In a way, this is kinda also a spot for Tomorrow and Tomorrow, but I just personally really like this version specifically. This is the music for the Crystarium, but only during night time (which is a big thing for the story so it has like, significance, rather than just being a nice night time theme). The song starts with a really nice piano/orchestra version of the Shadowbringers theme, but then once the actual Tomorrow and Tomorrow motif comes in, that’s when I really love it. The violins playing it up, then the song getting more lighthearted with the harpsichord and other strings, and finally the ghostly, yet beautiful choir. The song is already really emotional, but this version gets to play a lot more frequently, and so is like a reminder of your journey, as well as still being a great theme for the city it plays in.

This is a really interesting song. The previous weapon fight was hard rock into choir of death, and now here, against Emerald Weapon, it starts again with the Primals cover of Ultima, but then in the second phase, you get something a lot more subdued. A slower tempo, yet still a song that goes hard. That intro guitar on top of the reveal that “Oh shit it’s installed with Gaius” gives you that chill down your spine, and then it goes into the empire theme to really create that menacing aura. The song overall is not AS in your face as some songs are, but give you a heavy beat to bop your head to during the fight. I love that really cool metallic bouncing sound that plays, that to me sounds like echoing metal in the water, perfect for a fight against Emerald which originally was in the water (I choose to believe this was on purpose). I also love the more bitcrushed sounds as well. Finally, that fucking final guitar feature where it just SHREDS on you, is just beautiful. The last point I want to give to this song, is the title. The Black Wolf Stalks Again is so fucking raw, that even just reading it alone gives me chills.

The only reason this song isn’t higher is because I was the last person in my raid group to get the Gwiber of Light and NO I’M NOT STILL SALTY ABOUT IT. That aside, this song is beautiful. The fight is beautiful. my fucking reaction when I saw we were facing off against the actual original FFI box art Warrior of Light? aaaaaaaaaaaaa! The clock ticking in the background echoing Amaurot? AAAAAAAAAAA! The percussion in this entire song is so good, I love how it’s really subtle compared to some of the other rock songs, but unique enough to bring attention to itself. The way the vocals start with a whisper and the main Shadowbringers theme, into a sort of low quality radio sound, feels like it’s supposed to represent Elidibus’s fading memories. Also, you gotta love the Riding Home sound whenever it comes in. All of this leading up to the build up to the chorus and the actual chorus itself, giving you this hard rock version of the Amaurot theme is enough to make the screen somehow really wet and blurry and I don’t know why I can’t see the boss guys??? This song is a perfect end to the overall Shadowbringers story, and it just gives you that Little Extra Gutpunch when you find out it was written when Soken was at the peak of fighting off his cancer. Shit man. (DEEP INSIDE, WE’RE NOTHING MORE, THAN SCIONS AND SINNERS!!!!!!!!)

Like I said at the start, the moment that first trailer dropped, you know this soundtrack was gonna be something else. This was my first expansion release for FFXIV, and I craved the longer and longer versions more and more (Dawntrail’s doing that to me right now goddammit). That solemn intro with the visuals of death and darkness and fire, the Exarch’s words playing in your head whenever you listen, but also this part of the song used for a lot of the heavier parts of this story has its own legendary energy… but then the guitar starts. The guitar and the rising orchestra. Those whispery vocals. It sounds like a barren desert, perfect for the WoL walking forward, exhausted. The vocals in general alone make this song addictive, Jason Charles Miller fucking slays this whole song. The band getting more involved, which can I just say is VERY unlike the previous trailers, hypes you up like no other, especially with this losing battle on the screen as the WoL goes through all of his previous jobs. Then the song reaches its peak. The whole section starting with “AUTHORS OF OUR FATES” is so hype, but then that fucking CHOIR. HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOME! RIDING HOOOOOOOOOOOOME! SHIT MAN! THAT’S MY GODDAMN FAVORITE PART. I MISS LOGGING ONTO THE GAME EVERY DAY AND HAVING THAT HEAVENLY CHORUS BLAST INTO MY FACE, IT’S LIKE THAT GIF OF LOUISOIX GETTING BAHAMUTED. IN THE PRIMALS VERSION THEY ADD THIS SICK GUITAR SHREDDING IN THE BACK WHICH JUST LIKE, HOW DID YOU MAKE IT EVEN BETTER?????? Then the song goes into Eternal Wind???? OH SHIT IT’S FFIII TIME! I stand by what I said when I said Eternal Wind is the greatest thing FFIII did for the world, and this is the peak of that point. I also still get shivers, again, the Exarch’s lines always playing in my head when I hear it. That finale, the WE FAAAAAAAALL, with the sight of the light sky being cut in half showing the dark, and the reveal of the Dark Knight? Dude. This was as much of a “I love this song” as it was an “I love this trailer”, because the two are intertwined.

This song, is the pinnacle of “What the fuck.” Because, this is the song, for just a Random Dungeon. Like we’ve had dungeons go hard before! But this is another level. That intro beat goes absolutely insane, and the song does not chill out at any point, you are bopping and banging 100% of the time. It’s also like, absolutely perfect for what this dungeon is??? It’s a combination of eScape, Omega’s battle theme, representing the Garlond Ironworks, and the Crystal Tower theme, cause duh, you’re in the Crystal Tower (also a little bit of the Prelude cause why fucking not???), and it’s all just expertly weaved together to make an amazing song and an amazing storytelling device. I know I’m not ranting and raving about it as much as Shadowbringers, which might seem weird that it’s a place higher, but I truly do not have more to say about this song. You can listen to it, you’ll probably fucking understand! I can listen to this song on repeat for hours, and I still won’t sick of it. It also gets bonus points for the meme (shoutouts to TheTwinning.mp4) and it getting official fucking recognition in the actual Primals music video. This song is legendary, and again, it’s just for a random fucking dungeon. Soken who LET YOU COOK BECAUSE THEY SHOULD LET YOU DO IT AGAIN