METAL GEAR RISING - UNCUT 4 Song OST Study: 'The Stains of Time,' 'Rules of Nature,' 'The Only Thing I Know for Real' & 'It Has to Be This Way' (68 min)

About The Only Thing I Know for Real. When Sam gets disarmed you can notice that the vocals cut out. With the context of the song, it shows that without his sword he is not even himself since the only thing he knows is real is bloodshed which he achieves with his sword. And the vocals continue when he pick it back up. These songs are all supposed to be what the characters are about. A song where the only thing he knows is bloodshed losing its vocals without the instrument he uses for the bloodshed is really something. Also Sam was able to duel Raiden with minimal cyborg enhancements. In the japanese version of the game cyborgs had white blood. And when Sam was killed the blood was red. Meaning he was mostly human.

Fun fact: Jason Miller, the guy who did the vocals for "Rules of Nature", also did the vocals on the Final Fantasy XIV song "Shadowbringers" that you reacted to last month.

Yesss!! Thank you for this study! I think Sam's theme 'The Only Thing I Know for Real' is a really special experience when you play the game. The boss fight you watched is actually our second encounter with him. During the first encouter, his theme played without the lyrics and it sounds violent and intimidating. In the second fight, the song gets a different tone, as we suddenly learn more about his thoughts when we pay attention to the lyrics: "It's me that I spite, as I stand up and fight" and "Losing my identity, wondering have I gone insane"

MGRR IS SOOOO GOOD! The whole soundtrack is diagetic, and its so good. All the music is plot relevant to understanding the minds of the bosses, and its rewarding fighting through the bosses to be rewarded with lyrics. It makes you feel so cool.