I mentioned the video I did on the Hollow Knight Main Theme a few times in this. Here is that video in case you wanna watch it: th-cam.com/video/1uTcGHliPoc/w-d-xo.html
Pale Court feels like some forbidden theme from the past that tells about Hallownest's glory and downfall but is now lost to history, shame it's never used in the game.
@@DaviVasc If im not mistaken, i think there was a Kickstarter goal that wasn't met and this may have been used on it. or, they just couldn't find a great place for it in the game. Im not sure, but im just glad they released it anyways
this song IS in the game actually, it just takes a bit of exploring past the end of the game. If you haven't heard this song in the game yet and would like too, the only hint i leave you is to work on the moth in the resting grounds
@@poggersuni6327 Does it play when you collect all the essence needed to fully upgrade the dream nail because i don't remember that song playing, and I every thing online says that this track is not in the game. There are tracks similar to that one but I don't think Pale court is actually in the game.
@@DaviVasc Worth noting, you can find a lot of similar themes from this track in one that did make it into the game called "White Palace." Even if you don't do a breakdown it's an incredible track to listen to.
@@MorseusWGS It's a "Dream Variant" of white palace which is why its similar, most of the song is just white palace in a different key. Other pieces have this like "Dung Defender" and "White Defender", "Hornet" and "Daughter of Hallownest" and "Mantis Lords" and "Sisters of Battle"
@@ItzRogue yeah, I think it was the original path of pain theme. it's similar to the white palace theme and there is the last part where everything becomes mre tense, just like in pop
To avoid spoilers, don't read this comment in it's entirety. This track is soooo great. It is basically a story of the Kingdom of Hallownest. And i feel like explaining why! You have that 'lonely' melody - the Pale King. A Higher Being, an entity with a great power that makes him literally radiate light. Power able to give thought to other lesser bugs that created a Kingdom around him, worshipping him. The power that possibly got him his queen, The White Lady, another Higher Being. The sudden 'happy chord' in his existence. Then 'the drama' enters the song. Radiance, an old God, threatning his Kingdom. All that drama along the wayis the attempts to contain it. We calm down as King runs out of his options and THEN THINGS PICK UP THE PACE AGAIN - with sudden STOP. Which is when he turns to the Void. The emptiness able to squander the light of Radiance. No matter the cost. And we loop back to the start of the song as Hallownest enters the age of its eternal stagnation that we find it in. Great analysis as always - it really helped me put my thoughts about this song into words!
This song single-handedly explained the actions of the Pale King when he first found Hallownest and the downfall of his kingdom and it’s flipping great!
Anyone notice the Hollow Knight's theme at 5:26? They started sneaking it in around 5:03 too in the background on top of the white palace motifs. My personal theory for the original intent of this track was that it was meant for a subarea within the White Palace where they give a series of small background scenes where you witness the growth and molding of the Hollow Knight, depicting various elements of the King's court, such as the 5 great knights teaching combat and various bugs experimenting on THK as you platform through the area, fully depicting its transformation from small creature into Pure Vessel. Instead we got the Path of Pain in the White Palace, which has a similar piecemeal recreation of the Hollow Knight's theme and a small cutscene with him at the end. Of course with it never implemented in game we'll never know what it was really meant for. It would go very well as a credits song too
9:45 One thing you didn't mention was the call-and-response of the full orchestra, and a gentle piano. I think this represents the King forging a bond with his child. Spoiler alert: This is a bad thing and ends up dooming the kingdom.
I actually think it isn't necessarily a bad thing, and the outcome would have been the same regardless. Spoilers for the game: To seal the Radiance away, they needed a completely hollow being, that has no mind to think so that it can't be corrupted by the Radiance. They assumed the vessels were completely hollow, as in they couldn't think, but to me that was always an error and they just thought that way because the vessels can't talk. The moment we see the Hollow Knight look up to its father is the moment when they should have realised that the vessels did have emotions, but they didn't and the Hollow Knight ended up being corrupted anyway. The knight we play as is also capable of emotions or thought that goes beyond just doing its task, as there are multiple things that you can do in the game that serve no purpose regarding the infection (for example, giving a pale flower to Elderbug or sitting next to Quirrel at the blue lake) and I assume the cycle would just repeat itself after you seal the Radiance again after killing the Hollow Knight. Hornet knows that, and that's why she pushes you to unite the void in order to kill the Radiance outright.
@@Oscar97o I completely agree with you except I think the Pale King did realize in that moment, and that's why that memory was locked away behind the path of pain. At that point it was already too late to do anything else so in a hopeless effort he said nothing and went through with it anyway.
Amazing video, as always! This piece weaves the story of the Hallownest sadly and beautifully. It feels like a reminiscence of the Pale King sitting alone on his throne. What I love most about this piece is, in the first part, White Palace theme sounds more powerful and regal than original one to tell the former glory of the kingdom. Ultimately, the Pale King lost a lot. In the last part, White Palace theme is played again, unlike in the first part, it sounds so sadly and melancholy, he went into the dream. Everything about this piece is so expressive and lyrical. Absolutely stunning. Thank you for this, Davi :)
I don't know when you'll do another Hollow Knight video, but I recommend Broken Vessel. It's one of my favorite songs from the soundtrack, and it seems like it'd be interesting to analyze. Anyway, great video!
around 4:00 its true that this is the same style of transition chord from suspenseful to dramatic, but in darker songs like sealed vessel it comes in the form of a sus4 down to a third. in this track its the same notes arranged as a sus2 with the first of the original chord inverted onto the top to make the transition softer and more regal. great video!
Yes! So happy to see my favorite song of Hollow Knight here. Since it isn't implemented in the game, I wish it was the credits music for any ending where you kill the Radiance, replacing the White Palace music which is the current credits music and which Pale Court is a reimagining of. As for other music suggestions, I think Limgrave from Elden Ring would be a good one, as would any song from Celeste.
I thought about that too, maybe it could have been used for the credits for some sort of secret ending, it definitely would have been cool to see it appear in the game (its my favorite track as well)
This track is the tale of Hallownest. the glory of the court of the Pale King, the terrible nightmare of the coming of the dream plague, and then the sudden fall, leaving but an echo and a shadow of the kingdom to finish it's tale.
I would highly recommend you to listen to the Mantis Lords theme or the Sisters of Battle(Sisters of battle is just a revamped version) because the theme really exemplifies the fight as a duel or dance between you and the boss
One big thing about this, it contains the themes and a ton of motifs from all of the themes from the royal family, all descendants from the pale king. This is literally the theme song for the whole royal family. The joyful bits are because of the peace that the Pale King brought to Hollownest, the sad bits are from the tragedy that befell the kingdom in the form of a plague and the tragedy that the father's love (Pale King) for his child (Pure Vessel/Sealed Vessel) had caused this, and the tense bits are part of the mystery as to what is gonna happen. Also the Hollow Knight (main) theme that shows up in the end very quietly is portraying that in the end, there's only one member of the Pale Court left (besides the White Lady, she's kinda incapacitated), and that's the main character, the Hollow Knight. This song tells the story from start to finish, and I find that beautiful, it goes from the Pale King's Arrival, to some tense parts of the plague, to the creation of the Pure Vessel, to the tragedy of a father's love, to the arrival of the Hollow Knight, and finally to the lonely darkness of the final member being the only one left, and eventually gone too, leaving a quite and dead kingdom. I love this game so much
Excellent analysis, I completely agree! I noticed something else with the ending too. The Hollow Knight's theme plays quietly, but it's in a much higher pitch than anything else, symbolizing that they are separated and physically higher than the rest of the kingdom in the black egg. The White Palace theme is also more simplified and static than the rest of this song. This perfectly finishes the story of what happened to Hallownest. For a time, the kingdom exists as it once did, with the Hollow Knight quietly sealed away far above, before eventually fading away.
This was stunning, violin and then the piano coming in. Award winning combo for me. Definitely sadness with a ray of hope to keep you going. Great choice! Thank you Davi!
I’ve listened to these songs often and it’s funny to know what’s coming next because I can see how it subverts your expectations almost every single time and your reactions are why I really enjoy these videos
I recently found out about your videos and I absolutely love hearing your insights and reactions to those fantastic soundtracks, keep up the great work dude. May I suggest "Soul Sanctum", also from Hollow Knight's OST ? I won't spoil anything about it, but you're in for quite a ride.
Your genuine surprise at the loudest part sold this entire song to me- You were just,,, flabbergasted that it ended as it did before playing that melody from the beginning
Amazing video. This is a bonus track so no specific lore behind it, but I do think you'd enjoy Nosk & Truth, Beauty, Hatred & Soul Master As for the strange and otherworldly feeling mentioned. I like to imagine the songs in two parts, assuming its from the perspective of the Pure Vessel. Part 1 could be before the Pure Vessel experienced something that made them no longer "Pure", while Part 2 could be the part where they experience it, they're no longer pure and the unfamiliarity of it all starts rushing into them. We already know that it may have become impure due to occurences at the White Palace, possibly as far back as the Pure Vessel fight according to the following cut dreamnail messages (Spoilers ahead, maybe.) ----------------------------- Do not think... Do not speak... Do not hope... Do not... ... ---------------------------- As well as one cut snippet from the Hollow Knight boss Dreamnail dialogue, that being "...Father?...".
I really love pale court ost, I was hearing the hollow knight complete ost one day and when pale court started I was in confusion because That piece is very strong and beautiful, I feel it sounds a little bit different of other pieces in the tracklist and I didn’t hear that when I played the game so I was in shock that moment
This one is my favorite song in the whole album and it isn't even in the actual game itself it's beautiful I can just picture the kingdom of hallownest its greatness, falling, crumbling apart into the ruins we explore in game so amazing!!
I just played the game for the first time with 105% completion and I wasn’t ready for the maturity of the themes discussed in the game, and the best part is nothing is handed to you, nothing is exposition dumped, you either explore and discover it, or you don’t and it remains unknown to you. The protagonist never speaks, which lends gravitas to the music because it is meant to convey the Knights emotion in my opinion. This has quickly become one of my top ten favorite games of all time.
I mean, the music doesn't convey the music of the knight because (SPOILERS BELOW!!!) they don't have emotions because they're a vessel. they are the hollow knight.
@@fireballq2They are not hollow completely, that's the probelm. No vessel has ever been empty. Not even the void itself is. (Unfortunately I don't know how to explain my theory to you, I'm not good at writing in english. 😅) In ending 1 you can understand well that there too the protagonist will meet the same end as the pure vessel. The kingdom will be doomed anyway.
I'm not sure when you'll release another video on this game, but I suggest listening to "Nosk" When I heard this music for the first time, I was quite tense
I noticed that the most similar Pale Court gets to the White Palace theme is at the end. It makes me think this song is telling the story of the rise and fall of Hallownest through music for the pale court to end off right where we see it in game, with the White Palace theme.
this is my favourite hollow knight ost, i really enjoyed seeing that you enjoyed it as well! i also would like to suggest another song from hollow knight, it's called "Radiance" and it's the theme of the final boss of the game, i'm not saying anything about it because i want to hear your opinions and theories first ^^ (but i need to say that this theme is a must to listen if you're interested in hollow knight music)
I didn't even know this track was unused, knowing the game I agree that it was probably for a boss fight, my guess being with the Pale King himself or one of the king's guards or consorts, since it meshes really nicely with the White Palace track. That makes me wonder what that fight would be like.
Watching this analysis while listening to this hauntingly beautiful and "floaty" track, while seeing the *_infuriating_* imagery of the Path of Pain is an experience
This track really describes hallownests story. The beginning is mysterious and then it Starts to Go on happy. But later on, the music Turns into a sad one. Thats probably where the first things go wrong (the Infection was found and was spreading). Then theres always these sheds of Hope (probably where they start creating vessels or even found the pure one). And then as the music gets more dramatic, the thought to be sealed vessel breaks open and the track goes all out with its drama
This is very reminiscent of late Romantic composers like Brahms or Mahler where a lot of the other tracks have a Baroque sound. Just like Davi said in the Hornet video, you can tell Larkin really knows his Classical music.
Amazing reaction as always Davi absolutely love your stuff!! Still I can’t believe that TO THIS DAY you still haven’t reacted to Bury the Light by Casey Edwards and Victor Borba?!?!!?!?! You definitely need to check it out you’re going to freaking LOVE IT!!😂❤️🔥
I love the Hollow Knight reactions and analyses. Please next do Mantis lords. It‘s from Hollow Knight too and It‘s such a cool track. I‘d love to see it.
I love these videos!!!! I watched some of your monster hunter videos before and I got so excited when I saw you make a hollow knight video!!! Masterpiece of a game. You should definitely look at a lot of the hollow knight music because it’s just beautiful and a masterpiece
I think you would love broken vessel, please do that piece as it’s so good and some of the chords and melodies tie into some other hk pieces you have looked at (menu theme and sealed vessel). Mr Larkin chose to do this to tie the characters together very well and the lore connects them strongly too. I’d recommend playing the game soon as you would get a newfound appreciation for the pieces in rhe game as there’s suddenly an ‘ahhh, that’s why they did that’ moment I’m sure you would experience.
I love that you can hear the entire fall of Hallownest in this. Just go through the events surround the Pale King from beginning to end and you can hear it all.
Hey Davi! I was wondering if you could review this piece called "Antique Plateau by night". This is from one of my favorite OSTs from the videogame called Outward. They also have other great songs within the game and I'd be overjoyed to see you break them down!
I'm really happy someone finally made a video on this song. People completely forgot about it since it was cut from being used in the game, which is a real shame, it's easily a top 5 non combat theme.
I recommend you to react to some musics from a brazilian RPG called Ordem Paranormal. I suggest the songs "Gal" and "Sangue". They made a phenomenal job just for a roleplaying game and as a fan of the project I think it would be interesting to hear the opinions of someone outside of the contry about their work
Pale Court is one of my favourite tracks from the album. It's a bit strange that it wasn't included in the game but it also fits really well somehow. It's like the rise and fall of the kingdom that you only see the ruins of, so you only get the story of what happened to it through what you find there instead of living the glory days. So this is track is almost like an easter egg for the lore fanatics to listen to most of the history after they already know it. But since you don't and got it figured out really well anyway, it doesn't make that big of a difference. I think the game didn't include it because it simply didn't fit anywhere. It's a lot more intense and, in my opinion, pointed too directly at the entire thing so it couldn't have been isolated to a single area or character. This is supported in the entire thing that there are character and area themes in the track too if one hears it last. "Hornet" makes an appearance, as the story dictates as well as "White Palace," which the track starts out like. I'm pretty sure there's some others that I'm forgetting at the moment but you get the point. I'm so glad you enjoy these tracks, it brings a smile to my face.
White Palace is a track that is used in the main game and also shares a lot of keys and parts from this track, I highly recommend checking that track out as well.
According to lore from Dung defender (after you defeat his dream version 5 times), Pale court is a place where Hallownest’s greatest knights and heroes would gather, and a place the Pale king himself used to be in alongside all those knights and heroes, it was described as a great, majestic feat to be in this court, in the White Palace, it was long forgotten by everyone, except for Dung defender, he mentions how he was part of the five knights of Hallownest and they too would gather there, he then tells Ghost of Hallownest (the player) that if he ever finds the chance to speak to the king, he would ask him to let you come along with him to the Pale court, unbeknownst to him that all the knights have fallen, and he’s the only one to remain
(Sorry for my English, i a Spanish speaker hahahaha). Is a great and awesome video Davi you Make a Nice and Good Explication in this videos and the others. I a Fanatic now hahahaha. PD: I like Make a Video Reaction of a "Theme of Laura" from Silent Hill
Pale court doesn't actually belong in game, it's a live play by the composer (by what I know) and it's a remix of "White palace" theme, that is... the theme of the dream area known as "White palace" that's the palace of the Pale king (spoilers from here bellow) it's very tragic, the whole palace is hidden in a dream, in a memory, the king escaped the kingdom, took the palace with him into the dream realm, after his attempt at saving the kingdom failed, basically pale king is a character you can say has reasoning, to do something tragic and cruel to a huge group of creatures, and the main theme belongs to those tragically killed creatures, the main character being one of them
Oh I get it now. It's the King's feelings through the history of HollowNest. I suddenly feel like I understood how music works emotionally, and so now I'm watching this series to help me awaken that talent. Wait, no, the cello is the king. The violins on the top are the citizens and nobility of the kingdom. In the beginning, he founds and creates the kingdom. Then the violin appears. Is that a piano that comes out later for those plucky high notes? Is that the Queen? Then the infection releases, the dramatic moment of the song. The calm down after, nearing the end, is the King saying "I have a plan", and the kingdom joining in and believing in the plan. Then the Queen gets on board with the plan. The plan gets hyped up and happens, but it wasn't enough. It only delayed the end. Then it ends.
I typed a comment to this but I can't find it anymore so maybe I forgot to press comment. Anyway. I actually never heard this track at all. I love how after 2 years of playing this game I still learn new things about HK though I did hear of this name I just thought it was one of the in game songs. It does have some of the elements some of the in game stuff. Honestly I'd love to watch you react to any other HK song, there's so many good ones. Maybe you can combine a few of the atmospheric songs that are specific to areas, they are usually not very "exciting" in the ways boss battles are, but they are very beautiful. Would be interesting to see what kind of vibes you get as a game composer from the ambiance music and if it correlates (which I think it does having played the game, but if you haven't might be cool to see if that also translates well). Maybe something like City of Tears, Kingdom's edge, Queen's gardens, resting grounds, Crystal peak I don't remember if you did soul sanctum already. Basically any and all ambiance music really :') But really to me resting grounds is a must because it's so beautiful. White palace would be an interesting one too. Or maybe you could also react to (one of the) two songs from Silk Song, Lace and Bonebottom. We don't know exactly what's up with them other than knowing one is for a boss battle and the other one is kinda like dirtmouth. Okay this comment is way too long either way, loving these videos as someone who never really took an interest in soundtracks before HK this has been super interesting to watch.
Pale court to me is a history of Hallownest told with no words. Something that was created as a temple to a single person, Pale King, and going out of its way to appear eternally glorious while its foundations were crumbling and it fell into chaos. This, an attempt to hide hideous truths behind a mask of elegance, and being increasingly unable to, is what this composition to me. Arrogant hubris of Hallownest doomed from the start is captured by an image of a crown created inside a rotting carcass in game, and by a sound of pale court outside of it. Of course, it's all speculation in no way, shape or form trying to diminish original artistic vision™
This is an unused track in the game's soundtrack, and I always thought it was a musical way to depict the glorious rise and the spiraling, painful fall of Hallownest (the game's setting, an ancient ruined kingdom from which you originate and try to uncover the mysteries of)
One of my greatest gamer moments is completing The Path of Pain. Hollow Knight probably has more of those moments for me than any other game and I've been gaming since 'Atari' was the big name in video game consoles and PCs had monochrome graphics.
Another great video, I need to finish hollow knight some day. I'm not stopping until my persistence pays off! So, Davi, I still think you should see Pontiff Sulyvahn from Dark Souls III. Orrr... Slave Knight Gael, also Dark Souls III
the fact you hear the track as otherworldly is great because the pale king who leads the pale court is a wyrm instead of a bug like everyone else. He comes along and leads the bugs and shows them how to make a true civilisation as well and making a treaty with the mantis people
![EMPIRES - Hollow Knight [Completed MAP]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dltm6G3HDAc/mqdefault.jpg)
I mentioned the video I did on the Hollow Knight Main Theme a few times in this. Here is that video in case you wanna watch it: th-cam.com/video/1uTcGHliPoc/w-d-xo.html
The next can be Sisters of Battle, Radiance, Night King or Gods & Glory?
Pls react to Sisters of battle
I was requestimg this on stream, didn't know you already listened to it. Keep up the good work
Pale Court feels like some forbidden theme from the past that tells about Hallownest's glory and downfall but is now lost to history, shame it's never used in the game.
I wonder why it was not used
@@DaviVasc If im not mistaken, i think there was a Kickstarter goal that wasn't met and this may have been used on it. or, they just couldn't find a great place for it in the game. Im not sure, but im just glad they released it anyways
this song IS in the game actually, it just takes a bit of exploring past the end of the game. If you haven't heard this song in the game yet and would like too, the only hint i leave you is to work on the moth in the resting grounds
@@poggersuni6327 Does it play when you collect all the essence needed to fully upgrade the dream nail because i don't remember that song playing, and I every thing online says that this track is not in the game. There are tracks similar to that one but I don't think Pale court is actually in the game.
@@poggersuni6327 bruh ur talking about white palace, that track is completely different
fun fact: pale court never actually appears in-game. it's a bonus track, and i think the only song in the ost done with a live recording.
Oh Interesting
@@DaviVasc Worth noting, you can find a lot of similar themes from this track in one that did make it into the game called "White Palace." Even if you don't do a breakdown it's an incredible track to listen to.
@@MorseusWGS It's a "Dream Variant" of white palace which is why its similar, most of the song is just white palace in a different key. Other pieces have this like "Dung Defender" and "White Defender", "Hornet" and "Daughter of Hallownest" and "Mantis Lords" and "Sisters of Battle"
Oh ! Thank you, I was confused for a moment because this was definitely not the version of "White Palace" that I heard in the game.
@@ItzRogue yeah, I think it was the original path of pain theme. it's similar to the white palace theme and there is the last part where everything becomes mre tense, just like in pop
Hollow knight, man, after lots of research and playthrough watching its a roller-coaster of emotions. The music is so beautiful and full of emotion.
I sometimes wonder if the game would be so dear to the fans heart without these OSTs
@@alexandregehin8665 maybe
A beautiful soundtrack fits such a beautiful game
To avoid spoilers, don't read this comment in it's entirety.
This track is soooo great. It is basically a story of the Kingdom of Hallownest. And i feel like explaining why!
You have that 'lonely' melody - the Pale King. A Higher Being, an entity with a great power that makes him literally radiate light. Power able to give thought to other lesser bugs that created a Kingdom around him, worshipping him. The power that possibly got him his queen, The White Lady, another Higher Being. The sudden 'happy chord' in his existence.
Then 'the drama' enters the song. Radiance, an old God, threatning his Kingdom. All that drama along the wayis the attempts to contain it. We calm down as King runs out of his options and THEN THINGS PICK UP THE PACE AGAIN - with sudden STOP. Which is when he turns to the Void. The emptiness able to squander the light of Radiance. No matter the cost.
And we loop back to the start of the song as Hallownest enters the age of its eternal stagnation that we find it in.
Great analysis as always - it really helped me put my thoughts about this song into words!
This is a more than perfect explanation, very good job. Hope he reads this
I agree so much with this, that is the exact feeling I get from all the stages of this song. That speaks of how good this song is to convey the story.
This is an amazing explanation of the song
This song single-handedly explained the actions of the Pale King when he first found Hallownest and the downfall of his kingdom and it’s flipping great!
One of my favorite video game OSTs.
And one of best metroidvania today!
@@GabrielBelozi Right.
Anyone notice the Hollow Knight's theme at 5:26? They started sneaking it in around 5:03 too in the background on top of the white palace motifs. My personal theory for the original intent of this track was that it was meant for a subarea within the White Palace where they give a series of small background scenes where you witness the growth and molding of the Hollow Knight, depicting various elements of the King's court, such as the 5 great knights teaching combat and various bugs experimenting on THK as you platform through the area, fully depicting its transformation from small creature into Pure Vessel. Instead we got the Path of Pain in the White Palace, which has a similar piecemeal recreation of the Hollow Knight's theme and a small cutscene with him at the end. Of course with it never implemented in game we'll never know what it was really meant for. It would go very well as a credits song too
It was probably the original Path of Pain theme.
You can REALLY hear it from 7:53 to 7:58 it’s in the hollow knight theme and a modified version of it is in the broken vessel’s theme
9:45 One thing you didn't mention was the call-and-response of the full orchestra, and a gentle piano. I think this represents the King forging a bond with his child. Spoiler alert: This is a bad thing and ends up dooming the kingdom.
I actually think it isn't necessarily a bad thing, and the outcome would have been the same regardless. Spoilers for the game:
To seal the Radiance away, they needed a completely hollow being, that has no mind to think so that it can't be corrupted by the Radiance. They assumed the vessels were completely hollow, as in they couldn't think, but to me that was always an error and they just thought that way because the vessels can't talk. The moment we see the Hollow Knight look up to its father is the moment when they should have realised that the vessels did have emotions, but they didn't and the Hollow Knight ended up being corrupted anyway. The knight we play as is also capable of emotions or thought that goes beyond just doing its task, as there are multiple things that you can do in the game that serve no purpose regarding the infection (for example, giving a pale flower to Elderbug or sitting next to Quirrel at the blue lake) and I assume the cycle would just repeat itself after you seal the Radiance again after killing the Hollow Knight.
Hornet knows that, and that's why she pushes you to unite the void in order to kill the Radiance outright.
@@Oscar97o I completely agree with you except I think the Pale King did realize in that moment, and that's why that memory was locked away behind the path of pain. At that point it was already too late to do anything else so in a hopeless effort he said nothing and went through with it anyway.
"...no cost too great..."
I was wondering what that was called, thanks.
oooh that's interesting, i hadn't noticed that before
Amazing video, as always! This piece weaves the story of the Hallownest sadly and beautifully. It feels like a reminiscence of the Pale King sitting alone on his throne. What I love most about this piece is, in the first part, White Palace theme sounds more powerful and regal than original one to tell the former glory of the kingdom. Ultimately, the Pale King lost a lot. In the last part, White Palace theme is played again, unlike in the first part, it sounds so sadly and melancholy, he went into the dream. Everything about this piece is so expressive and lyrical. Absolutely stunning. Thank you for this, Davi :)
Thank you for watching, Aya!
I don't know when you'll do another Hollow Knight video, but I recommend Broken Vessel. It's one of my favorite songs from the soundtrack, and it seems like it'd be interesting to analyze. Anyway, great video!
He already did! And it is super impressing he almost figured out it was a kinda final boss track.
@@bartoszkrawczyk5921 You're thinking of Sealed Vessel
around 4:00 its true that this is the same style of transition chord from suspenseful to dramatic, but in darker songs like sealed vessel it comes in the form of a sus4 down to a third. in this track its the same notes arranged as a sus2 with the first of the original chord inverted onto the top to make the transition softer and more regal. great video!
Yes! So happy to see my favorite song of Hollow Knight here. Since it isn't implemented in the game, I wish it was the credits music for any ending where you kill the Radiance, replacing the White Palace music which is the current credits music and which Pale Court is a reimagining of. As for other music suggestions, I think Limgrave from Elden Ring would be a good one, as would any song from Celeste.
Man putting Pale Court in the ending credits would be great, especially since it in itself kinda tells the story of Hollow Knight
I thought about that too, maybe it could have been used for the credits for some sort of secret ending, it definitely would have been cool to see it appear in the game (its my favorite track as well)
This track is the tale of Hallownest. the glory of the court of the Pale King, the terrible nightmare of the coming of the dream plague, and then the sudden fall, leaving but an echo and a shadow of the kingdom to finish it's tale.
I would highly recommend you to listen to the Mantis Lords theme or the Sisters of Battle(Sisters of battle is just a revamped version) because the theme really exemplifies the fight as a duel or dance between you and the boss
I'd be REALLY interested in seeing him compare the two and what big differences he notices from the executions of both tracks.
One big thing about this, it contains the themes and a ton of motifs from all of the themes from the royal family, all descendants from the pale king. This is literally the theme song for the whole royal family. The joyful bits are because of the peace that the Pale King brought to Hollownest, the sad bits are from the tragedy that befell the kingdom in the form of a plague and the tragedy that the father's love (Pale King) for his child (Pure Vessel/Sealed Vessel) had caused this, and the tense bits are part of the mystery as to what is gonna happen. Also the Hollow Knight (main) theme that shows up in the end very quietly is portraying that in the end, there's only one member of the Pale Court left (besides the White Lady, she's kinda incapacitated), and that's the main character, the Hollow Knight. This song tells the story from start to finish, and I find that beautiful, it goes from the Pale King's Arrival, to some tense parts of the plague, to the creation of the Pure Vessel, to the tragedy of a father's love, to the arrival of the Hollow Knight, and finally to the lonely darkness of the final member being the only one left, and eventually gone too, leaving a quite and dead kingdom. I love this game so much
Excellent analysis, I completely agree!
I noticed something else with the ending too. The Hollow Knight's theme plays quietly, but it's in a much higher pitch than anything else, symbolizing that they are separated and physically higher than the rest of the kingdom in the black egg. The White Palace theme is also more simplified and static than the rest of this song. This perfectly finishes the story of what happened to Hallownest. For a time, the kingdom exists as it once did, with the Hollow Knight quietly sealed away far above, before eventually fading away.
Pale Court specifically actually has its own art, implying it may have belonged to a whole different, unreleased soundtrack disk
This was stunning, violin and then the piano coming in. Award winning combo for me. Definitely sadness with a ray of hope to keep you going. Great choice! Thank you Davi!
I listen to this track very often but listening to It among your reaction and your explanation gave me goosebumps🥲
I’ve listened to these songs often and it’s funny to know what’s coming next because I can see how it subverts your expectations almost every single time and your reactions are why I really enjoy these videos
This was Literally the best song from hollow knight. You should look at “Lace” from the Silksong ost
Or Bonebottom.
I recently found out about your videos and I absolutely love hearing your insights and reactions to those fantastic soundtracks, keep up the great work dude.
May I suggest "Soul Sanctum", also from Hollow Knight's OST ? I won't spoil anything about it, but you're in for quite a ride.
Your genuine surprise at the loudest part sold this entire song to me-
You were just,,, flabbergasted that it ended as it did before playing that melody from the beginning
Amazing video. This is a bonus track so no specific lore behind it, but I do think you'd enjoy Nosk & Truth, Beauty, Hatred & Soul Master
As for the strange and otherworldly feeling mentioned. I like to imagine the songs in two parts, assuming its from the perspective of the Pure Vessel.
Part 1 could be before the Pure Vessel experienced something that made them no longer "Pure", while Part 2 could be the part where they experience it, they're no longer pure and the unfamiliarity of it all starts rushing into them. We already know that it may have become impure due to occurences at the White Palace, possibly as far back as the Pure Vessel fight according to the following cut dreamnail messages (Spoilers ahead, maybe.)
-----------------------------
Do not think...
Do not speak...
Do not hope...
Do not...
...
----------------------------
As well as one cut snippet from the Hollow Knight boss Dreamnail dialogue, that being "...Father?...".
I really love pale court ost, I was hearing the hollow knight complete ost one day and when pale court started I was in confusion because That piece is very strong and beautiful, I feel it sounds a little bit different of other pieces in the tracklist and I didn’t hear that when I played the game so I was in shock that moment
Cant believe you missed Nightmare King in your Grimm reaction😭
This one is my favorite song in the whole album and it isn't even in the actual game itself it's beautiful
I can just picture the kingdom of hallownest
its greatness, falling, crumbling apart
into the ruins we explore in game
so amazing!!
really loving your videos man! the way you share your thoughts while explaining the music theory behind it all makes it really enjoyable.
Another amazing video! And a hollow knight one! Thank you so much for doing these analysis!
That i IV iv i chord progression around 1:00 is one of my favourites to use in my own music. Man, I love this game.
I just played the game for the first time with 105% completion and I wasn’t ready for the maturity of the themes discussed in the game, and the best part is nothing is handed to you, nothing is exposition dumped, you either explore and discover it, or you don’t and it remains unknown to you. The protagonist never speaks, which lends gravitas to the music because it is meant to convey the Knights emotion in my opinion. This has quickly become one of my top ten favorite games of all time.
I mean, the music doesn't convey the music of the knight because (SPOILERS BELOW!!!)
they don't have emotions because they're a vessel. they are the hollow knight.
@@fireballq2They are not hollow completely, that's the probelm. No vessel has ever been empty. Not even the void itself is. (Unfortunately I don't know how to explain my theory to you, I'm not good at writing in english. 😅) In ending 1 you can understand well that there too the protagonist will meet the same end as the pure vessel. The kingdom will be doomed anyway.
"this is great" - that's me no matter which track of this game I listen to. HK (especially the music) deserves so much more love.
I'm not sure when you'll release another video on this game, but I suggest listening to "Nosk"
When I heard this music for the first time, I was quite tense
Curse that wretched face-stealer. That track is fantastic.
i love how you analyze hollow knight songs! As next good song to analyze, i can say that Daughter of Hallownest is fantastic and worth it
I noticed that the most similar Pale Court gets to the White Palace theme is at the end. It makes me think this song is telling the story of the rise and fall of Hallownest through music for the pale court to end off right where we see it in game, with the White Palace theme.
Yes!!! Hallow Knight!! Love the work Davi, look forward to the next one!
This is indeed my favorite track from the game, although it's never played in the game itself!
Nice video as always!
I really enjoy your hollow knight ost reviews.
Lowkey became VERY invested in the PoP speedrun you used as the visual. Also good analysis!
My first thought was “NO! Not the Path of Pain!!!! Davi’s not ready!!!!!”
Every single time I hear this song it literally gives me goosebumps
Oi Davi ! This is a beautiful piece of music. Very emotive. Love how surprised you are at times :)
Thanks Anne :D
this is my favourite hollow knight ost, i really enjoyed seeing that you enjoyed it as well! i also would like to suggest another song from hollow knight, it's called "Radiance" and it's the theme of the final boss of the game, i'm not saying anything about it because i want to hear your opinions and theories first ^^ (but i need to say that this theme is a must to listen if you're interested in hollow knight music)
I always love your reactions, I think a great ost to react is The Radiance
Amazing video. Your content is great! You should do Sisters of Battle & Mantis Lords as well!!
I like how you describe it for people who don't understand music, thanks a ton.
shoutout to the absolute parkour chad in the gameplay
I love it when you deduce things about the game just by listening! u have a great channel!
I love your reactions so much! Please, more Hollow Knight ❤
Next Hollow Knight track should be either Hornet, Mantis Lords or their respective Godhome variations, Daughter of Hallownest and Sisters of Battle.
I didn't even know this track was unused, knowing the game I agree that it was probably for a boss fight, my guess being with the Pale King himself or one of the king's guards or consorts, since it meshes really nicely with the White Palace track. That makes me wonder what that fight would be like.
Pale court is my favorite HK theme, and its so underrated
Watching this analysis while listening to this hauntingly beautiful and "floaty" track, while seeing the *_infuriating_* imagery of the Path of Pain
is an experience
this is my alarm since forever, just cant get enough of it
you should definitely react to the "city of tears" sound track. in my opinion it's the most beautiful in the game.
This track really describes hallownests story. The beginning is mysterious and then it Starts to Go on happy. But later on, the music Turns into a sad one. Thats probably where the first things go wrong (the Infection was found and was spreading). Then theres always these sheds of Hope (probably where they start creating vessels or even found the pure one). And then as the music gets more dramatic, the thought to be sealed vessel breaks open and the track goes all out with its drama
This is very reminiscent of late Romantic composers like Brahms or Mahler where a lot of the other tracks have a Baroque sound. Just like Davi said in the Hornet video, you can tell Larkin really knows his Classical music.
i was literally fangirling about this song to my sister and her boyfriend earlier. its so good i love it!!!!!!!
Amazing reaction as always Davi absolutely love your stuff!! Still I can’t believe that TO THIS DAY you still haven’t reacted to Bury the Light by Casey Edwards and Victor Borba?!?!!?!?! You definitely need to check it out you’re going to freaking LOVE IT!!😂❤️🔥
I love the Hollow Knight reactions and analyses. Please next do Mantis lords. It‘s from Hollow Knight too and It‘s such a cool track. I‘d love to see it.
I love these videos!!!! I watched some of your monster hunter videos before and I got so excited when I saw you make a hollow knight video!!! Masterpiece of a game. You should definitely look at a lot of the hollow knight music because it’s just beautiful and a masterpiece
Fun fact: this song never actually appears in-game and is the only song in the game and dlcs that is played by a live orchestra.
i love how, when paired with the lore, one can identify key moments of the story just by listening
These videos are my absolute favourite. I would recommend hive knight, or sisters of battle.
Idk how u do it but seeing u nerd out (said in the most positive way) makes me so happy haha
I think you would love broken vessel, please do that piece as it’s so good and some of the chords and melodies tie into some other hk pieces you have looked at (menu theme and sealed vessel). Mr Larkin chose to do this to tie the characters together very well and the lore connects them strongly too. I’d recommend playing the game soon as you would get a newfound appreciation for the pieces in rhe game as there’s suddenly an ‘ahhh, that’s why they did that’ moment I’m sure you would experience.
I love that you can hear the entire fall of Hallownest in this. Just go through the events surround the Pale King from beginning to end and you can hear it all.
Hey Davi!
I was wondering if you could review this piece called "Antique Plateau by night".
This is from one of my favorite OSTs from the videogame called Outward.
They also have other great songs within the game and I'd be overjoyed to see you break them down!
I'm really happy someone finally made a video on this song. People completely forgot about it since it was cut from being used in the game, which is a real shame, it's easily a top 5 non combat theme.
It really is a shame, Pale Court is by far my favorite track in the Hollow Knight OST, which really says a lot, considering how incredible the OST is
Love the content, I'd love to hear your breakdown of some of the music from risk of rain 2 like the rain formerly known as purple or once in a lullaby
The amount of correct assumptions he makes really shows how much music can tell you about an environment.
If you ever go back to Dark Souls, could you look at the Dancer's theme? Always stuck out to me amongst the series tracks.
I recommend you to react to some musics from a brazilian RPG called Ordem Paranormal. I suggest the songs "Gal" and "Sangue". They made a phenomenal job just for a roleplaying game and as a fan of the project I think it would be interesting to hear the opinions of someone outside of the contry about their work
otimo video man, sempre bom ver vc reagindo as musicas de hollow knight
5:35
Pure Vessel leitmotif
I like that the video is a speedrun of Path of Pain, the hardest platforming challenges in the game
I like how listening to them, its like there is lore in the MUSIC!
Pale Court is one of my favourite tracks from the album. It's a bit strange that it wasn't included in the game but it also fits really well somehow. It's like the rise and fall of the kingdom that you only see the ruins of, so you only get the story of what happened to it through what you find there instead of living the glory days. So this is track is almost like an easter egg for the lore fanatics to listen to most of the history after they already know it. But since you don't and got it figured out really well anyway, it doesn't make that big of a difference. I think the game didn't include it because it simply didn't fit anywhere. It's a lot more intense and, in my opinion, pointed too directly at the entire thing so it couldn't have been isolated to a single area or character.
This is supported in the entire thing that there are character and area themes in the track too if one hears it last. "Hornet" makes an appearance, as the story dictates as well as "White Palace," which the track starts out like. I'm pretty sure there's some others that I'm forgetting at the moment but you get the point.
I'm so glad you enjoy these tracks, it brings a smile to my face.
I was sure this tune would make your neurones explode :P great video again!
White Palace is a track that is used in the main game and also shares a lot of keys and parts from this track, I highly recommend checking that track out as well.
According to lore from Dung defender (after you defeat his dream version 5 times), Pale court is a place where Hallownest’s greatest knights and heroes would gather, and a place the Pale king himself used to be in alongside all those knights and heroes, it was described as a great, majestic feat to be in this court, in the White Palace, it was long forgotten by everyone, except for Dung defender, he mentions how he was part of the five knights of Hallownest and they too would gather there, he then tells Ghost of Hallownest (the player) that if he ever finds the chance to speak to the king, he would ask him to let you come along with him to the Pale court, unbeknownst to him that all the knights have fallen, and he’s the only one to remain
(Sorry for my English, i a Spanish speaker hahahaha). Is a great and awesome video Davi you Make a Nice and Good Explication in this videos and the others. I a Fanatic now hahahaha.
PD: I like Make a Video Reaction of a "Theme of Laura" from Silent Hill
If you know the story of hollow knight, you can HEAR the entire history of the kingdom in this ONE track.
Pale court doesn't actually belong in game, it's a live play by the composer (by what I know) and it's a remix of "White palace" theme, that is... the theme of the dream area known as "White palace" that's the palace of the Pale king
(spoilers from here bellow)
it's very tragic, the whole palace is hidden in a dream, in a memory, the king escaped the kingdom, took the palace with him into the dream realm, after his attempt at saving the kingdom failed, basically
pale king is a character you can say has reasoning, to do something tragic and cruel to a huge group of creatures, and the main theme belongs to those tragically killed creatures, the main character being one of them
Oh I get it now. It's the King's feelings through the history of HollowNest.
I suddenly feel like I understood how music works emotionally, and so now I'm watching this series to help me awaken that talent.
Wait, no, the cello is the king. The violins on the top are the citizens and nobility of the kingdom.
In the beginning, he founds and creates the kingdom. Then the violin appears.
Is that a piano that comes out later for those plucky high notes? Is that the Queen?
Then the infection releases, the dramatic moment of the song.
The calm down after, nearing the end, is the King saying "I have a plan", and the kingdom joining in and believing in the plan.
Then the Queen gets on board with the plan. The plan gets hyped up and happens, but it wasn't enough. It only delayed the end.
Then it ends.
Yes this is my favorite track to sit down and listen to
Aye more hollow knight music, love white palace/pale court, it feels like a tragic story is being told you, and we'll it is
I typed a comment to this but I can't find it anymore so maybe I forgot to press comment. Anyway. I actually never heard this track at all. I love how after 2 years of playing this game I still learn new things about HK though I did hear of this name I just thought it was one of the in game songs. It does have some of the elements some of the in game stuff.
Honestly I'd love to watch you react to any other HK song, there's so many good ones. Maybe you can combine a few of the atmospheric songs that are specific to areas, they are usually not very "exciting" in the ways boss battles are, but they are very beautiful. Would be interesting to see what kind of vibes you get as a game composer from the ambiance music and if it correlates (which I think it does having played the game, but if you haven't might be cool to see if that also translates well). Maybe something like City of Tears, Kingdom's edge, Queen's gardens, resting grounds, Crystal peak I don't remember if you did soul sanctum already. Basically any and all ambiance music really :') But really to me resting grounds is a must because it's so beautiful. White palace would be an interesting one too.
Or maybe you could also react to (one of the) two songs from Silk Song, Lace and Bonebottom. We don't know exactly what's up with them other than knowing one is for a boss battle and the other one is kinda like dirtmouth.
Okay this comment is way too long either way, loving these videos as someone who never really took an interest in soundtracks before HK this has been super interesting to watch.
Hands down My favorite piece in the whole soundtrack
Pale court to me is a history of Hallownest told with no words. Something that was created as a temple to a single person, Pale King, and going out of its way to appear eternally glorious while its foundations were crumbling and it fell into chaos. This, an attempt to hide hideous truths behind a mask of elegance, and being increasingly unable to, is what this composition to me. Arrogant hubris of Hallownest doomed from the start is captured by an image of a crown created inside a rotting carcass in game, and by a sound of pale court outside of it. Of course, it's all speculation in no way, shape or form trying to diminish original artistic vision™
This is an unused track in the game's soundtrack, and I always thought it was a musical way to depict the glorious rise and the spiraling, painful fall of Hallownest (the game's setting, an ancient ruined kingdom from which you originate and try to uncover the mysteries of)
I'm really excited about his reaction to NKG, mantis lords or Sisters of battle
Isn't Hollow Knight amazing? I love this game so much
Definitely check out "Soul Sanctum"!
Severely underrated track from this game
One of my greatest gamer moments is completing The Path of Pain. Hollow Knight probably has more of those moments for me than any other game and I've been gaming since 'Atari' was the big name in video game consoles and PCs had monochrome graphics.
Another great video, I need to finish hollow knight some day.
I'm not stopping until my persistence pays off! So, Davi, I still think you should see Pontiff Sulyvahn from Dark Souls III. Orrr...
Slave Knight Gael, also Dark Souls III
the fact you hear the track as otherworldly is great because the pale king who leads the pale court is a wyrm instead of a bug like everyone else. He comes along and leads the bugs and shows them how to make a true civilisation as well and making a treaty with the mantis people
8:47 if you want one of them sad boss battle themes you should check out "Pure Vessel"
If you'd take a suggestion for another Hollow Knight song, Gods and Glory would be awesome!
It reminds me of something you'd hear in an ocean documentary during establishing shots of a kelp forest or something