Crisis Rising (Theme Song)

Crisis Rising was the second official theme song of Minutemen, composed by Nicholas Tobolski. Originally intended to be used in a Minutemen videogame, the tune was edited beyond its original artistic limits to work as a theme for the re-instated animated series in March of 2021. Adapted in various forms, with some variation in structure, the song is the most "complete" of any Minutemen theme, offering a much more urgent pace, a large array of backing instruments to provide a more cinematic approach, trading dubstep-esque electronic music for an almost orchestral-level composition with harsh instruments played from a YM2612 sound chip, most notably found in the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive game console, Nick's all time favorite game system, with elements of NES backing tunes, and in the Complete Mix, an intro portion based on the sound of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, one of the most successful home computers in the UK.

The original version, dubbed the Early Mix, was released to the public on 12 April 2021, but was subsequently removed by Nick himself, as he began to lose confidence in his ability to finish Minutemen. Finding the courage and will to push on, Nick improved that Mix, and created three subsequent mixes, the Complete Mix, the Open Mix, and the Credits Mix.

All versions of the theme can be heard below, with descriptors on what makes them unique from each other.

On May 26th, Nick decided to implement "confident design" into Minutemen. In short, he would refuse to change anything to suit executive's demands, and would even find a place to broadcast Minutemen on his own if he needs to. He would make Minutemen exactly how HE always wanted.

To coincide with this, a heavy electronic tune, referencing back to the original Minutemen theme, Here Come the Minutemen, was finally released online the same day, as an Initial Mix.

Crisis Rising has since been replaced by Here Come The Minutemen, and is no longer in active use.

Early Mix
The initial version of the theme, it lacks many of the extra enhancements of its counterparts, and is the one Nick isn't too happy with, considering the vast improvements the newer mixes offered. Nonetheless, after losing almost all previous Minutemen assets, from art and music to graphics and scripts, Nick has remained adamant to keep some form of his work available to the masses in some way, so that it may never be lost again. It is available here for prosperity.



Complete Mix
The fullest version of the theme, enhanced from the Early Mix with the introduction of more backing instruments, and additional structure changes. Includes an intro sequence from an unreleased track from a proposed Minutemen videogame that never went into development. The first new composition since the original Minutemen Theme Song from 2016.

Planned to be used in "Here Come the Minutemen", a pilot episode for the Minutemen animated series. The Open Mix will be used for subsequent episodes, should it be successful enough to attract a platform or network to broadcast.

Open Mix
Similar to the Complete Mix, with additional structure changes, and the removal of the intro. Designed as the "default" theme for Minutemen, to be used in virtually all associated media, and most obviously, as the opening theme for the Minutemen animated series.

Credits Mix
Similar to the Open Mix, but with a "less is more" theme. Louder instruments have mostly been removed, with more elegant structural changes to compensate. Can be shortened if necessary to fit within runtime. Used almost solely in the end credits of the animated series.

Final Mix
In June of 2021, Nick began to start working more and more on Minutemen, and part of this resulted in ideas for a better theme for the series. On June 23rd, 2021, Nick formally retired any future use of Crisis Rising, and used an unfinished version to create one last mix of the song, the Final Mix.

It will be replaced by Here Come The Minutemen, a heavy electronic tune, to coincide with the upcoming pilot episode of the same name.



Fun Facts

 * Crisis Rising was originally intended for a SEGA Genesis-inspired videogame, but never could start development, due in part to Nick's lack of capable hardware. It was originally designed to be 100% playable on real Genesis hardware. The theme would have been used for Escape sequences, where the player would have to exit the level as it falls apart within a short time limit.
 * Crisis Rising features many references to other video game music. The most notable of these, and most recognizable, is the theme song itself using a similar melodic rhythm to the Elite Four battle theme from the Pokémon Black and White video games. Contrary to what you might think, Nick did not use this song as inspiration because of a love for the franchise. He simply used it because he loved listening to it, and thought it would make a great theme for Minutemen.
 * Another notable VGM reference is the main verse, which is from Tim Follin's work on the Commodore Amiga version of Ghouls n' Ghosts.
 * This is the first official piece of theme music for Minutemen since its initial theme song in 2016. Nick tried to recreate it numerous times since then, to no avail.
 * The intro to the Complete Mix was initially part of an original theme for the canceled Minutemen videogame, titled "Here Come The Minutemen". This title would later be used for the pilot episode of the animated series.
 * The intro to the Complete Mix features a recognizable loop from outside of the video game music world. Frustratingly, many assumed it was from Star Wars' Imperial March. However, Nick has gone on record to clarify it actually was a reference to the White Town song Your Woman.