#how much i like expurgation. and the artistic expression of madcom as a whole - even if i don't think my words mean squat

[fluffydeoxys]

okayyyy hehe people were very nice and i shall write my thoughts.

one of my weirdly specific favourite things about madcom is specifically 4:56 through to 5:59 in expurgation, both in the song itself and in the animation (though the duration is a bit longer in the animation specifically). putting my yammering under the cut

You have such foreboding magnificence building in tandem with Sanford fighting alone through the horde of Tricky skeletons, outside and fully exposed with the backdrop in red. The music pairs so well with the scene, conveying this sense of "I'm fucking fighting against a power so much larger than me", it's so intimidating and grand in this menacing, otherworldly way.

5:00 through to 5:15 the sound design of the bullets pinging off the shields, Sanford struggling and throwing down his weapons is so fucking fantastic, it masterfully sells the visceral struggle that San is clawing through. Prying the shield off to protect against the Mossberg 500 and claiming it for himself...

and arghhh my fucking favourite bit 5:17. Put 5:17 Expurgation on my damn forehead because I will never ever stop thinking about it. The music swells with the tap of Tricky's hand against Sanford's shoulder, then sending him careening away with a mere swing of an axe.

You have this AMAZING choir-like sound ebbing and flowing through the background, punctuated by the immense weight and sound of rocks moving and chains clanking through 6:25-6:40, forming this huge tower that stands over Sanford.

then 6:40 is like I am fucking ascending man, the choir ascending as Sanford turns and grips his wound, directly facing Tricky who prepares the M60 far away, the terror of seeing it. The music and scene building up to that point. I really wonder what it was like watching it for the first time in 2019.

Like uurughhhhh have you seen anything so cool??? Music that's so fantastically orchestrated in tandem with the animation that fits its tone perfectly? That sensation of doom, of staring down a power that could and might actually kill you? That you're all alone, back against the wall but still holding it together by a hair fighting something you barely even understand?

Sort of related but a pretty minor but surprisingly significant detail after rewatching through madcom a few times is how important sound design is to conveying the visceral brutality and tension of these scenes. Every force of every bullet, every meaty impact of every punch, it matters a lot. The scraping of metal, and the crunch of stone, it really sells this power that is integral to what makes Madness Combat special. Though you do kinda miss the silly grunt noises the guys used to make when they were hit