Why does Dark Souls sound like Dark Souls?

The music of the souls games has a very specific sound that doesn't change much throughout the series, so in this video I take a look at some of the common elements that define the sound of these games.

0:00 - Intro
0:41 - No Music
1:27 - Orchestration
2:37 - Iudex Gundyr - Dark Souls 3
4:00 - Gehrman's Theme - Bloodborne
5:33 - Dominant V chords
6:31 - Firelink Shrine - Dark Souls
7:45 - Diminished vii chord
8:18 - Tower Knight - Demon's Souls
9:29 - Godskin Apostle - Elden Ring
11:19 - Great Grey Wolf Sif - Dark Souls
13:02 - Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon - Dark Souls 2
15:14 - Ornstein & Smough - Dark Souls
17:20 - Outro

#darksouls #fromsoftware #8bitMusicTheory

[manracmolactrac]

I remember it hitting me hard that Dark Souls had almost no area music the first time I found Ash Lake. The sudden arrival of the music really made me feel like I'd found something really secret, ancient, and magical.

[TheSonicPuppy]

Opening the door to Limgrave and hearing the first note of that area's theme for the first time and hearing Gwyn's theme during the Soul of Cinder fight are two of the most unforgettable musical moments ever for me. The Souls soundtracks have got to be the very definition of 'hauntingly beautiful'.

[majortom]

Gwyneveres theme is in a major key and it makes so much sense! (She is an illusion and when you break it all the sun light drains away from the world)

[samg]

Ludwig, the Accursed’s theme has to be my all time fav souls music. When the second half of the boss fight starts and the music hits I get goosebumps every damn time

[bek]

My husband (a huge dark souls fan) sent me this since I studied piano and musical theory for just about all of my childhood (7-17). Even being nearly 10+ years since I even touched a piano this was extremely interesting.

[smergthedargon]

3:13
Ah, but there's one absolutely amazing major chord in the Souls games - Gael's theme, the very final boss song of the Dark Souls games, has a totally out-of-nowhere super heroic major chord in his second phase that very much calls attention to itself. I think it's a dominant fifth, but I'm pretty sure it's just a plain major chord, no seventh, so it really does stand out as bright. It also has actual Latin lyrics as opposed to a "Latin-sounding" choir. It's probably my favorite boss theme in the series.

Edit: Gael's theme doesn't actually have lyrics, it's just pareidolia. Woops!

[Zenny_]

Awesome analysis! I feel like Elden Ring is a tad bit "brighter" (but not by much), the feel of the game feels more hopeful than just crippling depression hammering you down constantly. I also feel the tracks that Yuka Kitamura adds an ethereal contrast than the rest of the soundtracks, like "Father Ariandel & Sister Friede" and "Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon" just to name a few; would really like to see her composing style and how she achieves that very melodic and ethereal sound without pulling apart it's identity and tone from the souls series :)

[DamesTC]

So glad you highlighted that part of the Godskin Apostle theme mentioned at 10:48. It was so memorable to me when I first heard it and I also particularly enjoy that section

[benisser]

My favorite Motoi Sakuraba tracks are the ones where he goes wild on time signatures in addition to key signature so you really have no idea what's going on the first 20 times you hear them. Fits really well for random battle themes in RPGs

[forceofnature]

Sakuraba is so interesting to me because he makes a lot of bombastic prog rock for the Tales of and Star Ocean games among others, and then jumps into deep orchestral and baroque music for the Souls games

[balladin]

I was hoping for Gael's, ludwig's, ds3 epilogue's and especially demon of hatred breakdown in this video but i'm still glad you made this, there are also so many more to list with cool ideas in them

[PlatypusAfro]

The Twin Princes and Maliketh's phase two theme have such a desperation to them that matches the bosses' storylines so perfectly. I think the Princes even have harpsichord in there which really gives the feeling of having an audience with royalty. I love this music, especially Yuka Kitamura's- thanks for explaining exactly WHY it's so good.

[DensetsuVII]

Hope we get a follow-up comparing the direction of Armored Core 6's music in comparison to Souls and the earlier AC games - I'd say the musical influence of the souls series on AC is one aspect no one's better qualified to cover!

[Thedrewster]

Slave knight gaels theme (especially phase 3) is one of the best compositions I’ve ever heard

[HaitaniMasayuki]

My favorite of these soundtracks in general is still the first Demon's Souls on PS3. It was performed with a very small orchestra, which gave all its tracks such a weird feeling. As if you're in a world so hostile, not even the orchestra is left fully.

[pedroscoponi]

Digging so deep into the Fromsoft OST without mentioning Lord of Cinder, (our beloved "plim plim plom") is a genuine _feat._

Personally, the quieter parts of the boss music never fails to add the tragic knife twist to the immediate danger you're in. You have this huge threat in front of you that is so often 2, 3 times your size and you still can't help but feel that you're either doing something terribly wrong you'll regret, or putting something pitiful out of it's misery.

I also love how much music there is in Elden Ring during exploration compared to the other games. Something about that decision feels very right.

[LivingGuy]

1:56 I like that you make a nod to Majula's theme, it's one of my favorite pieces from the Souls series

[akechijubeimitsuhide]

I'm an opera fan, and these are exactly what I love :D That big, bombastic mid-late 19th century orchestra and chorus. A few pieces, like the Bell Gargoyles, Godrick or Rykard feel a bit more modern, still classical-style but have that dissonant early 20th century feel to them. Which fits the bosses really well.

[basselfmusic]

I'm so happy to see you bring up Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon in this video! This is one of my favorites in the series ♥

[foxglovelove]

I'm so happy you made this video. I love these soundtracks and I feel like they don't get enough love and attention. It's great to get more insight from someone with a deeper understanding of music.