Thank you Sebastian Hanøy for the Patreon Request! www.patreon.com/drumrolltonyreacts

Please don’t feel like you need to apologize for pausing to appreciate and analyze the themes, if it bothers people they can just skip ahead! Guilty Gear songs are always packed full of details about the characters and the story down to even the instrumentals, but not all of us are able to fully understand what’s going on, so it’s amazing to have someone as experienced as yourself break it down in a way we can digest!

Alone Infection❌ Armor Clad-Faith✅ Crawl❌ Drift✅ Extras❌ Find Your One Way❌ Hellfire❌ Just Lean❌ Let Me Carve Your Way✅ (Finally!) Like a Weed, Naturally, as a Matter of Course✅ Love the Subhuman Self❌ Mirror of the World✅ Necessary Discrepancy✅ Out of the Box❌ Perfection Can't Please Me❌ Play the Hero❌ Requiem❌ Rock Parade❌ Smell of the Game✅ Symphony✅ The Circle✅ The Disaster of Passion❌ The Gravity✅ The Hourglass❌ The Kiss of Death❌ The Roar of the Spark❌ The Town Inside Me❌ Trigger❌ What do you fight for✅

The one guy that's been asking for Zato theme forever is finally happy.

LET ME! LET ME! LET ME CARVE YOUR WAY! I'M A SHADOW ALWAYS WITH YOU~ 😭

something else to appreciate is that Zato's VA is also DIO from JJBA lol that guy's in everything

"Let Me Carve Your Way" is such a wild ride that it's easy to miss that it effectively bookends itself, it's just that the first time the jazzy bit shows up, it's muted and distorted. It's only at the end that you hear it clearly, as though the two halves of the song have finally come into sync.

"Did anything suggest that we'd get the strong 6/8 feel at the end?" Interestingly enough, yes! If you go back to the beginning of the song you can actually hear the 6/8 piano line in the background along with the same lyrics as at the end. This is a nod to Zato still having a small shred of his humanity and emotions after what happens to him which is incredible.

“The guitars talk to each other it’s unsettling” BECSUSE ITS EDDY AND ZATO TALKING I never thought of it that way before and it’s so hype I got chills

Hey DrumrollTony, I play Zato and your technical description of the song draws a lot of parallels with how he is played in game as we as his background story. Your videos allow me to appreciate the game in even more ways, thanks!

A short summary of who Zato is. Zato is the leader of a assassin's guild, using ancient magic, he summoned a living shadow named Eddie but he gives up his eyesight in the process. Eddie eventually takes over Zato's body and accidentally kills him. Zato is somehow revived, but he loses all of his emotions, but one. Love Zato us trying to remember what love feels like. By trying to protect his "lover" Millia Milla's theme is 'Love the subhuman self' Also at the very end of this song, you can hear the singer of millia's theme

I know the analytics suggest that people don't watch your longer stuff, but I loved this being 20+ minutes long. Great stuff as always!

That one guy who’s been asking is freaking our rn

Love your Guilty Gear videos to death, man. All your content is great, but I've listened to these tracks a thousand times with the full character context, and you're still showing me completely new details to love about them. Thank you for that.

yes another guilty gear reaction. love it.

this song always makes me tear up a little bit cause of the last part. the vocals and instruments sound so gutwrenchingly yearning kinda? idk how to word it

Finally haha, it was just a matter of time until you get to this point. (and yes! Stop apologizing for pausing to explain your thoughts and going back; it's what makes those videos more interesting!)

Fun little fact about Zato’s theme, the final section of the song will almost never play in a normal game match, it’s too long, even if you time out every stock (which is just under 5 minutes) it will just barely start the piano section. Knowing Daisuke’s style, that’s probably symbolism of Zato’s real thoughts never being able to come out

The thing about strive songs in particular is that they are phenomenal pieces of music by themselves but get elevated even more when one is aware of the character's backstory and themes that they represent. I am sure someone will write out the background to who Zato (the guy this theme is for) is, but this theme perfectly encapsulates his tragic story using musical themes and clever writing. It's why guilty gear just has the best OST

Any Guilty Gear track is a welcome video - thanks for keeping em coming

The ballad at the end is the same lyrics as the out of place sounding lyrics that begin the song. They clash with the song in the beginning only to be overwhelmed but then come back front and center by the end. ArcSys recently had a concert at the finals of their tournament circuit and I so badly wish this was one of the songs they played, it would've blown the roof off the venue, especially the ballad at the end. There's a lot of songs that you could make an argument for being Daisukes and Naokis magnum opus, but of all of those I think this is the most appreciated one by most people and for good reason. Usually reactors listen to Love the Subhuman Self, and then get told to listen to this because Millia and Zatos stories are so closely connected to eachother, but in your case the opposite is happening lol. You should definently listen to Love the Subhuman Self either next or soon, it's incredible and also the only song you've listened to with Aisha on it so far is Necessary Discrepancy which she was only in the first 3rd of the song. Shes the lead singer of Love the Subhuman Self and it's probably her best work on the whole soundtrack. Zato was a member of the assasins guild, an organization created by a dandy vampire named Slayer with the intention of fighting for the people by toppling corrupt world leaders, but when Slayer left the guild Zato inherited leadership and the group took a darker more greedy turn. Zato was sadistic but very charismatic and a womanizer. He brought Millia into the guild and became her teacher and her lover, and they both invoked forbidden magic to obtain the power of forbidden beasts. In Zatos case he sacrificed his eyesight to wield the forbidden beast Eddie aka that shadow creature you saw. These forbidden beasts are like parasites and seem to be natual enemies to Gears, and Eddie is exceptionally ferocious even to Zato. Millia eventually escaped the guild and then later she killed Zato out of revenge for the abuse she suffered and the life he made her go down. Eddie controlled Zatos corpse for awhile but then was captured by a group called the conclave who experimented on them for their own goals, and ended up resurrecting Zato, except his emotions and personality are now shattered, and his memories feel only faintly there. That is until he encounters Millia again and the memories all came back. Now *he* follows *her* and helps her with her dreams and goals, hense "let me carve your way". His personality post-ressurection is so different than his old self that it honestly feels like it counts as a different person. To him it must feel like a normal person being dropped into the body of someone with immeasurable sin but also some sweet memories. Btw Slayer the dandy vampire is the next DLC character coming to Strive on May 30th and just from the trailer his theme titled "Ups and Downs" sounds fucking amazing definently check it out once it drops.

This theme is definitely a favorite! Ending kills me every time

Guilty Gear music will never disappoint. I love this series.

Please, stop a million and a thousand more times. That's what makes your analysis so good, you always find things I really can't find because I have no musical background. And that analysis makes me appreciate the music even more.

Man, please continue pausing all you want to analyze, that's what a lot of us come for. If I wanted to hear the song I'd just listen to it, because I absolutely appreciate your commentary, it helps me and a lot of other people understand songs beyond we could do on our own. Keep up the great work!

Now we just need a little "Extras" (Elphelt's theme)

A SONG PARTLY WRITTEN IN A POLYRHYTHMIC TIME SIGNATURE

Love the GGST reaction video as always, and if anything I was disappointed it wasn't longer. You spent a lot of time stopping and starting at the beginning, and then just listened to the entire ending section all the way through, and only once. I was sure you were going to have more to say about that part! The thing I most enjoy about your "reactionalysis" videos is that you point out new things in every song that I had been appreciating as part of the whole, but not really noticing as individual elements, and that extra depth of understanding lets me enjoy the songs even more. You actually turned me around on "Iron-clad Faith," which I previously hadn't been a big fan of, and I expect if you ever do "Trigger" you might be the KZfaqr who gets me to actually like the song instead of just accepting it as part of the soundtrack as a whole. So, you know, thanks for doing what you do in such a smart and detail-oriented way. 😁

I've been combing through your videos and I have come to EXPECT you to pause a bunch. Please continue to do so, I (and a lot of other people probably) learn so much just listening to you make noises and talk about sound design composition, etc. It like a seminar or lecture, very cool.

Let me detail to you exactly how I reacted when I saw the notification. Swiped it away at first, then froze. I literally dropped everything when I realized it was Zato. "Was that Let Me Carve Your Way? Was that Let Me Carve Your FREAKING Way?" Went onto KZfaq. It's Let Me Carve Your Freaking Way. I'm filled with joy.

I live for your considered analysis with the pauses and everything, its why I come here! You keep doing you brother, its great to watch, this was super cool to get your take on such a complicated piece

hearing the end for this song really makes me want to hear you review either "the name of heaven" or "freesia", the more tonal song from guilty gear

I’ve been waiting for this one. Great reaction as always!

Out of all the people i’ve seen cover guilty gear strive’s soundtrack, you have done a phenomenal job in comparison. I really appreciate your constant pauses to break down and analyze the music, you should not have to apologize for that. It really gives you legs to stand on instead of being someone who watches through it with little commentary besides at the end adding little beyond “i like it”. I’m gonna have to see what you have to say about some of the other songs because you really add to these.

20:19 the train goes into a tunnel, thus "vanishing into dark," and then shows up in a station halfway across the country. this happens multiple times

Alas, the best guilty gear theme

the sporadic riffs and stuffs at 0:40 paint a very cool visual image of life slowly flowing back into a corpse, making the muscles twitch, the drums, the heart slowly starting back up. (which considering zato's story is very fitting) Naoki really can tell stories by composition, its so insane

if they wanted to just hear the song they can go listen we're here for ur opinion man

I absolutely LOVE longer, more in-depth reactions with lots of commentary like this. Please keep this up!

Love your reactions. Helped me notice a lot more when I listen to other music. Thank you!

Your enthusiasm is infectious and your analysis insightful, keep up the good work!

I really love the fact that you enjoy doing these reviews, most GGS songs are fully packed with the feelings of the characters and/or their backstories and current motivations. This one in particularly is a weird song because of Zato himself is, and how messed up his past up to strive was, and the fact that you still enjoyed it without having a lot of context of the lore behind it tells a lot about how well done were these themes made. Hope you enjoy the rest, because there is still a long list to analyze.

Keep the Guilty Gear music coming, your reactions/first listen analysis videos are the best in both presentation and content on KZfaq! Love it when true music enthusiasts make reaction content

I'm here for all the pauses for analysis and commentary. It helps me appreciate and understand the music more.

It’s not 1 to 1 but the ending ballad part sounds very reminiscent of “My Melancholy Blues” by Queen.

On the note of guilty gear please check the song freesia. It's a sort of rock ballad very beatiful and sentimental.

Wow, this is the first time ive seen you somewhat struggle to explain whats going on😂. I dont blame you though, this song fucking insane

I don't know a whole lot about Guilty Gear lore, but I do know Zato does have this fight between dark and light inside him. And, I feel the major shifts between the metal sounds, and then the melodic, piano sections and voiclines represent the dark and light fighting within him for control. In the beginning, the melodic lines and piano, when they do appear, are buried under the heavy metal tones, showing how much the dark has control, and by the end the song has swung almost fully to the light side, with no more of that metal sound, and it becomes that really beautiful, melodic version again. It is absolutely a unique and different song, and I enjoy it quite a bit. Seems very fitting for the character too

I loves this song since the release of the game mainly because it is builty magnificently: During the first minute of the song you get the two flavours of the piece, the vals and the death metal, BOTH AT THE SAME TIME AND WITH DIFFERENT TIME SIGNATURES. And it sound PERFECT. Ans as you progress through the song, you get to hear them again in a more developed way. Truly spectacular

Been waiting for this one!!!

Yess!! thank you, i didnt expect this!!!

I'VE BEEN WAITNG FOR THIS AAAHHHH this made my day instantly better

Man I wish I heard more of that creative kick drum rhythm in music.

FINALLLY!!!!! Now we need Alone Infection (Faust Theme)

So fun to watch when it's so clear that you're enjoying yourself!

The muffled old-timey verse you heard at the beginning is your only foreshadowing for the end, it’s of course character related and a concept of romance made in song form - as it’s revisited in that last section but made clear and filled out! Really glad you enjoyed this one, I saw the video length and immediately knew you thought this one was cool!

The song is very in tune with what the character story is, more than usual. This guy was a pretty big villain, and he was an abuser towards Millia ( a character whose theme you haven't seen yet but echos this one a lot ). he died, and got resurrected. After these events, he has no memories ( Those sweet memories ), but feels unexplicably attracted towards Millia because she's the only person making him still feel any emotions. The first lyrics being muffled, and then redone at the end but very clear, show his progression in those events.

As a zato main this video was extremely satisfying loved hearing your thoughts on the song

Finally! I have been waiting to see you listen to this, pauses included

Brought me in tears every time singing along with the last part

The protagonist of the song LOVE THE SUBHUMAN SELF and the character of this song are lovers. This song is also a song in response to this film. I hope the next GGST song will be about this song.

The even craziest part to me is that every single detail in the songs compositions are always considering the character story and what they are going through, and I'm not talking just about lyrics.

Man I was so excited to see this one. Ever since you started doing Guilty Gear Strive themes this was the one I was waiting for, easily one of the more beloved because of that ending piece. I think context helps understand this lyrically and that kind of menacing vibe you picked up but it's not that beneficial vs. some other characters. Big fan of this review of guilty gear themes, not a ton left for strive which is kind of sad but there's a number of other vocal tracks somebody will hopefully kick in for. Love the Subhuman Self next!

Also dont ever be sorry for the longer videos, the longer the better!!!

I know this song is great, and I like it, but it was never one of my favorites. I think I now have a newfound appreciation for it, thanks to this video. Also, I love the amount of pausing, going back and explaining that you do. That's what makes your videos so great.

I've been waiting for this one!

Extras, alone infection, requiem, subhuman...too many bangers in the ist not touched yet 😂

Hell yeah! I hope you react to Freesia at some point

This is one of my favorites too, it’s a very complex and very different piece compared to anything I’ve heard before and by the end you’re feeling this emotional ballad that you wouldn’t see coming.

Let Me Carve Your Way, is definitely a chaotic song but it grew on me. I enjoyed how it changes so much, but this was after learning Zato's story, that I started to pick up the interesting sounds. It's a very challenging song to get use too. 😆 Keep up the work in breaking the songs down, I even pick up somethings that I missed from watch this. 😆

What always sold me on this song was the ending, it’s so nice. Another of my favorite tracks from this game are Alone Infection and Just Lean, both have permanent homes on my playlist

I've played this game for a grand total of 10 hours so far, but I still consider myself a huge fan of this character and his theme. Something about Zato-1 just speaks to me. I love him.

LETS GOOOO HE GOT TO HEAR THIS

Absolute cinema

I'm rewatching this one several times just to bump up the analytics for longer stuff. Love the vids regardless of length but longer videos means more of your insight on the songs which is ultimately better than reactors going "oh that's sick!" without elaborating. You already mentioned how you pause a lot at the start of the vid so you don't really need to apologise for it. The fact that you do though is kinda endearing since you get so excited you feel like you gotta apologise just to geek out (don't gotta though)

Because of this legendary track I got into GUILTY GEAR and the rest is HISTORY. Thank you Daisuke sama ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

I once had some sweet memories...

great analysis

I love this song so much because it's EVERYWHERE, like if schizophrenia had a theme song

I know everyone was patiently waiting for him to arrive at the final minute and a half or so, I sure was.

And if you notice, the voice at the end is the same of the intro of the song, and sounds amazing. I think that the piece describes exactly how character is, with both personalities combined

i feel like this song gets even better on the second listen, because the beginning becomes an obvious foreshadowing for the end part

it feels like listening to a king krimson or zappa track, theres just so much

The last minute of this song is pure heaven's material

You are so cool. I like to watch your reaction. Thank u for this video.

Ishiwatari Daisuke also did Blazblue themes. I'd say GG themes are harder rock, but both are amazing. Thank you for the upload! ❤

Yay it's time for my favourite one!

Me to man I love crazy weird songs, I've been hooked on all of strives songs.

I'm rewatching all the Guilty Gear videos again. It would be cool if you take a look at the characters info. The lyrics are not needed to be able to appreciate the level of detail in the instrumental and how it describes the character in a certain way. That's what I find most interesting about the Strive soundtrack. Thanks for the reaction

7:05 I love how we’re all here to listen to his thoughts but he argues with himself like he’s talking to an annoying brother, it’s comedy gold

I think you'd really love Elphelts theme from guilty gear called Extras. It's amazing and has a lot of new instances for your channel!

Zato-ichi has a story that is just as nuts as his theme....

FINALLY!!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAH IVE WAITED SO LONG!!!!!!!

It has to be stressed just how extra most of the Strive tracks are. This is a fighting game where you're mostly focused on fighting your opponent with character themes in the background, and matches are gonna be like maybe two minutes tops. This song alone is about six minutes. You'd have to intentionally drag out matches, maybe even raise the number of rounds in the options, to even hear this song in full. They REALLY didn't have to go that hard but they did anyway because Daisuke Ishiwatari is a madman. Most of the Strive themes really reflect the journey the given character has gone through, and Zato-1 has probably been through one of the crazier ones. An assassin who made a pact with a shadowy beast in exchange for power, eventually Zato was consumed by that beast and it would pilot his rotting corpse for some time. He was eventually resurrected but is effectively a blank slate, with only vague memories of his old life. His former love, Millia Rage, is the only thing that stirs his emotions and gives his new life meaning, so he has dedicated his life to staying by her side and protecting her, to make the most of his second chance. The beginning of this theme has drowned out lyrics that reflect Zato's love for Millia, and while initially buried by darker, grungier lyrics that reflect his twisted life as an assassin, eventual death and resurrection, his love finally breaks free in the end and we can hear those initial lyrics again with clarity. An absolutely wild song that I think is among the best in Strive, or really the entire Guilty Gear series. Really interesting to hear someone's breakdown of it on a pure music level. It's a beefy song with a lot to say, so no need to apologize for pausing and re-listening to parts!

here we gooooooo. I wait for Elphet theme but Zato also my favourite

You've already reacted to "What do you fight for", but probably without realizing it's also one character themes, because what you watched wasn't the lyrics video by CloudDrop. I highly recommend checking that one out a second time, but with lyrics. They're pretty fire.

Still waiting for the "Extras" reaction 😂

If you like guilty gear music i highly recommend you Freesia from Guilty Gear Xrd, is a song so different from the rest of Guilty gear music, you should check it! nice video :)

Fun fact about this song is that its one of the longest songs in the game. So much so that even if you play out the timer in all the rounds you won't hear it all

Yoooo he did it