IV. Lubrae's Ruin - Music for Shattered Suns

[@AntarticGeezer]

I still can’t get over rhulk… his look, his story, the things he’s done.. it’s so different than what we’re used to in destiny, he’s the first thing in a long time that’s felt truly alien, dangerous, foreboding. Maybe it’s just me.. knowing there are things out there that are terrifyingly powerful and scary. It’s not the same 6 alien types we’ve encountered. Even introducing the scorn just felt like modified fallen (because they are). This music makes it even better!

[@jamesthistleton]

Precisely why I started this. It is different. And I hope we get more of it in Lightfall.

[@thehale_]

6 types?

[@AntarticGeezer]

@@thehale_ cabal, vex, hive, “fallen”, scorn, taken..

[@thehale_]

@@AntarticGeezer The taken are the same as the OG 4, and the Scorn are the Fallen bur zombified

[@AntarticGeezer]

@@thehale_ same but different…. Either way my point is the same

[@Ornitorrincopozolero]

"As the guardians entered the upended, there, in the distance he could be seen. An enemy unlike any other faced before. A servant to the witness. A Shepard of chaos. An apostle of the darkness itself. The First Disciple."

[@ForgieDusker]

gonna save this for later as combat music in a D&D session

[@jamesthistleton]

Yes! That sounds awesome.

[@shulminsama3820]

i was gonna do the same but its not on spotify so i cant use it with hydra sadly

[@ForgieDusker]

@@shulminsama3820 the bot my friends and i use works with just a youtube link, i think it's called Hynra

[@danielpercent5434]

Let me join your D&D sessions! I missed playing that!

[@ADisneyVillain]

Lol i did literally the same thing! Might save it for a dramatic reveal situation

[@emperorpizza333]

"you have served your purpose. All that awaits you now is the gift of death. The darkness beyond your final days" -long legged boi

[@Kudian]

I genuinely thought this was Rhulk's theme and I had never heard it before. This is amazing! Keep up the great work!

[@jamesthistleton]

Thank you!

[@Nah-dl8jm]

This needs to be in the game

[@mrtan5641]

While I have retired completely from Destiny. Rhulk i seen was one of if not the most dangerous bosses. Because unlike most bosses. He fights back in his damage phase and always on the move. And his OST not only is the level of raid OSTs in Destiny but elevates it even further. Kudos to Bungie. Maybe one day I will face him. But till then. Good luck guardians in facing him.

[@QTEila]

I mean we also beat him through sheer luck, because he's literally just playing around until final stand, where we get a glimpse of his actual power, leaving us with an instant 10 sec wipe timer.

[@GhostoftheTenthEye]

@@QTEila hubris is a silent killer

[@majorhavoc5490]

@@QTEila he clearly values brawn over brains and thought it was just playtime, only realizing that he might actually die right near the end

[@joshaboi7467]

My favorite thing about him is how even overleveled his attacks in the dps phase are incredibly lethal because it only takes 3-4 to stack the debuff for an instant death. You really gotta watch what he's doing and react accordingly, if you stand around you're dead

[@aarongregory4980]

Rhulk is a truly amazing boss and I thoroughly enjoyed fighting him. From a lore perspective I absolutely love him and from a gameplay perspective he has one of the most unique and refreshing damage phase’s in the franchise. Being trapped in the ring with a boss who not only has a threatening presence but is actively on the offensive the entire time is a blast. Can’t say enough good things about rhulk.

[@ნეუიმენილან]

On both a videogame music and compositional level- this is absolutely awesome. Dont stop making things man!

[@jamesthistleton]

Really appreciate it, thanks!

[@cameronsalmon1314]

@@jamesthistleton No like seriously. I might get withdrawals 😢

[@Sodaburger607]

they need to make a cutscene of him destroying his home planet and this is the music that plays with it

[@spacemanspiff3039]

I would LOVE to see a team like Byf's make a Dynasty scale project, but about Rhulk's lore. This music would fit that so perfectly. Well done good sir!

[@bliss5297]

I see this video more of an introduction or credits song, or high action theme, and i kinda like it. so just imagine, black background, with pictures or video clips of raiders fighting rhulk, with images of him, and story board/concept arts of him tossed in as well. or some kind of introduction theme where the camera is running from an un-see-able beast in a marshy area (like the throne world), only to stop to allow us to read out the people who made the video, and credit the original producers, along with some pictures and video clips like before.

[@shrummajor114]

I’m confident Voice Quills can voice Rhulk should that project be made. It’s a solid impression if you ask me.

[@evanwilley4064]

would be great but not as much scale considering how much rhulk lore we have compared to the hive as a whole

[@parsifalkitty5109]

This is how I get the mood ready for grinding. Not to mention the 2 Day contest mode. My team made it to rhulk and barely did one damage phase. Gotta give it to that one member who actually got the completion.

[@jamesthistleton]

My FT couldn't get past caretaker. Once contest was lifted, and Rhulk said I wasn't fit to serve the deserving... I took that personally.

[@camokid_za1520]

If this hasn’t been featured by Bungie yet, it has to be. The arrangement of all of the instruments and how follows the general theme of Witch Queens music sounds like as if this is directly from the raid! Absolutely amazing. I cannot stop listening to when the heavy brass section first plays out

[@jamesthistleton]

Thanks, I really appreciate the kind words.

[@nathanflinchum1153]

This is great, almost sounds like an alternate reality where “Rhulk, The Taken King” exists and I love it

[@captncuddlybear9404]

He probably could become the Taken King if he wanted to. The power to take is a power of the darkness.

[@mommasnotties585]

I think he CAN take, so he technically is.

[@phnx_tom5400]

@@captncuddlybear9404 Yeah Rhulk, the King of the Subjugated

[@rohanshrivastava2849]

His name is really “Rhulk, the Upender”

[@firepenguin9919]

not a correction in anyway but Rhulk's shtick is basically killing species that are unfit to serve the witness/will drown in the deep, therefore he wouldn't even use the power of taking even though he probably has it as taken are in the raid and boss room.

[@TheNicb1]

How have I not heard this before. Legitimately great work mate.

[@jamesthistleton]

Thank you!!

[@elysianvoltaire]

i cant really explain why, but that one part at 0:07 just drew me in--its both eerie and beautiful. amazing piece

[@iconicyello]

You made this????? I was about to say that this is the best theme Bungie has ever composed! Amazing!!

[@jamesthistleton]

Woah, that's high praise. Salvatori and crew having been nailing it for years. This arrangement is a love letter.

[@iconicyello]

@@jamesthistleton I was shocked when I realized this was a fan made theme, great work

[@roblowe3889]

If you haven’t applied to bungie, and you want to, you’ve done yourself a disservice, I got actual goosebumps listening to this. The only recent destiny track that’s done that to me was deep stone lullaby. Amazing skill, amazing job, and I can hear the passion of music in your work

[@lucklessfool]

Most of BLs soundtrack gave me goosebumps, and I think that BL had the consistently best music in the franchise, and a few stars in witch queen (namely first disciple) are also S+ tier tracks

[@itsharibonph]

Bungie would only trust people that work on their older IP.

[@dylankim4190]

1:44 goes incredibly hard good work

[@KoruKinshi]

0:37 - *"VARIIIIIIIIKS!!! NO!!! DON'T DO IT! THAT'S NOT WHAT THE SITE IS FOR!!!"*

[@tirefish]

Search stuff up on the forbidden website, yeeeeeeees? *Click click click click click*

[@krazymistere2219]

"If there is beauty in destruction, why not in it's deliverance?" Please put on Spotify, it would make a fine addition to my collection

[@That_One_Sunshine_Knight]

"Pyramid! Play music to snuff the out lives of six light bearers to. I'm going to enjoy this." And fortunately for us, he didn't take us seriously until the last bit of hp he had.

[@montimier4678]

some of the greatest work the fanbase has to offer. incredible jorb.

[@garrettviewegh677]

The Sword logic believes in power. The truth that power and subjugation is the cruel truth of the cosmos. You either rise above, or drown. Rulk valued power and found pleasure in the belief of a just cause. But what happens when that power is taken away? Or something greater shows you a different truth? Only when Rulk realized he was near death that his repressed fear come back.

[@jamesthistleton]

The Regime never lied about who they were. They were brutal, yes. But honest. --Honesty meant something to you?-- It meant everything.

[@KutluMizrak]

@@jamesthistleton How ironic it is then that he pledged himself to the literal greatest liar in Universe, The Witness.

[@eggbulb]

The first 35 seconds feel like they’d fit perfectly into a flashback cutscene of Lubrae. This whole thing is really cool, it sounds official! Great work!

[@jamesthistleton]

Thanks! The beginning looks up at the sky from within the abyss, showing the two suns. Cinematically, Rhulk stabs the glaive into the wall of the abyss, overlapping our perspective of the blue sun. Replicating the mural in the raid. Then the strings come in.

[@Bagel920]

I stumbled upon this a few days ago and have been listening and analyzing it since, I love how you chose to represent the final few chapters of Shattered Suns. There’s obvious parallels with Rhulks theme such as the darkness being represented by a Bassline but I also enjoy the ethereal start and frantic pacing of the entire piece. The ending build up is amazing because it doesn’t have any major break, it just ends. I don’t know if you had plans to continue past that point but I imagine that moment being when Rhulk detonates the Sapphire Sun, a sudden rest before a massive detonation and maybe the darkness motif to encapsulate the entire piece. It’s amazing work and I hope to maybe see more in the future

[@jamesthistleton]

Yes to all of this.

[@elshelalu2027]

Legit no words man, worthy of being featured in-game

[@jamesthistleton]

Oh thank you!!

[@linkhenderson1522]

I really love how the synth at 1:23 breaks its pattern to ascend to the same note as the horns that come in after it’s phrase, it adds an incredibly satisfying feeling of momentum to the track and I have listened to it at least thirty times now it just sounds SO GOOD

[@TheKitsuneDuke]

0:14 honestly could be a great transition to the Emperor's theme from Star Wars. Great work by the way, it sounds phenomenal.

[@Veil_ofthevoid]

I am not your king. I do not demand your subjugation. I am not your god. I do not demand your worship. I, am your nightmare. And I demand your fear. Something I wrote a while back, when I found out about this I only thought of this quote. Amazing track.

[@leschroder7773]

The theme of a man who nuked his own planet because squidward finally decided to take over the universe

[@OutlawOrbit]

The little melody at 0:54 is so pleasing

[@thunderspear2251]

Man, that first sharp strain in the beginning just chills the spine. Phenomenal work!

[@physanon5327]

This goes so hard, rediculously so. 1:43 is excellent

[@GhostoftheTenthEye]

this is where i want my fucking eververse money going to. hire this dude bungie.

[@TheSaphireKatana]

I need like a 5 hour version of this immediately

[@tnuoccaekafsi9808]

Idk why but this gives a sense of franticness, almost like Rhulk is approaching as you retreat.

[@vostok_76]

I can't stop replaying those first 20 seconds or so. This is an absolute masterpiece. My god.

[@beachtrooper5884]

I imagine a whole sequence of Rhulk killing each one of his own with his glaive while everyone looks at him scared and runs away

[@brandonlance925]

That eerie sound in the beginning followed by the aggressive change of pace was fantastic! It immediately made my brain start playing a little movie of Rulk's rampage. Brilliant work, Guardian!

[@jamesthistleton]

Awesome, thank you!

[@sanctifiedmind3822]

This is absolutely amazing my man. This is awesome

[@jamesthistleton]

Thank you!

[@KoruKinshi]

*angry Praetorian noises*

[@MakeshiftGent]

The fact that this is only just now being shown on my recommended page is criminal. This is beyond art.

[@endocytosis3463]

WAIT THIS ISNT IN THE GAME, GODDAMN- IVE BEEN LISTENING TO THIS FOR WEEKS WHILE WORLDBUILDING BECAUSE ITS SO DAMN PERFECT

[@Mateus.G.Garcia]

The Darkness portrayed in Destiny is a magnificent thing. this turned out amazing

[@Whispurer]

This sounds amazing! I'd love to hear your interpretations of the themes of other followers of The Witness; Nezarec, Xivu Arath, Calus, etc.

[@jamesthistleton]

We'll see if there are any new themes or lore coming up for Nezarec. If it makes sense, I'll go for it. Shattered Suns was set up pretty good.

[@godofwar941]

"Apocalypse is on Your Horizon -- The end is near by your own hand, children. Come, sit beside before you drown"

[@roniinumerals179]

My goodness this sounds amazing! The heavy low brass parts in there give me chills! Please keep making these!

[@KnightisDoom]

This is amazing

[@heartywhiteowl4938]

This needs to reach Bungie somehow, my god the respect this arrangement commands; the panic it instills -- you did a beautiful job at creating a composition that delightfully encompasses Rhulk's descent into becoming a conqueror; in his eyes at least. Thank you for your dedication

[@jamesthistleton]

Thank you!! Super glad you enjoyed it!

[@minkisbalinkis]

the prelude into the darkness theme right around 0:08 is so damn good. you're amazing at your work, man

[@jms3430]

Those bass stabs are FUUUUCKED. I love it

[@ErraticWr4th]

"You have served your purpose, all that awaits you now is the gift of death. Darkness beyond your final days." My favorite line from Rhulk. Bro is truly the best raid boss.

[@Ace-rv9td]

This is genuinely incredible! I’ve seen plenty of people say it already, but Bungie would be lucky to have you as a composer, you should totally get in contact with them if you haven’t done so already. I just absolutely love this piece, I’ve been going through mentally and breaking down a lot of what’s going on here and it’s one of those pieces that makes me wanna dive back into music theory. Awesome work man, I know a lot of people have already said it but this has such a distinct Bungie feel to it and if I didn’t know better I would think it’s a Salvatori piece.

[@frostyomnic9995]

Why is it that large companies music is often good, but somewhat predictable, and then you have small creators that make utterly godlike masterpieces that one can bearly fathom their existence

[@kreeeprrthehut6327]

literally made me subscribe instantly

[@jamesthistleton]

Thank you!!

[@crowdycrowded2278]

This is severely underviewed! Great theme (imma be running this in the background instead of the actual ost lmao)

[@Babymanthegoat]

You are a dad.

[@davietv]

I agree with both these statements

[@jorgeluque9470]

THIS 👉👉MAN 🚶🚶SPEAKING🔊🔊🔊FACTS📠📠📠📠 NO❌❌❌❌❌ CAPITALLLL🏫🏫🏫🏫🏫🏫🏫🏫❌❌❌

[@jbobko9291]

This is absolutely phenomenal, it feels like you combined the vibe of WoW and Destiny into a theme... Insane

[@yoowi9133]

Bro if you ever put this on a Spotify somewhere, I'm definitely streaming it...I felt the power behind this piece

[@heramaaroricon4738]

This would make the perfect theme for a Live-Action Version of Rhulk

[@besthashira4565]

This is amazing, it's so unique yet sounds like it came out right front destiny

[@FictionalFanatic]

I absolutely love Rhulk he was intimidating the way he punted guardians had me rolling.

[@ryanfay7531]

Destiny 2 music never fails to give me chills. amazing composition.

[@totallynotaneeq1053]

I legit thought this was a real ost from the game that was never used before, keep up the good work!

[@ArbiterKaidonThelVadam]

Rhulk is definitely one of the coolest raid bosses his theme kicks ass too

[@flameguy3416]

This could easily be in the last encounter of the raid, this is great.

[@Kopanuvich]

Man artists like yourself deserve so much to be known... I'm just glad that there still are people who make art with passion and love

[@jamesthistleton]

Wow, thank you!!

[@Kopanuvich]

Man, I just read the description of the video, and let me say, your music is able to "speak", because hearing this i imagined the same exact thing: Rhulks backstory on Lubrae and how he became the first disciple

[@toffylikesgames]

Whoah!! This is incredible. I adore Rhulk and his story, he's one of the most terrifying bosses in Destiny 2. You took all my favourite bits of the Vow of the Disciple theme and made a brand new Banger. Stunning work, thank you for sharing!!

[@jamesthistleton]

Ah thanks for the kind words. The lore painted such a vivid picture of this very different character. It was a pleasure to make and I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@Austin_Triebe]

This is truly eerie and haunting… I love it.

[@mediocregamer2484]

POV: Your whole family betrayed you and some voice just gave you a pointy stick and told you to go buck wild

[@CalebMealer]

Without a doubt one of the best pieces of music to come from this universe (even if this isn’t technically ‘official’). I would love for this to be the theme music for a Lightfall cutscene or something.

[@jamesthistleton]

Wow, thank you very much!

[@Glas53]

I could hear this being played alongside a flashback montage from a movie about the first Collapse, where The Witness and its disciples descend on the Last City and decimate everything

[@akka8588]

Bro this is fucking amazing. This really should've been Rhulk's theme. Nice job creating this

[@dajman24]

How am i just now finding this absolute BANGER

[@Talvox]

Immediate chills, wow. Absolutely fantastic work, I love this so much

[@cinderofgods8698]

This needs more views! This is just incredible

[@RedNovaTyrant]

So good, finished Rhulk today and had to come back to listen to this masterpiece. Keep it up :)

[@kazthecool]

Thank you, there are not many high quality free use artist out there.

[@shulminsama3820]

Bro bungie should hire you in the music department. Everytime i go and fight rhulk. I turn the in game music to 0 and turn this on bc it fits so damn well

[@trial_with_an_error9687]

That artwork goes fucking hard

[@stealthhunter6998]

This is so good please make more Destiny stuff! Well done!

[@Gotexan]

Your channel deserves so much more attention man, seriously.

[@Da_V1nky]

The arrangement and especially the beginning reminds me a lot of League of Legends champion login screens. You deserve all the views for this amazing piece, looking forward to your next projects!

[@draxo-xn7vx]

This was legendary, it feels so right for Rhulk

[@62restroom79]

'The First Deception' and this are connected so well

[@plugone.1217]

This is absolutely beautiful

[@fleepdeep1706]

I could so see this being used in some form of movie/show about Rhulk. Excellent vibes and really portrays his change during his Witness-fueled rage.

[@jamesthistleton]

Ah thanks!

[@Azur_exe]

I really like this and seems like i can't stop listening to it.

[@kasumiayanami4501]

Given that the motif of the Darkness theme sounds like Palpatine’s theme from Star Wars, the relationship between Rhulk and The Witness reminds me a lot of Palpatine and Anakin. The Witness convincing Rhulk to join his side for gain in unimaginable power, even if it means cutting all ties to what you once were and sacrificing everything you love to achieve that goal. 🤔

[@jamesthistleton]

Actively avoiding the palpatine theme, because it is soooo similar.

[@glazedmarrow8344]

This feels like the climax to an epic star wars duel

[@Eric-ly9uk]

I really like this a lot. I'm no music producer, though I want to be, and its videos like these that inspire me to try my hand at it. If I'd have made this, I would have extended the first part with the flute more, and the high-energy part would have come in later. Still, this is an incredible piece of Destiny-style music.

[@jamesthistleton]

The flute part was longer at first. I cut it down to get to the guts of the track sooner. Minute-long buildups are hard to live up to. Go make some music! If you have fun, you have lost nothing.

[@ThatchersResolute]

jeez its sounds so good! I love it

[@jet_li3320]

this is awsome, I thought this was his actual theme, it fits so well.

[@Thomland_]

This is so sick, great work!

[@jamesthistleton]

Thank you!!

[@zekerdeath]

this was amazing.

[@Zeraybifive]

Shattered Sun, Shattered Sun over Paradise

[@Goro4armsneck]

Nice take on the raid theme.

[@extractkun5911]

I've come back to this as it's one of, if not the greatest boss theme I have ever heard and its absolutely insane to me that it was made by 1 person. I could write genuine paragraphs about all the subtle reasons I adore this, however I came simply to say I imagined this as Nezareks theme more than Rhulk on his home planet. It perfectly captures overwhelming power and fear yet the Nezarek fight I've been theorising since season of the haunted only captures a fraction of hype that this song gives me just by listening. Idk why anyone has read all this but i just beat him on contest 30min ago and still think of this, thanks for reading ig lmao.

[@jamesthistleton]

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts and kind words. The music of discipleship is now firmly established with Calus, Nezarec, and Rhulk. I guess Xivu is next. GG on getting contest!

[@baalgar5530]

Lubrae convulses. The sky shatters.

[@GeoViolet]

Awesome !

[@jaken4224]

Based and upended-pilled

[@occultcenturion1131]

I'm saving this for my dnd one shot with Vecna as the final boss

[@icebreaker4197]

This sounds like it could be a story-based mission for Rhulk. Like Oryx, during the The Taken King campaign, where we weaken him in the story and finally kill him off in the raid.