
Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/1Xgjt8c9Myki3Nstvn1gCN
--
Download links:
MIDI: drive.google.com/file/d/0B80fpMvOvDFNdXF6ZWg0X05wYjg/view?usp=sharing
MP3 (256kbps): drive.google.com/file/d/1Xq3of3HDlRwWNoCx4t5kB2ojNbyb9j_M/view?usp=sharing
Realm of Parthoris (Heretic): doomworld.com/files/file/18280-the-realm-of-parthoris-2015
--
Image sources: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4e/4a/ef/4e4aef21f098a023b76a6c731cb38407.jpg
aitd.com/content/uploads/2014/05/cemetary.jpg
http://sf.co.ua/15/03/wallpaper-1c7a3f.jpg
wallpapers.wallhaven.cc/wallpapers/full/wallhaven-393431.png
wallscover.com/images/alone-in-the-dark-9.jpg
imgbase.info/images/safe-wallpapers/miscellaneous/fantasy/21784_fantasy_fantasy_scenery_burning_castle.jpg
wallpaperup.com/26146/Diablo_3_The_Fallen_Star_Tristram_Cathedral_video_games_church_horror_haunted_fire_flames_comet_asteroid_meteor_cemetery_grave_yard_headstone_halloween_creepy_spooky_scary_horror_sky_clouds_storms_window_lights_fantasy_.html
http://sf.co.ua/15/03/wallpaper-1c9c33.jpg
hitwallpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/red-blade.jpg
ihdimages.com/wp-content/uploadsktz/2014/11/fantasy_landscape_castle_wallpaper_free_hd.jpg
misucell.com/WDF-302991.html
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/72/1f/46/721f462048c05c000c767315ba19f948.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/sl2gqsj.jpg
getwallpapers.com/image/188928
misucell.com/data/out/9/IMG_357536.jpg
The Occultist is my sole contribution to the soundtrack of Realm of Parthoris, a small pack of Heretic levels released in 2015. It accompanies E1M5, a large level with underground passages and your traditional Heretic/Hexen Gothic dungeons and castles. I wanted something with the same gist as the original Heretic soundtracks (symphonic with some rock influences) but doing my own take on the style. It took me about 3 weeks to write, and although Realm of Parthoris itself mostly flew under the radar, The Occultist has become one of my more well known works. I think.
Something I wanted to rectify in this version was the tempo change in the middle. In retrospect I don't feel that the MIDI or the original recording had enough impact when the fast part started, so I added a bit more and played with some volumes at the end of mixing so that it hits a bit harder. For recording, the fast part of this song was the most challenging for bass and keyboard so far, I spent about 15 hours practising the piano solo. The piano part that immediately follows it is technically easier, but took more recording attempts - the ever changing hand movements there required a lot of consistent focus, whereas the solo at least has some gaps between its craziest moments.
In that same part after the piano solo, the bass, even in the original, was more melodic and crazier to the bass lines I usually write, and what I'm used to playing, though I was able to pick it up quite easily - actually the bigger trouble at first was fatigue in the right hand due to the speed of the song (This also happened with Blood Rush). I only play bass now when I'm practising for these recordings so I have to build up the strength for faster passages.
Gone are the days where I was teaching myself bass by learning DragonForce songs and hence 8ths @ 200BPM (the same tempo as this, actually) were effortless, heh. Given that the next song on the list reaches 210BPM with 16ths as well as 8ths, I think I'll be playing bass a lot more over the next few weeks.
Well, looks like my prediction of 2 weeks for this was spot on :P Now we will see if my prediction for Arctic Voyage was also accurate. Thanks very much for listening again, and see you..sometime in the future.
--
The Occultist, originally written by Tristan Clark for Realm of Parthoris in June-July 2015. Recorded 7-19 January 2018.
Original video: youtu.be/lM15ePIkR44
MIDI version: youtube.com/watch?v=GounVnLCuL4
--
Twitter: twitter.com/TristanClark97
Bandcamp: tristanclark.bandcamp.com/releases
Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/1Xgjt8c9Myki3Nstvn1gCN
--
Download links:
MIDI: drive.google.com/file/d/0B80fpMvOvDFNdXF6ZWg0X05wYjg/view?usp=sharing
MP3 (256kbps): drive.google.com/file/d/1Xq3of3HDlRwWNoCx4t5kB2ojNbyb9j_M/view?usp=sharing
Realm of Parthoris (Heretic): doomworld.com/files/file/18280-the-realm-of-parthoris-2015
--
Image sources: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4e/4a/ef/4e4aef21f098a023b76a6c731cb38407.jpg
aitd.com/content/uploads/2014/05/cemetary.jpg
http://sf.co.ua/15/03/wallpaper-1c7a3f.jpg
wallpapers.wallhaven.cc/wallpapers/full/wallhaven-393431.png
wallscover.com/images/alone-in-the-dark-9.jpg
imgbase.info/images/safe-wallpapers/miscellaneous/fantasy/21784_fantasy_fantasy_scenery_burning_castle.jpg
wallpaperup.com/26146/Diablo_3_The_Fallen_Star_Tristram_Cathedral_video_games_church_horror_haunted_fire_flames_comet_asteroid_meteor_cemetery_grave_yard_headstone_halloween_creepy_spooky_scary_horror_sky_clouds_storms_window_lights_fantasy_.html
http://sf.co.ua/15/03/wallpaper-1c9c33.jpg
hitwallpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/red-blade.jpg
ihdimages.com/wp-content/uploadsktz/2014/11/fantasy_landscape_castle_wallpaper_free_hd.jpg
misucell.com/WDF-302991.html
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/72/1f/46/721f462048c05c000c767315ba19f948.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/sl2gqsj.jpg
getwallpapers.com/image/188928
misucell.com/data/out/9/IMG_357536.jpg
