Sad to hear about the 11% of folks that were laid off from RIOT. If you’re watching this and you are affected, my heart goes out to you.

Forts here! ⚔️ I wrote this song and duetted it with Tiffany Aris, and it was so fun to watch your analysis of the song! 🙂 Thanks for the great attention to detail and love on this!

What always stands out to me is how genuine your interest is. The simple fact that you remember Kindred and what they're about, to the point of recognizing Lamb's arrow before Kindred is even shown is neat. Means this is much more than just content you're pumping out for views.

The one section that I think gets elevated immensely with context is the final section, between Tryndamere (big sword barbarian) vs Kindred (the Lamb and the Wolf). Put simply, Kindred are basically League's grim reaper in lore, and Tryndamere's ultimate in game is "I don't die". VERY cool juxtaposition

7:05 “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’” - Mary Anne Radmacher

The guy Kindred is fighting has an ability that makes him unkillable for a short time. It´s such a cool thought that he has to fight Kindred all the time, you can see it on his face when the music stopped. He knew she was there. Amazing

Marco unknowingly describing Kayle and Morgana's relationship worsening and becoming non-existent purely off the music is fantastic, this cinematic where they fought Aatrox was the final recorded moment where they worked together as sister guardians and their relationship progressively got worse from that point onwards. On-point as always

i didnt realize you actually know the league characters, they outdid themselves with this video, both the cinematic and the music fit each other very well and are really good

These videos feel like us sharing our excitement for a hobby with our friend and he actually really likes it. It’s very wholesome reading the comments

My G said he doesnt know whats going on, yet he understands much more than people with thousands of hours in league simply by understanding music and the vids. Amazing!

very cool. very fun. drop a like, thanks a ton.

Tryndamere backhanding Kindred's arrow is such a blink and you'll miss it moment, but has SO MANY LAYERS of lore attached to it.

Something you might appreciate, is that the Kindred are present in each of the three storylines. Each more overt than the last. In Morgana and Kayle vs Aatrox, you very briefly see a silhuette of Lamb in the flames after he is "defeated". In Yasuo's (old sword man) portion, you already noticed Lamb's arrow, but in the trees in the distance you can see Wolf's eyes, as he watches and waits. And then finally, Tryndamere where they make a personal appearance.

Now that you've seen this, I'd recommend paying a visit to Necrit. The depth of lore in this song specifically is INSANE

Marco just figuring out the entire theme of facing death (kindred lamb\wolf) at the end of the line from literally 5 notes of melody at the start of the cinematic while actual league folks called this cinematic "mid" while not paying attention because it went over their heads. Woah

The first segment of the song actually feels dedicated to Aatrox, lamenting the glorious celestial form he once had and the hollowness from being trapped in darkness for millenia. He wants to die, and "it could all end here" is exactly what he hopes for in every battle. He cannot die, so Kindred can never claim him, and at the end of it all, much to his dismay, he is Still Here. The cinematic shows stories of one who has sought death since times long past, one who would embrace it in the future, and one who defies it in the present; and they are all Still Here.

So a lot of people already explained it, but i really like to think that tryndamere was fighting the guys surrounding him, but was so close to death that he saw kindred. His Ultimate ingame makes him unable to die for a very short span, and his eyes being red simbolizes him using this. Not the coolest character but its a cool improvment for him.

Been waiting for the moment you got to see this one! So glad I got here for the premiere, love seeing how you always perfectly connect it all to exactly what we’re all feeling. Stay awesome Marco!

''TOO ANGRY TO DIE MAN'' STRIKES AGAIN !!!

The fact that out of all people, Marco, who doesn't play league noticed Kindred's arrow in Yasuo's section. You are really observant.

Love how you break down the song in each scene. When it came to someone's posable last stand you were soaking in every moment of it with amazement. Kindred's moment was long overdue in the cinematic universe. Thank you for your input in this video and it's music

Im glad you chose to check this out! I love how much you can glean just from listening to the music without context! I occasionally rewatch your Kindred video, cuz it blows my mind how much you were able to pick up.

I am so overjoyed that I finally found someone who had my exact same reaction at the first "drop" 4:04 . All the other people i know who've watched it just went "oh, that's kinda cool ig". But for us musicians I think we really see the almost geniusness that the composer and singers did there (exactly what you talked about) that people without a musical background have a harder time to notice.

Your League analysis videos are always a treat! I not only learn a lot about music theory and terminology but also a great look into the composers thoughts and emotions. Would be so hyped if Riot offered you to voice a new character track in the future. You’re a great content creator for League and other games and I’m happy that you enjoy this as much as I do! Cheers!

Something I think gets overlooked a lot (or maybe people just don't know) is that the line "heel crushing the snake" is a biblical reference. It's a bit of a mashup of God's curse on the serpent in the garden of Eden: "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." I don't know if this was the intention (I kind of doubt it), but there's an implication in the song that the snake is being crushed with the body part that is injured by it. And that's super cool.

"Schwells." I love it lol. Your review and breakdown was on point, ON POINT. I've seen other reviewers who get stuck on the graphics and forget the subtle techniques used in the music and vocals. They uplift the story so much by highlighting the hidden emotions of characters and their symbolic actions. These fight scenes are not just from the game, they are the fights every human must have with in themselves and they music/vocals express the emotions we all go through yet cannot express ourselves.

Good one Editor Nathan! Best usage of the Captain America quote. Hahahaha

I saw many people react to this and I must say this is my favourite! I also love that you shared your interpretation and what you said about the significance of art and music.

Appreciate that you are reacting to the cinematics to. Watching you, how you explain how the music creates the feelings together with the lyrics and the scene is amazing.

I was waiting for this, glad you covered it.

Yet another briliant video with greatly articulated knowledge and tons of entertainment. Your videos not only bring back my passion to music but also make me fall in love with music's theory as well as its ability for both manipulating and enhancing emotions. Amazing job, really impressive.

Best reaction i've seen of this cinematic by far, you really express how you feel the music and your explanations are perfect. Keep up doing this kind of videos, they are amazing

I was so invested in your analysis, then the Captain America clip came up and I cackled so loud. Send my best to your editor. That was comedy gold.

Still Here is a masterwork of music, animation and cinematography. And it only gets better with all the characters that are shown in it, especially Kindred!

"No I don't tink I will" killed me lol

So refreshing to see a reaction from someone who's actually in tune with the music and its meaning. Makes the league pro players who reacted to it seem about as insightful as my toaster. Earned my sub with this one!

LMAO the random Captain America insert at 7:05 was hilarious. Bravo!

Nathan you absolute genius. That edit after his quote had me spitting out my coffee in laughs. Caught me completely off guard. Top notch video as always guys.

I LOVE your videos so much and your view on music, I just resonate with that a lot

Hey Marco, if you habe not reacted to the other season cinematics (awaken, warriors and the call) you definitely should. They are all really really good both musically and visually. Oh and i'm still wating on that Kai'sa champion reaction.

i love that through all your past league reactions you now recognize some of the characters

man, the way you were describing music as transcendant is just incredible. i feel the exact same way even tho i might just be a softy, i could never compos something like this but the feelings and emotions you feel on top of the cinematography is just unreal. love it when you get hyped about lol. i love it XD peace and love meatball! cant wait for more vids!!!!

This video is really great, truly love your analyzes very instructive !

i love it how he instantly saw that was kindreds arrow in yasous scene where so many ppl still didnt recognize it

I would highly suggest watching Necrit's breakdown of the visuals given you're interested in the lore. I was truly wondering when you were gonna do a video on this though. Great job, loved it. Edit: Also, wanted to point out if you weren't aware, from the last couple of months anything Riot puts out media-wise is completely canon, and that also includes Arcane! There's bound to be some retconning for some of the other stuff, but they're really trying to tie the lore together (likely to help for the MMORPG in the making), so it's not just some cinematic, this is pure visual lore!

love this analization and reaction. great video

i would definitely recommend checking out more of league's other music videos! Those include all worlds songs, season start cinematics (such as still here), k/da, true damage, pentakill and heartsteel. even if all the genres arent up to your alley, they have amazing production quality and fun and great music videos!

thank you for reacting to this song! Also i really enjoy how you describe and giving us indepht knowledge about music.

I cried while listening to your monologue man. It somehow resonated with something I thought I long lost. Hope.

I am so happy for how far you have come with the lore. Your interpretation and understanding before you were even fully aware of LOL, was awesome to witness. I look forward to your coverage of more League cinematic’s. Your explanations always lets me know League is doing their job.

I'll be your paragraph guy for today, so here is the lore for the video: Kindred is the personification of death in Runterra. Everyone sees kindred differently depending on their belief of the kindred but there is usually two - the Lamb (the archer) represents the acceptance of death, and the Wolf (the wolf) represents the attempt to fight or flee death when it comes in the beginning of the video the Lamb speaks trying to lull or convince someone to accept death after setting up the scene for Tryndamere later in the video we can see an earlier time of Demacia when it used to be mostly made of wood. The wood it is made from has been petrified by stone that absorbs and stores magic, weakening or completely nullifying mages. The aspects powers come from divinity so it is not seen as an evil like magic. Demacia was built as a haven against magic protected by the two aspects of justice - kayle the aspect of justice and judgement and morgana the aspect of merciful justice. Kayle's powers are to destroy evil, Morgana's powers are only to restrain it. This represents their opinions on justice. Kayle believes all criminals should be punished or killed where as Morgana believes that everyone can be changed for the better given the chance. Aatrox wants to destroy everything for when there is nothing he will become nothing and die. Aatrox is darkin, a person who ascended to godhood but had been corrupted by the void, an all consuming evil from a different plane of existence. He wants to end his immortality and in his mind death to all is the only way he can do that for himself. The four darkin in the game represents the four horsemen of the apocolypse. Naafiri is famine represented as a pack of hungry dogs, Kayn is death represented by a scythe and the ability to pass through shadows so no one escapes death, Varus is pestilence represented by a blighted bow that spreads a blood magic infection, and Aatrox is war represented by his unending battle until his very death. In the burning village scene you see an old man with a staff, later revealed to be an older wiser Yasuo. Yasuo has left the blade behind probably as an oath to no longer use his wind abilities to harm anyone else, but he unleashes his technique one final time to save a mother and her child. When you see him drop his broken staff and pick up a sword this represents his call back to battle and a voice line he says when you choose him in game "death is like the wind, always by my side." During his fight we can see he can block, counter, or even use his windwall to dodge walls of arrows, but after the survivors of the village have fled and he has taken down the final bandit in the wreckage he sees the Wolf's visage in the forest mountains right below an arrow shot at him. The arrow is the question - will you accept death, or will the wolf have to run from the mountains to chase you? Yasuo closes his eyes in acceptance. The arrow itself is not from the kindred, but in his mind during his moment of death that is what he sees, a glowing arrow. transition to the next scene a ring of light flashes upon Tryndamere leaving a snowflake upon his blade. He recognizes the magic from his wife, Ashe. She is looking for him. Tryndamere makes a final stand an nearing his moment of death he sees the bandits as the Kindred. The wolf attacks first seeing Tryndamere choosing to fight, but the lamb offers her mercy twice seeing if he will accept death peacefully. Tryndamere makes a final push towards both by using his ultimate ability. As his eyes glow red using magic to stave off his own death, he charges through the Wolf into the Lamb as an act of defiance. The kindred is pushed back and raises its bow a final time only to put it down. Tryndamere himself knows that death will not claim him this time as Ashe finally makes it to him. For only a few frames, Ashe replaces the Lambs silhouette. In Tryndamere's mind the kindred disappears because the very sight of his love gives him safety ... and the arrows she shot to save him from getting jumped from behind. Ashe saves him spiritually and physically (so romantic). Ashe sends another hawkshot into the air to reveal her location, calling for back up, and using her magic to scout the area for more possible enemies. Circling back to the beginning of the video, Kindred Lamb says "tomorrow is a hope, never a promise." Tryndamere and Ashe began their marriage as a political tool to unite their two tribes in hope of bringing peace to the Freljord. Tryndamere is a barbarian and his warrior tribe only knew hardship and death. Ashe was his hope to save his tribe from pain and annihilation. The two grew close and actually formed a loving relationship. Ashe has always been Tryndamere's hope pushing him to fight to see tomorrow.

I love how, the cinematic being so cool, you get out of your usual step by step explanation and just enjoy the last third of the video :D

I cried like a baby during your elaboration. Liked and subbed.

I absolutely love that you did this song, they have several more musical cinematics including Awaken, The Call, and more!

❤❤❤❤I really love the way you do this reaction and extracting every each details. As people says you don't play the game but you known it by reacting to their music, in which proves you pay attention and remember the goods. I really love this..!! (Sorry for the English. Im not a professional nor perfect person)

Man, i really love your analysis! Also, i love this trailer and for me, it's the best one they've ever made. Music, visuals, story... Everything was spot on.

i love your reactions so much, they're always so genuine and it's just such a pleasure to watch you analyse/interpret them unlike some of the creators i've seen react (im pretty sure ive already left comments like this before but i will die on this hill). the way you recognized kindred's arrow when some content creators that play league for a living didn't is so 😭😭 and i havent seen anyone else have a reaction to Tryndamere almost killing the Lamb in the ending sequence but its literally so amazing because like?!? dude really came so close to 'defeating' death and youre telling me it didnt move you?! i'm glad youre enjoying LoL's lore and art so much, it truly brings your reatcions to another level

I love your analysis, great video.

Having watched over 100 reactions to this cinematic, I have to say yours is hands down the one I enjoyed the most. I think it's the genuine interest

i absolutely LOVE during the Tryndamere scene, when he almost lands a blow on her and destroys her bow, Once she lands and settles on the ground she stops for a moment and tilts her head as if surprised at tryn's pure reluctance to die.

I love how he is reading, describing then explaining the whole lyrics 😂😂

Hell yeah. Ty for your insights.

Holy crap, it's insane how the melody from the beginning hinted you. This is why I love hearing the reaction vids from the pros.

Love seeing your reactions to league cinematics and champion themes and being able to understand why and what made me react in a certain way and the ways music can influence and provoke feelings has been very interesting. Your attention to detail and noticing small parts of the lore is also really satisfying such as the kindred's arrow coming for Yasuo (the old man) which many big league players didn't notice. I think that is a big strength of this channel and is the reason I have been watching so many of your videos (mainly ultra kill, league, nier as I found their lore so interesting) is that not only can you explain the music but also tie it into the broader theme or setting of the game which I find some other reaction videos lack. As a Warwick main I would be interested in seeing a reaction to his theme (he's also got a really cool champion teaser). But more league content of any kind would be wonderful. As I've found discovering the lore as it has evolved from a "some common fighter tropes" to a fully fleshed out world with great stories amazing. but yeah just a big thanks for the high quality videos to you and the editor.

I was waiting for this so long.

The whole theme is "StillHere", referencing Kindred who is DeathIncarnate. Whether it's the Past (Morgana &Kayle), Present (Tryndamere), and Future (OldMan Yasuo). Death is "Still Here" no matter whattime it is. You can see Kindred in the Fires of thePast destroying Aatrox, Facing Tryndamere, andShooting a Fatal Arrow at Old Man Yasuo in thehead.

Your work is awesome man!

So tryndamere's ultimate is becoming imortal for a short period of time and if he comes out victorious he gets to live ! So every time trynda ults he fights kindred who try to claim his soul wich wass amazing in my opinion

esse foi o melhor vídeo que já vi dessa música, parabéns! amei todos os detalhes, todos os comentários, ótimo vídeo

I just realised that Yasuo's section ends with the melody of accepting your fate once it's your time, and Tryndamere's section ends with "But not today!"

I don't comment on videos much but I wanted to say that I truly enjoy the passion and genuine love you have for the music you're listening to. It's so rare to have people that break down game music like you do. I love seeing musicians break down the mechanics of music, but it's something different entirely to see people get into the feel and emotion of the music and what the music represents. Your content is truly amazing to listen to. I originally found you through your breakdowns of Ace combat music, which is some of my favorite gaming of my youth and even into adulthood. I've never been too artistically inclined but it's kinda awesome to have content that can put into words some of the feelings that I've felt for music but couldn't really explain. From the knot in your throat making you choke up to the hype that makes you want to jump out of your chair and let out a shout of challenge or triumph. Your work with this channel has been nothing short of amazing and I personally have enjoyed it immensely. The world needs more people that have the kind of passion for what they enjoy like you do for music. It'd be a much less dreary place. ♥

If you haven't yet, listen to the music track alone. At the moment in the third scene when wolf charges in, the low brass are complementing his roar, which seems to be mostly covered up in the cinematic. Everyone involved with this project deserves so much credit!

Have been waiting for your reaction to this for awhile

We make sound of the word “here” last longer, just like we are here fighting for our hopes and dreams for as long as we can. Also, when Ash comes and saves Tryndamere, the “here” is no longer going up and down the scale, it only goes higher. Like a turning point was hit. A point where, even though death told us that “tomorrow is a hope, never a promise”, we now twist the plot on death, and make our own promise to fight for our tomorrow.

That low brass nearly sent me flying the first time I heard it.

Honestly refreshing to hear your take on the music. It was always an epic piece to listen and watch, but your pointers always give a bit extra spice to the hole story. I would love to see your reaction and impressions of Ado, a young (21y) and incredible japanese singer and her live version of unravel. It will blow your mind.

The guy kindred were fighting in the last scene is Tryndamere, both his lore and gameplay can be summarized as "man literally too angry to die"

It's so cool that you're watching this after knowing who Kindred are so you know Tryndamere is fighting Death itself! Funny thing is: Tryndamere's ultimate is that he won't die for eight seconds even after dropping to zero hit points.

Yes!! Love this song!!

It's Lamb's arrow, a bandit's arrow, and Ashe's arrow from the next scene, all at the same time. As we see in Tryn's fight, the real world and the Shadow Realm are mirrored. Whenever he fights off Wolf, he also fights off one of the attackers. But Kindred is real, as evidenced by the bite marks on Tryn's armor. He fought Wolf and Lamb and while he was in the ultimate, they couldn't put a scratch on him because he was literally immortal, even if only for a short time.

I love that you already can recognize so many champions! LOVE!!

"Got my heel crushing the snake." That is not only best line, but also the most profound one. Very theologically and philosophically rich.

what always gets me about this video is that even though man is literally to angry to die, seeing his Wife is enough to pull him out of the bloodlust that fends off death itself.

League of Legends music videos - especially their anthems - always weave this narrative of defiance and triumph that is so evocative to me. I really love their work because of this.

I don't even wanna imagine, how much people worked on this. How much time it took to create this *Masterpiece* It's absolutely stunning! From the Visualization of the Characters, the music building up, the depth of the characters expression that make them look so real - aswell as the Details of fictional characteristics like with Aatrox or Kindred. That first Attack of the Wolf was timed so perfectly with the music, the blade strifing Kindreds Throats, the slight tilt of the Head... The more i watch it, the more details catch my eye. This Trailer gets better with every single time watching/listening to it! Absolutely amazing piece of Art - what a start into 2024! The Animators Team and Forts + Tiffany Aris created something amazing

Really like how you doctor'd it; well done, everything the viewers want, try next cinematic.

Beautiful break down

Its always fun watching u guess what league characters are like from their theme, never thought id see u react to one of the cinematics. If your interested in more like these (where song+visual themes are very heavy etc), it would be fun to see u react to other season cinematics like one, Warriors and The Call are two that i remember off the top of my head (well warriors is a remix of an even older league song originally made for as a theme song for their esport stuff, but the way its remixed rly changed the vibe and fit the visuals of the newer vid, its cool)

Been waiting for your reaction, now I can rest. You’re on a whole nother level when it comes to reaction videos, thank you for breaking down this video!

After this I rewatched the video about volibear you did and you said something among the lines of bringing a video game music composer on the channel to talk about his process of creating the music about a character or instance in a game and how he goes about handling that. As far as I know this hasn't happened yet but I feel like it's a good idea and many of us would like something like that to happen. Thank you for being awesome.

Was waiting for this reaction!!

Appreciate that you knew wnough backstory to trully appreciate the video

I like that the song is about never giving up and standing your ground. No matter what the world throws at you, you remind it that you are "still here". In that sense, I like how it parallels with the Kindred. We see a lot of "death" in this cinematic, and the Kindred is always there in those moments. And even if they face beings imbued with immortality (e.g. Tryndamere with his "too angry to die" schtick), they remind you that they are never far away, they are "still here". This is best shown during the 3rd scene with Tryndamere fighting off the Kindred. Right after Tryndamere gets up, we hear whispers of "I'm still here" as the Lamb appears from the shadows; Death is "still here". Afterwards, we see Tryndamere doing his spinning slash move and successfully pushing back death even if for just a moment, reminding the Lamb and Wolf that he is "still here".

Apesar de eu ser brasileiro e não entender muito o inglês, adoro imensamente o seu conteúdo, consigo compreender o que você explica e achei a análise perfeita, me fez perceber coisas que eu não tinha visto mesmo assistindo pela milionésima vez. Acho que de tudo, a única coisa que eu esperava que vc comentasse a qual eu sinto que faltou, foi como a parte instrumental se mistura com a cinematográfica, os passos do gigantesco aatrox contando como um tambor, os cortes de espada e o lançamento das flechas da kindred.

the progression of lyrics and delivery is amazing. One can take the verses to pre-chorus as a moment of introspection and doubt. The low brass during the sisters/trynd and the dead silence before each sisters and yasuo, respectively is a pull to reality as a time of reckoning to scream defiance. The Ashe appearance solidifies this point, where Trynd’s spiritual fight with death is pulled away into reality where Ashe comes to the rescue AT THE SAME TIME as the scream of defiance.

WOHOOO ive been waiting for your review of this! love your reactions and your ability to hear things that i cannot, it really helps me appreciate the efforts that the Riot team has put into these and get an explanation for the reason these sounds make me feel a certain way. Just as a small reference, at the end tryndamire (the guy fighting the kindred) has glowing red eyes. this is a reference to his in game ability "undying rage" where he becomes so enraged that he unconsciously uses blood magic to keep himself alive, and you can tell by the way that he is fighting the kindred that this is not the first time they have fought. Just crasy to think that every time in game he is literally fighting death, and not just resisting it.

The way Tryndamere fought the lamb and the wolf was really beautiful

Tryndamere, the guy with the sword at the end, has an ability in the game, is called "undying rage, where he basically becomes invincible for an amount of time. This is shown by his eyes turning red, and so in "undying rage", he is literally fighting off death.

"That music is obviously showcasing sadness, because what we are facing now is death." Spot on in the first 10 seconds. I love your reactions and I love how in most cases you are able to immediately tell what it is about.. Just wow.

fun fact kindered was in every part for example when kale defeated aatrox you could see the outline of lamb with his bow in his iconic pose