Kulve Taroth is a very large, lizard-like dragon covered in a beautiful golden mantle. This mantle covers her entire body, with an appearance of large blocky scales on her back and a long trailing section down the length of her massive tail. Kulve Taroth's main feature is her massive spiral horns. These horns resemble lapis lazuli when the gold plating is removed. Without the mantle, Kulve Taroth's scales are gold and black with emerald-like patches. She has ram or frog-like eyes.
The overall "Joyus" feeling definitely comes from the context of the hunt. If I remember right Kulve is rather docile, the point of the hunt is not because it threatens the commission but because it harkens back to the Jhen'Moran hunts of old where it's monster covered in riches and it's a special occasion to go hunt it for fun, glory and gold. In lore Jhen Moran appearing would be cause for a whole festival dedicated to mining the giant sand whale's ore covered back.
It's also joyous because when the old hunters of the First Fleet to venture to the New World arrived, Kulve showed up. Naturally, at the time, she was a completely unheard of monster and nobody had a blue clue what on earth Kulve was. So the First wanted to track and study her - but they were already there on the trail of an Elder Dragon that was performing the Elder Crossing migration. (I don't remember which Elder Dragon the First were following, though.) Anyway, the joyous and triumphant wonder of the song is included as a conveyance of how the Admiral and few remaining First Fleeters were feeling.
Jhen Mohran was also known as the the dragon of prosperity and despair. Its a prosperous time for Loc Lac for sure, as it’s appearance would cause a swell of Delex in the region as well as a large influx of hunters looking to find otherwise rare materials. This is hinted at due to most of his weapons being water, an oasis found in the desert. As for Despair, if it’s not killed ir repelled, the ongoing sandstorm it causes will devastate crops and overall health within Loc Lac. It also seeks to destroy the city for reasons I do not know of. 2nd phase happens when the dragon begins to get too close to the city and ends up crawling on shallow sands allowing hunters to disembark the sand skiff to attack it on land.
Kulve is such an underrated monster and theme! The first time the choir kicked in in MR last phase, I had chills everywhere! It's so damn good and hypes you up all over. You've chased this majestic beast through all these caves, make her shed her coat and get serious and in the end you arrive in her den, her stage, you're on her ground now and she'll show you what she can do (which is setting the freaking ceiling on fire and let it rain down on you, which looks incredible!) It's such an epic showdown.
While none of this is wrong, don't forget that when she gets really pissed she ignites the whole room in quite an epic show of force and anger before later dropping the entire ceiling on you
I didn’t like KT because of the rng it introduced into the game, and I didn’t like how they handled the HR siege by forcing you to do phase 1 every time and chase her around. But listening to the soundtrack by itself and fighting the master rank version made me appreciate it a lot more. I really like the master rank fight, it’s a fun fight. I also love that she has those juicy ass hitzones and breaking her horns is so satisfying.
I will probably never forget Kulve Tarroth. It was probably one of my favorite fights in any game ever. The feeling of delving down with a group of hunters to find and de-horn this massive ancient golden beast was just breathtaking. From the environmental hazards and the way She breaks through them to the knock-down drag-out brawl you have with her in the later stages. the fight is fantastic. In the first 3 parts of the fight, she has her massive, heavy golden coating attached to her body and it slows her movements, making her feel appropriately heavy and slow, extending the range on her tail swipes and similar attacks. But when you manage to break that shell off of her and get to the final phase, the final showdown, she moves with almost unnatural speed for a creature of that size, showing just how much the "training weights" were holding her back. She unleashes torrents of superheated breath, melting the gold-encrusted ceiling, showering the floor in piping hot molten gold. Being as she's now as fast as the hunters, the brawl becomes a dance. A duel. A test of will and skill against an ancient, golden queen. It's just SO good.
I love the Kulve fight. It also has one of the most interesting monster progressions that's rarely seen in monster fights. Initially, she couldn't care less about your presence. As others have stated. She's not an overt threat. She's minding her own business is her glorious cavern of gold. Indicated by the first swell of the orchestra as the hunters take in the majestic cave they have entered. As they explore the mounds of gold and the small creatures within. One of the piles moves, and they realize, one of the mounds of gold IS Kulve. A massive lizard shaped monster that has draped herself in a massive and regal coat made entirely of gold. She slowly waddles around, as the hunters annoy her. Occasionally taking swipes at the hunters to ward them off. But as her coat gets damaged, her anger swells. The monster starts to reveal its true power. She roars and her coat physically softens from the heat emanating from her. The core temperature of Kulve rising dramatically. Eventually she runs off to a deeper part of the cavern. Now she's angry. She starts directly fighting the hunters, until she is driven even further in, to the molten portions of the cave. Finally, her coat of gold is fully broken, destroyed by the hunters during the fight. However this has only served to free the monster. Her head no longer weighted down by the gold that coated her ram-like horns. Her strength no longer inhibited by the coat that was probably 2-3 times heavier than herself. Her rage boiling over, her core temperature rises further. Her breath attacks so hot they now melt and slag the floor the hunters stand on as she tries to remove them from her presence. Finally she is forced to retreat to her final lair. In a fit of rage she blasts the entire ceiling causing molten gold and metal to pour over the entire cavern, letting her foes know: She's done playing, they have come here to die...
Funny you should mention the melody being joyous despite the danger of the situation at 13:35 The people of Monster Hunter have a very cavalier attitude to living in the same world as monsters and in fact most hunters are very happy with their jobs. These people LOVE adventure, mystery and excitement and even in the most dire of circumstances they remain gung-ho and positive. For example: in one of the older games there is a recurring event where a giant sand whale wakes up, swims around the desert and makes a huge mess. The people of the nearby village treat this event as a holiday and hold a big festival where they chase it around in sandboats and no one thinks this is a bad idea.
It's a world of badasses. Probably helps that Hunters are actual ubermensch superheroes that legitimately do need to consume the insane meals they eat.
Giant sand whale: Jhen Mohran/Da'ren[?] Mohran City: Loc Lac Celebration: Sandstorm + abundance of resources coming with the wave of sandstorms Good idea to chase on skiffs: Fortune favors the bold; how else are we gonna get those precious, precious, loot? ;3 Also, gotta hunt it somehow, lest it destroy our crops, wreck our city and, ravage our livelyhoods....
I love when the Hunter's theme comes up as a reply to Kulve's own motif, like you and your friends are rising to meet her challenge. World as a whole always helps you know who the monster is, but always reminds you of who you are too.
Oof this music was soo hype during the master rank missions, Kulve Taroth literally brings the molten gold ceiling down on you. The fight was surprisingly fiery and intense.
An the music cuts to just the choir screaming during the molten rain! I never forgot that and honestly I like it almost as much as Safi's signature moment
I thinkthe "joy" aspects of the last part of the theme represent a kind of gold rush feeling where the hunters go and say stuff like "if we bring this down we're rich" or something. It is the anticipation of wealth and glory.
Kulve's theme really portrays the majesty and power of the beast and that last part of the song in the final room really is just so great whenever she is bringing down the entire room. I think that little sense of joy in the song is the thrill of the hunters chasing down this ancient and mysterious creature for the knowledge and riches that is holds.
This is my favorite music from the game. I absolutely love her. That 3rd song is an all-time beauty, and helps you understand the phrase: *”Long live the Queen!”*
For me, the portion of Kulve’s theme with the chorus ranks up there with Fatalis’ second phase and Raging Brachydios’ theme as probably the best in the whole series.
It's a testament to how good this song is that so much of Kulve can shine through from just the music. Armed and armoured in molten gold and revered in-lore as a symbol of prosperity, there's a reason why the Quest title in-game is 'The Fury of El Dorado'.
13:58 you know now that you say it, I think the music has that quality because the hunters would have their eyes on the prize. Kulve Taroth is an ancient and elusive elder dragon and this is like a once in a lifetime opportunity for the hunters to make high-grade weapons out of her materials, because that’s the whole point of doing the KT siege in the first place
to keep it short, there's 4 distinct phases to this fight and the music. the phases will also change at a different rate based on repetition of the siege, the more you do it, the greater the reward after breaking the horns(the source of power for elder dragons), starts short ends long. P1 is the discovery of the monster, P2 is the encounter, P3/4 is where the fight really begins, and the choir only comes in when you incite the fury of kulve taroth. for the master rank version of the fight, there is no repetition of the hunt to make it longer, you start in the second room and your job is to slay it instead of just breaking the horns. great analysis of the music as always marco. :)
I think part of why this theme sounds different to something like Gaismagorm or Malzeno is because those themes are centered around the fear and terror that those monsters oppose whereas this music constantly implies that the hunters are in awe of this beautiful creature from the world that they live in. And really if you look at the monster hunter series as a whole the hunters aren't ever really terrified of their world, they're just in awe of these creatures and hope to fight them. Its never "run from the dragon that destroyed a kingdom in a day" its "Come on guys, lets fight history"
This music is in no small part the reason why Kulve Taroth is my favourite monster in World/Iceborne. Seamless coordination with your fellow hunters, that feeling of unearthing a lost treasure, until you come face to face with a forgotten god. This music always makes me feel like I'm in an Indiana Jones movie, rushing through this ancient natural temple, except the relic in the trapped room is also the giant boulder about to flatten you. The ending theme hits especially hard, and I like it a lot more for the version of this fight that doesn't end in Kulve's death. You get this last, massive look at the monster, deprived of her horns and pride, as she scuttles away through the molten rock, as the music growsmore and more ominous, until the theme of Kulve Taroth is merged and overtaken by Astera's theme. It's over, we're victorious and to us go the spoils, but there's just enough beyond that to make me feel like it won't be over forever. She'll be back, and so will we.
You are spot on about how it feels like you are racing to best this monster because Kulve Taroth is a monster that constantly retreats but when iceborne released we were given the chance to finally hunt Kulve Taroth and slay her but we still have to be wary of her retreating since we are on a timer and when the timer reaches 0 she retreats and we have to hunt her again
My absolute favorite Elder Dragon. One of my favorite ost to just put on loop as well. When you found the sense or wonder, majesty, and mystery was in the melody made me so happy. The fact that she is nicknamed “The Golden Goddess” says it all.
Personally one of my all time favorite themes ever. I love that the first phase has this “the chase is on” idea, in phase 2 that slow leitmotif into organ solo is like you are admiring her beauty, then right back to business, and that final phase is definitely amazing, exhilarating yet beautiful.
Kulve is the first real "raid boss" monster in world and its such a cool fight, And themes and intentions aside, the more quite regal sounding stuff plays when Kulve is all armored up and moves very slow and clunky, and then once you shatter it and it begins moving at full speed and unleashing its full power (by literally bringing down the ceiling with molten gold). The music around 10:33 starts and its just a weird mix of such a pretty scene with gorgeous music, but also the terrifying nature of the thing you're fighting. Also idk what Monster hunter music you have qued up but Raging Bracidios is one of my favs. Its not an elder dragon or any big boss monster but its theme is one of the most dynamic in the whole game imo
The part you mention is scary at 16:00 is actually a reference to Zinogre's theme. I've seen a few people theorize that it was the devs way to tease Zinogre's later addition in Iceborne. It's another really pretty monster (imo) and maybe that's why they used that melody in Kulve's theme.
The way the final phase theme begins is so iconic to me. Piano riffs? And the ominous choir its so good. Thanks to the composers Zhenlan Kang & Tadayoshi Makino for giving us these masterpieces! And of course thank you too Mr. Marco!
Monster Hunter music never fails to make you FEEL the many aspects of the hunt. The majesty/admiration/reverence of the monster and of life, the excitement of the battle, the thrill of the chase, the danger of the possible failure, the sheer terror of facing something far bigger than yourself. Elder dragon themes tend to show this the most. They’re noble, they’re terrifying, but they usually have that small hint of triumphant and exciting thrill, and it gives you that urgent yet hopeful feeling. These are near god-like beings you’re fighting, and yet you are both awestruck and excited by the hunt.
You gotta do the themes of the final bosses of Rise, Ibushi, Narwa and the Allmother. They're definitely the most emotional and unique of any of the final bosses in the series as they have dedicated singers for their themes and they're literally sung by the monsters themselves so its from the monster's perspective rather than the hunter's perspective which has never been done in the series
Kulve Taroth was such a unique fight. And the music really fits the golden queen! And the final stage, we’re the music goes FULL EPIC!! Especially the MASTER RANK UPGRADE! I also made a SUPER MEDIC ARMOR SET from her! Snipe from afar with a bow, almost instant heal my teammates with ease.
She have best ovreall elemental dual weapons in the game. The dmg boosted very noticeable with her weapon, especially the one weak to it. 40hrs farming her not a moment of boring.
The reason for the joyous and enthusiastic sound despite the dire battle is simple. It's a treasure hunt, there is GOLD everywhere, and the horns, those HORNS are beautiful, you want them, if you get them it means glory, riches and adventure
This hunt has always been one of my favourites in the entire series. I remember requesting this song and you answering that it was already in production, man was it worth the wait.
3:11 EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING IS MADE OF GOLD. Seriously, the locale you fight her in, the Caverns of El Dorado, is encrusted with impossible amounts of it, on top of the monster itself being covered in a gigantic mantle of gold. There’s so much gold that the wildlife and the resident Gajalaka tribe are encrusted with it, too.
Man Kulva Taroth's song is pretty dope I still remember when people go and fight it with twin swords, i go with switchaxe and do more dmg Last phase is so god damn almost rng phase, you dishout so much dmg and hope its horns to break Me and brother alongside with sister we created strat that helped us to make through last phase consistently
Rolling into a Kulve Taroth quest just for the music and the experience, a breathtaking fight that really just has you at the edge of your seat by the end of it
Love this series! Would love to see you cover Brachydios/Raging Brachydios’ themes in a video at some point. There’s an evolution from Brachy’s to Raging that I’d love to see your take on.
Kulve Taroth's theme is so pretty! Always a delight to hear your analyses on game music. You're absolutely right about her theme sounding so majestic, royal even! And if I do recall, she melts gold onto her hide to act as extra armor, so yeah that twinkling sound is likely to reflect the glimmer of the metal. My favorite part of her theme(s) is definitely the bit that starts at 7:31. Sounds so damn intense! (On a side note, if you're ever looking for a new game to review new music from, may I suggest Hylics 2? That game has a lot of fun tracks.)
So much about Kulve is just SO cool. There's this thrilled wonder and admiration from the hunters' side like "Oh my god, this thing's so cool and beautiful" while it's, "Admire from a distance, but mind you keep that distance." Just try to imagine how unbelievably strong such a creature is, that constantly hauls around that much weight in gold, or how out-of-this-world its blast-furnace-like breath must be, to insta-liquefy huge volumes of metal. And that's a great point about the organ and harpsichord being used to indicate age, like "this is the weight of ages coming down, if you dare invoke its ire."
As someone who went through countless of P1 runs and even with full rewards which we broke the tail too. I have never gotten tired of listening to the soundtrack. The final part on room 4 was just chef's kiss.
The music in her kill quest, the MR rank one, is probably my favorite because in that final area it gets SO INTENSE. Her fight is genuinely my favorite, I love the chorus that kicks in at 12:34. I sometimes go back to her fights just for the music and the thrill of it. I think Kulve is my favorite monster that we got new to World honestly.
Kulve Taroth in world, it's appearance is kind of like a gold rush, a festival of gold even. Hunters and gatherers scramble to chip away at her mantle and gather gold and jewels before she disappears again. Then, her mantle completely shattered, chased into the final area, she gets a little pissed off with you and turns to fight you properly for a while before finally leaving. Gone. For another decade, or however long they said it was. It's so interesting to hear a break down of the music. Recalling my first few times fighting this thing, you really are conveyed a sense of awe. You feel rushed, because the quest has a hard timer on it where Kulve will just flee whether you actually repel it or not. Then in the final area when she fights you, it feels super tense, you're rushing to squeeze in every little bit of damage to push for a clear one cycle sooner. Kulve really lays into into you here, and with a real sense of urgency, you aren't being as careful as you might be on a normal hunt. I hadn't realized just how much heavy lifting this song was doing for the fight, but in hindsight, it really was.
When I went to the third phase and area I instantly got a terrible gut feeling when the ceiling starts to melt. Boy oh boy, I went and completely lost my shit when Kulve proceeds to obliterate the ceiling and big chucks of molten gold starts falling.
she really does I may be a 5th gen hunter, but kulve taroth will always have a place in my heart as my favourite monster ever so far. side note: I've always gotten the impression of kulve's patience being tested from her music, like you've awoken a slumbering ire within a queen who is a relic from an ancient kingdom Side note 2: when you talked about coming face to face with a god I actually got chills lol
The themes for Kulve Taroth make give me goosebumps every time I listen to them. Also, the victory theme "A Collection of Rewards" is incredible. Also, Kulve Taroth is an Elder Dragon that lives in the caverns of El Dorado, and is very rarely seen. Because she has an affinity to precious materials (as seen in her mantle and the precious gems encrusted on her scales), she was very coveted some 40 years prior to the events of Monster Hunter World. Numerous hunters were sent to hunt her, specifically to break her majestic horns, to harness the power contained within (and presumably to make a fortune, since they are incredibly beautiful). Because she is also a fire elemental dragon, many of the fallen hunter's weapons got melded within her gold mantle, and by breaking it, you can harvest these weapons, now augmented by the power of the Golden Dragon, and repair them for yourself. Amazing work, Marco!
There's a game called Deep Rock Galactic that has some great atmospheric music. Especially "Fathomless Tomb". It's a game about being one of up to four dwarves in a squad exploring an alien planet for rescources the company they work for wants. However, while on the planet, you are not alone.
Yeah the final phase music is truly an experience. It really accentuates the fight. And that quest clear music is hands down one of my favorite post victory themes
I love the Kulve Taroth battle, theme, and equipment you get from the siege and MR6 hunt. There’s this awesome feeling of an epic battle as the giant gilded lizard fends off your squad and it isn’t really recreated anywhere else, even in hunts like safi, Fatalis, or AT Velk (whose theme I personally love). It’s like you’re fighting an incredibly ancient relic, which you don’t really get anywhere else in the game, though imo some other elders beat her out in terms of the fight itself (cough cough AT Velk obliterating Fatalis farmers, banger theme that’s quite a lot different from her normal one). Overall the feeling of KT’s hunt and music and the caverns you find her in make it the grandest of spectacles in the game though to the point that I’ve run probably half of all weapon types in the game against her because she’s *that* cool. Also makes grinding for Kjarr weapons way less agonizing when you love doing it
I love the 3rd phase theme, it's very beautiful, and there's a reference to Zinogre's theme in it as well, many people considered it a foreshadowing to his coming.
Oh my! I remember this fight! When you win, you get to obtain golden weapons, and the MR fight gets you upgrade them and make armor! I’m clad in majestic golden armor as I seek the beast
Funny how you pointed out the feeling of enthusiasm in 13:50, because (as always) your guess is 100% on point The hunters in MH World are more akin to explorers and researchers (The hunters are part of a "*Research Commission*", trying to investigate a monster migration phenomenon in a continent they called "*New World*"). Kulve Taroth is a monster they discovered and documented when the hunters from the first expedition party (The First Fleet) arrived, yet they lacked the resources to hunt/study and can do nothing but to let it escape. After decades have passed and we arrived as part of the *Fifth Fleet*, Kulve Taroth finally reappeared. Now the hunters have enough resources and manpower. So the excitement is really from these hunters finally accomplishing their decade-old ambition, to investigate/study/research this elusive monster and (probably) hunt it for all the materials we can use to craft new weapons and armors
Hell yeah! Kulve Taroth is easily my favorite monster! I remember back when they first released her I tried the Arch-Tempered version of her so many times, I only beat it a handful of times
As someone who fought Kulve Taroth at first release and then her Arch Tempered version, that final part of the score were added in her AT version. When I first heard that choir, my heart sank, and we failed.
Oh yeah. Good old Kulve Taroth A legendary dragon goddess covered in a mantle of pure gold, so powerfull that for the first part of the hunt she doesn't fight back, and is the only monster in the history of Monster Hunter that cannot be killed by any means Edit: I think the joy you mention at 14:00 comes from the fact that when you first see Kulve Taroth, it's a slow and harmless monster, since it involuntarily covers itself in gold infinitely due to a magnetic quality to it's scales, but as you keep freeing the creature, it slowly returns to it's old glory until it's completely free, where it then procedes to go *apeshit* on you
@@jesterbrown90 two really fun fights.... when done in multiplayer, honestly this 2 fights solo are nightmares, but if you get a good team its so fraking fun driving kulve taroth deeper in "El dorado" and getting to that last fase of fatalis with the combined effort of you and your comrades its such an amazing feeling you should try giving them one last chance if you havent beaten thmen by now
The ending part that plays after finishing the hunt is triumphant, but to me soulds almost sad. Like you know you did the right thing, but at a great cost.
3:09 Its everything, my good sir. Everything is made of gold in this cave, from the walls of the cave, to the native gajalaka, to the the molten rivers of gold, to her scales and cloak, everything is gold.
for me as a player the chorus and everything represents the big event a kulve hunt is. Like a hunting festival, everyone has fun in tackling this beast that should be way out of our reach, the challenge of it
Another thing to note about Kulve Taroth is that she's introduced in a special quest called a Siege; Siege quests can be tackled by as many as 4 squads of 4 hunters at once, and the progress that each team makes adds to the whole session's progress. What I'm getting at is that the music is majestic and epic and like there's no real fear of death, because your progress can't be erased unless you cancel the siege or something. Even if you cart 3 times or Kulve escapes, your progress is saved and you can get back into the siege where you left off, unlike other quests where if you cart 3 times you have to start from square one again.
Besides the Kulve Taroth battle theme, the only other theme I can think off the top of my head that uses an organ is the battle theme for Alatreon. Both of which are rather dangerous Elder Dragons though Alatreon is a way bigger threat due to it's violent nature and ability to control all the elements. I'm a fan of the MH series soundtrack, so whatever Monster theme you listen to next I shall await patiently with much excitement.
I find it unfortunate this specific video you listened to only included the beginning of the victory theme because it is one of my favourite victory themes in MonHun, mixing in Astera's and Kulve Taroth's themes
same! it has such a classic triumphant staple of, “we just killed an elder dragon!” mixed with a sort of uneasiness like, “I can’t believe we just killed that elder dragon…” but then it lands with the astera theme which is just *chefs kiss*
I’ll never forget on my first Kulve Siege I managed to get the Kjarr Strongarm “Ice” which is considered the most OP elemental charge blade in the game, even in the DLC if you upgrade it to rarity 12 and fully augment it. I have a buddy who didn’t get it until after about 200 attempts
Loving this series! Would be amazing to see you cover ‘And ever we fight on’ by Joris De Mann. He’s one of my favourite composers and the brass sections in that piece give me chills every time I hear them
To those who don't know, Kulve Tarroth is a very peaceful monster it was never a threat but was a scientific point of interest and initially the hunters were tasked to break its horns to bring back as samples. The thing I absolutely love about this medly is the progression the medly has through the song, starting with wonder going into a confrontation being followed by agitation and ending with a slight sense of rage. An absolute masterpiece, I can see the fight without even needing to open the game.
valstrax's theme from MH generations ultimate is another amazing theme i'd reccomend, and its alternate theme crimson glow from Rise which is a more "evil" version of it
I love that gen’s version sounds so free and heroic, while rise’s sounds like it’s fallen from grace, and much more somber. Definitely needs a comparison
I really miss the more elaborate missions and hunts like kulve in rise. Though I understand why don't do more of that sort of thing. The switch only has so much power.
I know it's a bit late, but you might've seen her in white-ish mantle, which is her Arch Tempered form, where the gold is supposed to look more like platinum. The fight was originally supposed to be done by several groups of hunters at the same time (multiple groups of 4), I believe they set a scaling now to be done solo, maybe, but that might explain the genuine confusion you've had, cause I had the same issue too originally.
I would call the music “Elegant, majesty, but she can still beat you up” more than anything. She is quite literally covered in a huge mantle of gold. Fatalis, Kulve taroth, kushala, Bazel, shara ishvalda, and brachy have some of the best music.
Even as the aggression and intensity mounts, the feeling of enchanting regality never leaves. If you really want a "facing a god" theme. I'd recommend White Fatalis' theme. Both the regular version followed by the Frontier version.
Ah yes, that. though that might be a bit much since it's so grandiose, so it might be a while before he reacts to that. good things come to those who wait after all.
You totally should hear into Vaal Hazak's or the Raging Brachydios theme. Elder Dragon themes always take the cake, when it comes to muscical composition. I brought them to my aunt, bc she likes classical music and art in general (she is an art expert and seller on auctions). She was in awe, when she heared Fatalis' and Kulve's themes and even more suprised than in awe, when she heared that it was gaming music.
The why the "excitement" factor in the music, I belive is due to the culture of the world of Monster Hunter itself. If you notice all the veterans in Astera are all excited to see kulve Taroth again after so many years, it's not a normal hunt but a whole operation, an event, and when the hunters manage to break her mantle and get her to back off to her nest everyone starts to get thrilled with the possibility of finally getting ger horns (We only kill her in the Iceborne expansion). Everyone in Monster Hunter grew up seeing hunting as their way of living so I belive they see those big hunts as a big event that everyone must enjoy. If you see the cutscene in Monster Hunter 4 where everyone is preparing to hunt Dah'ren Mohran they are not scared to fight something big as a mountain, they are all excited for the fight, treating it as a once in a lifetime event. That's why I belive those "excited" segments are in the song.
I think Kulve also has an "Egyptian" tone or set of notes that brings that whole covered in jewelry and bedazzling feeling to a whole new level. You can see this emphasized in the female armor of Kulve, it literally makes you look like an Egyptian goddess. So cool. Also, at 12:44 the theme REALLY sounds like another boss's theme from another game and that is Azazel from Tekken 6, which coincidentally also has the same design philosophy of Kulve in a weird way. 11/10 monster
Its 10 pm i just go out a mcdrive czuse starving after a ladt client. Gonna drive 38 km to go home and rest and gloom cause i work tomorrow. Thanks for thr cheer, marco
Kulve Taroth is a very large, lizard-like dragon covered in a beautiful golden mantle. This mantle covers her entire body, with an appearance of large blocky scales on her back and a long trailing section down the length of her massive tail. Kulve Taroth's main feature is her massive spiral horns. These horns resemble lapis lazuli when the gold plating is removed. Without the mantle, Kulve Taroth's scales are gold and black with emerald-like patches. She has ram or frog-like eyes.
Last sentence felt like I was reading a pokedex entry
Yeah ram or frog, I can’t imagine which of those two
@@otkare lol
She's meant to be inspired from The golden fleece btw
I think also in the game they talked about her getting angry for "KNOCKING" off her golden dress.
The overall "Joyus" feeling definitely comes from the context of the hunt. If I remember right Kulve is rather docile, the point of the hunt is not because it threatens the commission but because it harkens back to the Jhen'Moran hunts of old where it's monster covered in riches and it's a special occasion to go hunt it for fun, glory and gold. In lore Jhen Moran appearing would be cause for a whole festival dedicated to mining the giant sand whale's ore covered back.
It's also joyous because when the old hunters of the First Fleet to venture to the New World arrived, Kulve showed up. Naturally, at the time, she was a completely unheard of monster and nobody had a blue clue what on earth Kulve was. So the First wanted to track and study her - but they were already there on the trail of an Elder Dragon that was performing the Elder Crossing migration. (I don't remember which Elder Dragon the First were following, though.)
Anyway, the joyous and triumphant wonder of the song is included as a conveyance of how the Admiral and few remaining First Fleeters were feeling.
Jhen Mohran was also known as the the dragon of prosperity and despair. Its a prosperous time for Loc Lac for sure, as it’s appearance would cause a swell of Delex in the region as well as a large influx of hunters looking to find otherwise rare materials. This is hinted at due to most of his weapons being water, an oasis found in the desert.
As for Despair, if it’s not killed ir repelled, the ongoing sandstorm it causes will devastate crops and overall health within Loc Lac. It also seeks to destroy the city for reasons I do not know of. 2nd phase happens when the dragon begins to get too close to the city and ends up crawling on shallow sands allowing hunters to disembark the sand skiff to attack it on land.
@@Vulgarth1 Wouldn't surprise me if that joy and wonder also reflects how Kulve is worshipped as a mother goddess by the local tribes.
Local tribes of what, Gajalaka?@@BeareroftheBeast
@@Vulgarth1 Yes. Thank you. I can never remember what the word for them is.
Kulve is such an underrated monster and theme! The first time the choir kicked in in MR last phase, I had chills everywhere! It's so damn good and hypes you up all over.
You've chased this majestic beast through all these caves, make her shed her coat and get serious and in the end you arrive in her den, her stage, you're on her ground now and she'll show you what she can do (which is setting the freaking ceiling on fire and let it rain down on you, which looks incredible!) It's such an epic showdown.
I loved her fight and theme in the MR version. So intense and epic. The music definitely added to that.
While none of this is wrong, don't forget that when she gets really pissed she ignites the whole room in quite an epic show of force and anger before later dropping the entire ceiling on you
I didn’t like KT because of the rng it introduced into the game, and I didn’t like how they handled the HR siege by forcing you to do phase 1 every time and chase her around. But listening to the soundtrack by itself and fighting the master rank version made me appreciate it a lot more. I really like the master rank fight, it’s a fun fight. I also love that she has those juicy ass hitzones and breaking her horns is so satisfying.
I will probably never forget Kulve Tarroth.
It was probably one of my favorite fights in any game ever.
The feeling of delving down with a group of hunters to find and de-horn this massive ancient golden beast was just breathtaking.
From the environmental hazards and the way She breaks through them to the knock-down drag-out brawl you have with her in the later stages. the fight is fantastic.
In the first 3 parts of the fight, she has her massive, heavy golden coating attached to her body and it slows her movements, making her feel appropriately heavy and slow, extending the range on her tail swipes and similar attacks. But when you manage to break that shell off of her and get to the final phase, the final showdown, she moves with almost unnatural speed for a creature of that size, showing just how much the "training weights" were holding her back. She unleashes torrents of superheated breath, melting the gold-encrusted ceiling, showering the floor in piping hot molten gold. Being as she's now as fast as the hunters, the brawl becomes a dance. A duel. A test of will and skill against an ancient, golden queen.
It's just SO good.
I love the Kulve fight. It also has one of the most interesting monster progressions that's rarely seen in monster fights. Initially, she couldn't care less about your presence. As others have stated. She's not an overt threat. She's minding her own business is her glorious cavern of gold. Indicated by the first swell of the orchestra as the hunters take in the majestic cave they have entered. As they explore the mounds of gold and the small creatures within. One of the piles moves, and they realize, one of the mounds of gold IS Kulve. A massive lizard shaped monster that has draped herself in a massive and regal coat made entirely of gold. She slowly waddles around, as the hunters annoy her. Occasionally taking swipes at the hunters to ward them off. But as her coat gets damaged, her anger swells. The monster starts to reveal its true power. She roars and her coat physically softens from the heat emanating from her. The core temperature of Kulve rising dramatically. Eventually she runs off to a deeper part of the cavern. Now she's angry. She starts directly fighting the hunters, until she is driven even further in, to the molten portions of the cave. Finally, her coat of gold is fully broken, destroyed by the hunters during the fight. However this has only served to free the monster. Her head no longer weighted down by the gold that coated her ram-like horns. Her strength no longer inhibited by the coat that was probably 2-3 times heavier than herself. Her rage boiling over, her core temperature rises further. Her breath attacks so hot they now melt and slag the floor the hunters stand on as she tries to remove them from her presence. Finally she is forced to retreat to her final lair. In a fit of rage she blasts the entire ceiling causing molten gold and metal to pour over the entire cavern, letting her foes know: She's done playing, they have come here to die...
You have such a talent for words. Kulve Taroth is my favorite Elder, both in terms of design and mechanics, ty for writing this!
Funny you should mention the melody being joyous despite the danger of the situation at 13:35
The people of Monster Hunter have a very cavalier attitude to living in the same world as monsters and in fact most hunters are very happy with their jobs. These people LOVE adventure, mystery and excitement and even in the most dire of circumstances they remain gung-ho and positive.
For example: in one of the older games there is a recurring event where a giant sand whale wakes up, swims around the desert and makes a huge mess. The people of the nearby village treat this event as a holiday and hold a big festival where they chase it around in sandboats and no one thinks this is a bad idea.
It's a world of badasses. Probably helps that Hunters are actual ubermensch superheroes that legitimately do need to consume the insane meals they eat.
Giant sand whale: Jhen Mohran/Da'ren[?] Mohran
City: Loc Lac
Celebration: Sandstorm + abundance of resources coming with the wave of sandstorms
Good idea to chase on skiffs: Fortune favors the bold; how else are we gonna get those precious, precious, loot? ;3 Also, gotta hunt it somehow, lest it destroy our crops, wreck our city and, ravage our livelyhoods....
13:50 That moment where you hear 'hope', I can easily clear that up: It's that our hunters are on the precipice of GETTING RICH.
I love when the Hunter's theme comes up as a reply to Kulve's own motif, like you and your friends are rising to meet her challenge. World as a whole always helps you know who the monster is, but always reminds you of who you are too.
Oof this music was soo hype during the master rank missions, Kulve Taroth literally brings the molten gold ceiling down on you. The fight was surprisingly fiery and intense.
An the music cuts to just the choir screaming during the molten rain! I never forgot that and honestly I like it almost as much as Safi's signature moment
I thinkthe "joy" aspects of the last part of the theme represent a kind of gold rush feeling where the hunters go and say stuff like "if we bring this down we're rich" or something. It is the anticipation of wealth and glory.
Kulve's theme really portrays the majesty and power of the beast and that last part of the song in the final room really is just so great whenever she is bringing down the entire room. I think that little sense of joy in the song is the thrill of the hunters chasing down this ancient and mysterious creature for the knowledge and riches that is holds.
This is my favorite music from the game. I absolutely love her. That 3rd song is an all-time beauty, and helps you understand the phrase:
*”Long live the Queen!”*
For me, the portion of Kulve’s theme with the chorus ranks up there with Fatalis’ second phase and Raging Brachydios’ theme as probably the best in the whole series.
Monster Hunter and MarcoMeatball is always a BANGER!! 🤩
❤️
It's a testament to how good this song is that so much of Kulve can shine through from just the music.
Armed and armoured in molten gold and revered in-lore as a symbol of prosperity, there's a reason why the Quest title in-game is 'The Fury of El Dorado'.
13:58 you know now that you say it, I think the music has that quality because the hunters would have their eyes on the prize. Kulve Taroth is an ancient and elusive elder dragon and this is like a once in a lifetime opportunity for the hunters to make high-grade weapons out of her materials, because that’s the whole point of doing the KT siege in the first place
"something's made of gold in this cavern", Quite literally THE ENTIRE cavern is gold
😂😂😂
to keep it short, there's 4 distinct phases to this fight and the music. the phases will also change at a different rate based on repetition of the siege, the more you do it, the greater the reward after breaking the horns(the source of power for elder dragons), starts short ends long. P1 is the discovery of the monster, P2 is the encounter, P3/4 is where the fight really begins, and the choir only comes in when you incite the fury of kulve taroth. for the master rank version of the fight, there is no repetition of the hunt to make it longer, you start in the second room and your job is to slay it instead of just breaking the horns. great analysis of the music as always marco. :)
YESSSS! My favorite siege monster ever! I remember being in high school and fighting nothing but this monster for hours on end.
I think part of why this theme sounds different to something like Gaismagorm or Malzeno is because those themes are centered around the fear and terror that those monsters oppose whereas this music constantly implies that the hunters are in awe of this beautiful creature from the world that they live in. And really if you look at the monster hunter series as a whole the hunters aren't ever really terrified of their world, they're just in awe of these creatures and hope to fight them. Its never "run from the dragon that destroyed a kingdom in a day" its "Come on guys, lets fight history"
This music is in no small part the reason why Kulve Taroth is my favourite monster in World/Iceborne. Seamless coordination with your fellow hunters, that feeling of unearthing a lost treasure, until you come face to face with a forgotten god. This music always makes me feel like I'm in an Indiana Jones movie, rushing through this ancient natural temple, except the relic in the trapped room is also the giant boulder about to flatten you.
The ending theme hits especially hard, and I like it a lot more for the version of this fight that doesn't end in Kulve's death. You get this last, massive look at the monster, deprived of her horns and pride, as she scuttles away through the molten rock, as the music growsmore and more ominous, until the theme of Kulve Taroth is merged and overtaken by Astera's theme. It's over, we're victorious and to us go the spoils, but there's just enough beyond that to make me feel like it won't be over forever. She'll be back, and so will we.
You are spot on about how it feels like you are racing to best this monster because Kulve Taroth is a monster that constantly retreats but when iceborne released we were given the chance to finally hunt Kulve Taroth and slay her but we still have to be wary of her retreating since we are on a timer and when the timer reaches 0 she retreats and we have to hunt her again
My absolute favorite Elder Dragon. One of my favorite ost to just put on loop as well. When you found the sense or wonder, majesty, and mystery was in the melody made me so happy. The fact that she is nicknamed “The Golden Goddess” says it all.
Personally one of my all time favorite themes ever. I love that the first phase has this “the chase is on” idea, in phase 2 that slow leitmotif into organ solo is like you are admiring her beauty, then right back to business, and that final phase is definitely amazing, exhilarating yet beautiful.
Kulve is the first real "raid boss" monster in world and its such a cool fight, And themes and intentions aside, the more quite regal sounding stuff plays when Kulve is all armored up and moves very slow and clunky, and then once you shatter it and it begins moving at full speed and unleashing its full power (by literally bringing down the ceiling with molten gold). The music around 10:33 starts and its just a weird mix of such a pretty scene with gorgeous music, but also the terrifying nature of the thing you're fighting.
Also idk what Monster hunter music you have qued up but Raging Bracidios is one of my favs. Its not an elder dragon or any big boss monster but its theme is one of the most dynamic in the whole game imo
The part you mention is scary at 16:00 is actually a reference to Zinogre's theme. I've seen a few people theorize that it was the devs way to tease Zinogre's later addition in Iceborne. It's another really pretty monster (imo) and maybe that's why they used that melody in Kulve's theme.
It was just a coincidence
Also, gold is the best conductor of electricity.
The way the final phase theme begins is so iconic to me. Piano riffs? And the ominous choir its so good. Thanks to the composers Zhenlan Kang & Tadayoshi Makino for giving us these masterpieces! And of course thank you too Mr. Marco!
Seeing the lore fanatics pop off brings tears to my eyes; I wish people I knew loved MH as much as I do to look into stuff like this... Gosh
Yes oh I am so glad your covering her, she is majestic and as always your description is “oddly” specific and accurate.
Monster Hunter music never fails to make you FEEL the many aspects of the hunt. The majesty/admiration/reverence of the monster and of life, the excitement of the battle, the thrill of the chase, the danger of the possible failure, the sheer terror of facing something far bigger than yourself. Elder dragon themes tend to show this the most. They’re noble, they’re terrifying, but they usually have that small hint of triumphant and exciting thrill, and it gives you that urgent yet hopeful feeling. These are near god-like beings you’re fighting, and yet you are both awestruck and excited by the hunt.
You gotta do the themes of the final bosses of Rise, Ibushi, Narwa and the Allmother. They're definitely the most emotional and unique of any of the final bosses in the series as they have dedicated singers for their themes and they're literally sung by the monsters themselves so its from the monster's perspective rather than the hunter's perspective which has never been done in the series
I agree!!!
Kulve Taroth was such a unique fight. And the music really fits the golden queen! And the final stage, we’re the music goes FULL EPIC!! Especially the MASTER RANK UPGRADE!
I also made a SUPER MEDIC ARMOR SET from her! Snipe from afar with a bow, almost instant heal my teammates with ease.
She have best ovreall elemental dual weapons in the game. The dmg boosted very noticeable with her weapon, especially the one weak to it. 40hrs farming her not a moment of boring.
The reason for the joyous and enthusiastic sound despite the dire battle is simple. It's a treasure hunt, there is GOLD everywhere, and the horns, those HORNS are beautiful, you want them, if you get them it means glory, riches and adventure
This hunt has always been one of my favourites in the entire series. I remember requesting this song and you answering that it was already in production, man was it worth the wait.
3:11 EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING IS MADE OF GOLD. Seriously, the locale you fight her in, the Caverns of El Dorado, is encrusted with impossible amounts of it, on top of the monster itself being covered in a gigantic mantle of gold. There’s so much gold that the wildlife and the resident Gajalaka tribe are encrusted with it, too.
I always think as the happy and upbeat parts of these themes as the thrill of the hunt for the hunter
Man
Kulva Taroth's song is pretty dope
I still remember when people go and fight it with twin swords, i go with switchaxe and do more dmg
Last phase is so god damn almost rng phase, you dishout so much dmg and hope its horns to break
Me and brother alongside with sister we created strat that helped us to make through last phase consistently
Rolling into a Kulve Taroth quest just for the music and the experience, a breathtaking fight that really just has you at the edge of your seat by the end of it
Love this series! Would love to see you cover Brachydios/Raging Brachydios’ themes in a video at some point. There’s an evolution from Brachy’s to Raging that I’d love to see your take on.
Kulve Taroth's theme is so pretty! Always a delight to hear your analyses on game music. You're absolutely right about her theme sounding so majestic, royal even! And if I do recall, she melts gold onto her hide to act as extra armor, so yeah that twinkling sound is likely to reflect the glimmer of the metal. My favorite part of her theme(s) is definitely the bit that starts at 7:31. Sounds so damn intense!
(On a side note, if you're ever looking for a new game to review new music from, may I suggest Hylics 2? That game has a lot of fun tracks.)
So much about Kulve is just SO cool.
There's this thrilled wonder and admiration from the hunters' side like "Oh my god, this thing's so cool and beautiful" while it's, "Admire from a distance, but mind you keep that distance."
Just try to imagine how unbelievably strong such a creature is, that constantly hauls around that much weight in gold, or how out-of-this-world its blast-furnace-like breath must be, to insta-liquefy huge volumes of metal. And that's a great point about the organ and harpsichord being used to indicate age, like "this is the weight of ages coming down, if you dare invoke its ire."
Bro I don't know why, but I teared up a little at around 12:30! 🥲That part just hits deep.
As someone who went through countless of P1 runs and even with full rewards which we broke the tail too. I have never gotten tired of listening to the soundtrack. The final part on room 4 was just chef's kiss.
Glad to see a Hammer player in this vid, with a great hammer and layered armor. As a Hammer main myself, I am proud
The music in her kill quest, the MR rank one, is probably my favorite because in that final area it gets SO INTENSE. Her fight is genuinely my favorite, I love the chorus that kicks in at 12:34. I sometimes go back to her fights just for the music and the thrill of it. I think Kulve is my favorite monster that we got new to World honestly.
Kulve Taroth in world, it's appearance is kind of like a gold rush, a festival of gold even. Hunters and gatherers scramble to chip away at her mantle and gather gold and jewels before she disappears again. Then, her mantle completely shattered, chased into the final area, she gets a little pissed off with you and turns to fight you properly for a while before finally leaving. Gone. For another decade, or however long they said it was.
It's so interesting to hear a break down of the music. Recalling my first few times fighting this thing, you really are conveyed a sense of awe. You feel rushed, because the quest has a hard timer on it where Kulve will just flee whether you actually repel it or not. Then in the final area when she fights you, it feels super tense, you're rushing to squeeze in every little bit of damage to push for a clear one cycle sooner. Kulve really lays into into you here, and with a real sense of urgency, you aren't being as careful as you might be on a normal hunt. I hadn't realized just how much heavy lifting this song was doing for the fight, but in hindsight, it really was.
When I went to the third phase and area I instantly got a terrible gut feeling when the ceiling starts to melt.
Boy oh boy, I went and completely lost my shit when Kulve proceeds to obliterate the ceiling and big chucks of molten gold starts falling.
she really does
I may be a 5th gen hunter, but kulve taroth will always have a place in my heart as my favourite monster ever so far.
side note: I've always gotten the impression of kulve's patience being tested from her music, like you've awoken a slumbering ire within a queen who is a relic from an ancient kingdom
Side note 2: when you talked about coming face to face with a god I actually got chills lol
kulve is one of the best monsters in design and music
and her MR version makes her one of the best fights too its so good
Just hearing the final part of this theme makes me tear up. It's almost like the excitement and hype is making me cry. It's just so Beautiful music.
The themes for Kulve Taroth make give me goosebumps every time I listen to them. Also, the victory theme "A Collection of Rewards" is incredible.
Also, Kulve Taroth is an Elder Dragon that lives in the caverns of El Dorado, and is very rarely seen. Because she has an affinity to precious materials (as seen in her mantle and the precious gems encrusted on her scales), she was very coveted some 40 years prior to the events of Monster Hunter World. Numerous hunters were sent to hunt her, specifically to break her majestic horns, to harness the power contained within (and presumably to make a fortune, since they are incredibly beautiful). Because she is also a fire elemental dragon, many of the fallen hunter's weapons got melded within her gold mantle, and by breaking it, you can harvest these weapons, now augmented by the power of the Golden Dragon, and repair them for yourself.
Amazing work, Marco!
This is such an amazing fight and such an amazing soundtrack! It is one of my top five songs in Monster Hunter World.
There's a game called Deep Rock Galactic that has some great atmospheric music. Especially "Fathomless Tomb". It's a game about being one of up to four dwarves in a squad exploring an alien planet for rescources the company they work for wants. However, while on the planet, you are not alone.
Also spamming the flip-a-dip-dip move is peak hammer gameplay. 10/10.
Easily my favorite monster from the whole franchise. Something about Kulve Taroth always just clicked with me.
Thanks for the monster hunter coverage! Awesome work as always!
“Almost out of respect” and then the hammer dude going sonic mode on her face, perfect timing. Found that super funny hahah
Yeah the final phase music is truly an experience. It really accentuates the fight. And that quest clear music is hands down one of my favorite post victory themes
I love the Kulve Taroth battle, theme, and equipment you get from the siege and MR6 hunt. There’s this awesome feeling of an epic battle as the giant gilded lizard fends off your squad and it isn’t really recreated anywhere else, even in hunts like safi, Fatalis, or AT Velk (whose theme I personally love). It’s like you’re fighting an incredibly ancient relic, which you don’t really get anywhere else in the game, though imo some other elders beat her out in terms of the fight itself (cough cough AT Velk obliterating Fatalis farmers, banger theme that’s quite a lot different from her normal one). Overall the feeling of KT’s hunt and music and the caverns you find her in make it the grandest of spectacles in the game though to the point that I’ve run probably half of all weapon types in the game against her because she’s *that* cool. Also makes grinding for Kjarr weapons way less agonizing when you love doing it
My favourite monster and theme, just an epic experience every time.
5:43 made my brain tingle and one wild goose chase later... Out of the Labyrinth from FFXIV at 0:52 in that piece.
I love the 3rd phase theme, it's very beautiful, and there's a reference to Zinogre's theme in it as well, many people considered it a foreshadowing to his coming.
I love how much he is vibing the whole time
Oh my! I remember this fight! When you win, you get to obtain golden weapons, and the MR fight gets you upgrade them and make armor!
I’m clad in majestic golden armor as I seek the beast
Funny how you pointed out the feeling of enthusiasm in 13:50, because (as always) your guess is 100% on point
The hunters in MH World are more akin to explorers and researchers (The hunters are part of a "*Research Commission*", trying to investigate a monster migration phenomenon in a continent they called "*New World*"). Kulve Taroth is a monster they discovered and documented when the hunters from the first expedition party (The First Fleet) arrived, yet they lacked the resources to hunt/study and can do nothing but to let it escape.
After decades have passed and we arrived as part of the *Fifth Fleet*, Kulve Taroth finally reappeared. Now the hunters have enough resources and manpower. So the excitement is really from these hunters finally accomplishing their decade-old ambition, to investigate/study/research this elusive monster and (probably) hunt it for all the materials we can use to craft new weapons and armors
Hell yeah! Kulve Taroth is easily my favorite monster! I remember back when they first released her I tried the Arch-Tempered version of her so many times, I only beat it a handful of times
that last part of the theme always makes me tear up, for me it represents the fall of a queen
Thanks for making this video! personally, imho i think Kulve Taroth music has a sense of mystery, wonder, and treasure!!❤❤❤❤❤
As someone who fought Kulve Taroth at first release and then her Arch Tempered version, that final part of the score were added in her AT version. When I first heard that choir, my heart sank, and we failed.
that final act theme *always* has me coming back to world.
Oh yeah. Good old Kulve Taroth
A legendary dragon goddess covered in a mantle of pure gold, so powerfull that for the first part of the hunt she doesn't fight back, and is the only monster in the history of Monster Hunter that cannot be killed by any means
Edit: I think the joy you mention at 14:00 comes from the fact that when you first see Kulve Taroth, it's a slow and harmless monster, since it involuntarily covers itself in gold infinitely due to a magnetic quality to it's scales, but as you keep freeing the creature, it slowly returns to it's old glory until it's completely free, where it then procedes to go *apeshit* on you
Pretty sure you can in Iceborne. Or at least that's what the quest said.
@@jesterbrown90 forgot about that lol
I didn't care much about Kulve when it came to MR
@@slayeroffurries1115 Same, TBH. Never was able to beat her or fatalis.
@@jesterbrown90 two really fun fights.... when done in multiplayer, honestly this 2 fights solo are nightmares, but if you get a good team its so fraking fun driving kulve taroth deeper in "El dorado" and getting to that last fase of fatalis with the combined effort of you and your comrades its such an amazing feeling you should try giving them one last chance if you havent beaten thmen by now
The ending part that plays after finishing the hunt is triumphant, but to me soulds almost sad.
Like you know you did the right thing, but at a great cost.
3:09 Its everything, my good sir.
Everything is made of gold in this cave, from the walls of the cave, to the native gajalaka, to the the molten rivers of gold, to her scales and cloak, everything is gold.
One of my absolute favorite songs, and def my absolute favorite Monster from the franchise.
The mystery and grandeur baked into the area and especially the theme are so representative of this monster. Amazing analysis as usual.
for me as a player the chorus and everything represents the big event a kulve hunt is. Like a hunting festival, everyone has fun in tackling this beast that should be way out of our reach, the challenge of it
12:55 Wait wait wait wait hold on. Is that Zinogers motif I hear there? Cause he has a part of his theme that sounds very similar to that
Another thing to note about Kulve Taroth is that she's introduced in a special quest called a Siege; Siege quests can be tackled by as many as 4 squads of 4 hunters at once, and the progress that each team makes adds to the whole session's progress.
What I'm getting at is that the music is majestic and epic and like there's no real fear of death, because your progress can't be erased unless you cancel the siege or something. Even if you cart 3 times or Kulve escapes, your progress is saved and you can get back into the siege where you left off, unlike other quests where if you cart 3 times you have to start from square one again.
My favorite themes in MH: World were by far Zinogre's and Rajang's themes. Would love to hear your opinion on either!
Besides the Kulve Taroth battle theme, the only other theme I can think off the top of my head that uses an organ is the battle theme for Alatreon. Both of which are rather dangerous Elder Dragons though Alatreon is a way bigger threat due to it's violent nature and ability to control all the elements. I'm a fan of the MH series soundtrack, so whatever Monster theme you listen to next I shall await patiently with much excitement.
insane how accurate he gets these fights just from the music
Best leitmotiv of the series
I find it unfortunate this specific video you listened to only included the beginning of the victory theme because it is one of my favourite victory themes in MonHun, mixing in Astera's and Kulve Taroth's themes
same! it has such a classic triumphant staple of, “we just killed an elder dragon!” mixed with a sort of uneasiness like, “I can’t believe we just killed that elder dragon…”
but then it lands with the astera theme which is just *chefs kiss*
I’ll never forget on my first Kulve Siege I managed to get the Kjarr Strongarm “Ice” which is considered the most OP elemental charge blade in the game, even in the DLC if you upgrade it to rarity 12 and fully augment it. I have a buddy who didn’t get it until after about 200 attempts
i never got it. so yeah, you are a lucky man.
@@samueldavidbatistaruiz7510 oh yeah, my first time fighting Alatreon was a cakewalk because I got it fully upgraded first
Loving this series! Would be amazing to see you cover ‘And ever we fight on’ by Joris De Mann. He’s one of my favourite composers and the brass sections in that piece give me chills every time I hear them
To those who don't know, Kulve Tarroth is a very peaceful monster it was never a threat but was a scientific point of interest and initially the hunters were tasked to break its horns to bring back as samples. The thing I absolutely love about this medly is the progression the medly has through the song, starting with wonder going into a confrontation being followed by agitation and ending with a slight sense of rage. An absolute masterpiece, I can see the fight without even needing to open the game.
this music is gold
I’d love to hear your reaction to Pride of a Nameless Hunter, it calls back to so many awesome tracks throughout MHW’s lifetime and it’s amazing
listening to this feels like watching the pyramids be built or the grand canyon be carved. it's insane
valstrax's theme from MH generations ultimate is another amazing theme i'd reccomend, and its alternate theme crimson glow from Rise which is a more "evil" version of it
I love that gen’s version sounds so free and heroic, while rise’s sounds like it’s fallen from grace, and much more somber. Definitely needs a comparison
I really miss the more elaborate missions and hunts like kulve in rise. Though I understand why don't do more of that sort of thing. The switch only has so much power.
We need analysis of Raging Brachydious theme!!
I know it's a bit late, but you might've seen her in white-ish mantle, which is her Arch Tempered form, where the gold is supposed to look more like platinum. The fight was originally supposed to be done by several groups of hunters at the same time (multiple groups of 4), I believe they set a scaling now to be done solo, maybe, but that might explain the genuine confusion you've had, cause I had the same issue too originally.
I would call the music “Elegant, majesty, but she can still beat you up” more than anything. She is quite literally covered in a huge mantle of gold.
Fatalis, Kulve taroth, kushala, Bazel, shara ishvalda, and brachy have some of the best music.
7:30 LOOOOOOOOVE that rhythm
Even as the aggression and intensity mounts, the feeling of enchanting regality never leaves.
If you really want a "facing a god" theme. I'd recommend White Fatalis' theme. Both the regular version followed by the Frontier version.
Ah yes, that. though that might be a bit much since it's so grandiose, so it might be a while before he reacts to that. good things come to those who wait after all.
I wish someone had pictures of 3-4 monsters, you listen to one theme, and have to guess which monster it belongs too
You totally should hear into Vaal Hazak's or the Raging Brachydios theme. Elder Dragon themes always take the cake, when it comes to muscical composition.
I brought them to my aunt, bc she likes classical music and art in general (she is an art expert and seller on auctions). She was in awe, when she heared Fatalis' and Kulve's themes and even more suprised than in awe, when she heared that it was gaming music.
The why the "excitement" factor in the music, I belive is due to the culture of the world of Monster Hunter itself. If you notice all the veterans in Astera are all excited to see kulve Taroth again after so many years, it's not a normal hunt but a whole operation, an event, and when the hunters manage to break her mantle and get her to back off to her nest everyone starts to get thrilled with the possibility of finally getting ger horns (We only kill her in the Iceborne expansion).
Everyone in Monster Hunter grew up seeing hunting as their way of living so I belive they see those big hunts as a big event that everyone must enjoy. If you see the cutscene in Monster Hunter 4 where everyone is preparing to hunt Dah'ren Mohran they are not scared to fight something big as a mountain, they are all excited for the fight, treating it as a once in a lifetime event.
That's why I belive those "excited" segments are in the song.
If you like this song , I highly recommended the raging brachydios theme. The fight combined with score had my heart racing.
I think Kulve also has an "Egyptian" tone or set of notes that brings that whole covered in jewelry and bedazzling feeling to a whole new level.
You can see this emphasized in the female armor of Kulve, it literally makes you look like an Egyptian goddess. So cool.
Also, at 12:44 the theme REALLY sounds like another boss's theme from another game and that is Azazel from Tekken 6, which coincidentally also has the same design philosophy of Kulve in a weird way. 11/10 monster
Its 10 pm i just go out a mcdrive czuse starving after a ladt client. Gonna drive 38 km to go home and rest and gloom cause i work tomorrow. Thanks for thr cheer, marco