Diving into a dangerous and gritty city where powerful mafia leaders reign supreme, Gangsta reveals to us a world of many vices reminiscent to 1920s New York. We get our first glimpse of this in the series’ OP where we see sex and drugs raining down, a glimpse that is reflected in the stylistic diversity of the OP’s music. “Renegade” by Stereo Dive Foundation (SDF) is an eclectic blend of genres which draws heavily from rock and progressive, creating a refreshing alternative from the many generic pop and rock numbers that open today’s anime. It is a tough song to pinpoint to one specific genre but it is well-inspired and delivers in quality.
“Renegade” gets you ready to watch Gangsta by borrowing sounds and styles found in electronic dance music. While the song structure sticks to that of traditional rock music, it has progressive influences which serves to make us, the listeners, feel uplifted. Renegade uses this technique in the intro and the pre-chorus.
The intro has a superior hook that brings in a stuttering rhythm that draws us in. SDF’s steady, consistent vocals keep the song grounded which in turn emphasizes the instrumentals. We hear a diversity of timbre, making use of distortion and various synth sounds as kick drums come in to heighten our expectations for what’s to come. At the peak of the intro all instrumentals cut out and hold only screaming vocals, bringing us to the melodic, high-pitched vocals that contrast the deep bass of the backing track.
Heavier use of synth sounds and a sweeping undertone creates a pre-chorus that call up a trance feel, a departure of the rock style on which the song is based. We are taken into a daze-like state as the song breaks down, stepping down momentarily before building back up to a higher note. Here the chords progress stepwise in an upward motion while the 8th note rhythm lulls us into a relaxed state. As such, the chord progression and rhythm are the driving force behind the elevation because it defines how this section of the song feels.
It’s worth noting that the chorus comes in sustaining the level of elevation the pre-chorus built us up to. It accomplishes this by repeating previous techniques; using a steady 8th note rhythm and a stepwise, upward chord progression. Along with distortion guitar, these elements come together and create a rock sound and trance feel that seemingly fills our ears, demanding our entire attention. The chorus wants us to feel uplifted, calm, but excited which is likely why “Renegade” was chosen as the opening theme song. This song reflects the world of Gangsta because the way it makes us feel is akin to how it would be to live in the city of Ergastulum; quiet but exhilarating when danger comes.
merulamuses 