Darkest Dungeon OST - "The Butcher's Circus Combat" (2020) HQ Official 

-Music kick in- : YEAH IM IN. -Death blow attack miss again- : YEAH IM OUT.

Crusader: Ah, a circus? About time, I could use some time off. So what do you guys have? Do you have clowns? Trapeze artists? Tigers? Ring Leader: We actually host fights to the death... Crusader: Of course you do.....

*''Fight on - the mob rallies to the underdog!''*

The Official Theme of Wayne June going, “HAH! The buffoon flummoxed!”

“Are you not entertained?”

The thrill of facing an equal. The anguish of losing an ally. The horror of losing the battle. The bloodlust of ravaging a weakling. The power of defeating the enemy. This track captures it all.

Tip, turn off the music next time when you go into a dungeon. You will see how empty the game is without Stuart and his amazing soundtrack. Thank you so much man.

Listens to this ost. *Stress: -50*

"Hah! The buffoon is flummoxed!" (I've heard that phrase A LOT during just one match) The OST for this DLC is quite interesting in the mood. Perhaps, that is me trying to dig too deep, but I keep thinking about it. The main game is all about the impending doom. It's a journey full of dread, horrors, stakes. If you don't succeed... the world is as good as over. But Butcher's Circus is different. From a certain position, there are no stakes. There is no impending doom. There is just a show, a bravado. So, for once, a semblance of happiness is allowed. And that tonal mix of still the same Darkest Dungeon dread, mixed in with some happiness and the uplifted mood is something truly magnificent! Nothing short, but the best from Stuart, as always!

I love how the narrator laughs at you when you take long time to decide what to do.

Some say music can heal But nothing can heal Leper's crits.

Oh god. This accordion... It's presence is small, but it works so well...

The undulating waves of the thronging crowd leer down at the combatants in the blood-soaked pit beneath them, naught but their twisted expressions of glee visible from below. Lauding and loathing the men and women who combat one another in equal measure, their cheers ring through the whole of the Hamlet, echoing late into the dark of the night. Back and forth the two quartets go, striking and retreating in equal measure. The Man-at-Arms ripostes a wayward strike from the Jester, the Occultist conjures elongated tendrils to tear into the flesh of the Vestal and Highwayman. The bandit advances, thrusting his knife against the Abomination as the Houndmaster's faithful dog harries the defenders. The Leper assails the venerable soldier, chopping against his shield - A DEVASTATING BLOW! - only to meet with a dogged, unyielding resistance. And for what? Has the Ancestor reaped yet another terrible harvest? Invited a separate virulent plague upon the world? Awakened a separate horrid entity of malicious intent? No. The Butcher's Circus, as vicious as the blood-soaked banners and metal visages may be, does not boast a grander purpose nor an insidious shadow behind itself. Riddled in gore and rife with carnage, the realm of the mad carnival is just that: a festival. A place of enjoyment, as indulgent and sadistic it may be. Here, though the horrors of the Estate yet loom over the horizon, for a brief time, there is simple competition among companions and adventurers, a place to test one's mettle, settle old scores, and feel the rush of life without fear of death by a malformed mutant, unholy abomination, or cackling madman. Here, they are but among themselves, and through the dread of the present and the mounting wounds upon their bodies, they cannot help but smile in glee. The Circus has come to the Hamlet, and none among the heroes would have it any other way.

Anyone else shocked by just how awesome the pvp is? It's made me relearn the game all over again and I love it

Darkest dungeon players for the past 4 years: "Leper is the worst class, can only heal and buff self, can only attack front lanes, low acc... pretty much useless" Butchers Circus: *OVERCONFIDENCE IS A SLOW AND INSIDIOUS KILLER*

AMAZING! I'm so excited to see your work for Darkest Dungeon 2.

"A traveling Bacchanal... ...a debauched contest of survival... ...the Butcher's circus is all these things - and more."

Stuart does it again.

"The advantage is yours. *Unsheathe your blades!"*

You mad lad Stuart. You absolute mad lad. You’ve only just gone and delivered yet another delicious mood. The show must go on!

I just realized I never left a comment on this song, which is astounding to me because this is one of my (if not THE) absolute favorite tracks of the entire OST. It's just so, so, SO good. Conveys so much emotion, the playfulness and mockery of the games, the very real and lethal combat within, the dichotomy between these two ideas and settings and how they clash when the fighting begins. It's terrifying and wonderful. Thank you for your music man. You're doing amazing work.

1:12, It's just gorgeous! Love you Stuart, DD wouldn't have half its soul without you.

A houndmaster, highwayman, jester and occultist go to the circus..... *Everything started bleeding*

This track honestly feels so distinctive to me, as a composer myself. You’ve captured so much width, prominence, a constant stress to each move like the world’s about to obliterate by the choice. Especially the slight ring tone, 2-3-4-1, 2-3-4-2 (pitch), it contains the choppiness the rest of the smoother violins needed.

Your music, Wayne June narration and the art style really take DD to the next level

The 3:30 part is absolutely wonderful. The accordion, low strings, and chanting add a sense of sadness to them. Like the music is portraying the fighting as tragic, rather than simply just "intense" or "glorious" like other pieces of this track sound. The musical variety in this piece is fantastic!

Legend has it that all dismissed heroes must fight in the Butcher's Circus.

0:00-0:08 Battle Start. 0:08-1:14 First blood. 1:14-2:16 Stress is unbearable. 2:16-2:48 "A compassion is rarity in feathered pitch of battle." 2:48-3:20 "And now the true test: hold fast or expire?" 3:20-3:50 "Reeling, gasping - taken over the edge into madness!" 3:50-4:25 "There is no place for the weak or fool-hardy..." 4:25-4:55 "The will to fight falters!" 4:55-6:00 "Those who covet injury find it in no short supply." 6:00-6:17 "Abyss returns even the boldest gaze!" 6:17-6:32 "The horror..." 6:32-7:05 "Moment of clarity in the eye of the storm." 7:05-7:35 "Press this advantage, give them no quarter!" 7:35-8:08 "Cornered! Trapped! And forced to fight on..." 8:08-8:40 "A death denied...for now." 8:40-9:15 "Confusion, nerves and panic!" 9:15-9:46 "Seize this momentum! Push on to the tasks end!" 9:46-9:51 Battle ends.

Darkest Dungeon OST and voice of narrator are reasons why I play it again and again. :-) I hope that Stuart is working on DD 2 too.

"Come one, Come all! To the greatest show you will ever see!" "Blood! Violence! Death!" "Women and Men! Soldiers and Outlaws! Fools and Copses!" "Watch them all battle to the end in the Butcher's Circus!"

Well, well, well, the music has me flummoxed.

The show. Must. Go. On.

In love with how the instrumentation of the first half, which sounds almost like a festival celebration, switches to an almost ceremonial dread in the second half to exemplify the difference between playing in the lower and higher leagues. If you've been playing for this long, it isn't just for the novelty of Darkest Dungeon pvp anymore, it's deathmatch time and you've earned the background music.

Ah the music of you trying to kill antiquarian for 20 turns in the row

Hey Stuart, love the combat music, oddly enough the quiet parts are my favorite bits. Amazing that you made an almost 10 minute song not sound repetitive.

The circus where the clowns are volunteers, homicidal, and suicidal!

Someone did perform beyond their limits indeed.

From 4:25 - 4:55 you can hear the crowd animalisticly roar and cheer for more only to have their expectations slaughtered by the grand spectacle brought before them.... It's Time For The Main Event.

In every other game there are tracks I absolutely love and "meh" ones. This is one and only case where every one of them is absolute blast and each piece brings something different to the picture. I knew I'd love it before even watching and boy oh boy was I right. Thank you for all your work!

The first seconds of the song, that build-up is just epic. That alone sells me this.

I never thought I'd have ever heard Circus and medieval mixed into the same song This has to be my favourite track from the entire game along with the circus lobby. Something about it exudes a feeling of gleeful grimness which perfectly fits the tone and context of not only the DLC, but how it feels to play Darkest Dungeon as a whole You did an amazing job on this one

Sorry but you misspelled his name, it is Stuart CHADwood

This game had been on my radar since Pathologic 2 went on a heavy sale several months ago, I had gotten Darkest Dungeon the day this dlc came out. Not only was I blown away by this amazing game I was also extremely surprised to see just how active this 4-year-old game is to this day, with a sequel coming to boot! Props to the whole Red Hook Studios team and Stuart Chatwood for the lovely experience of risk and dread.

Really makes the fight feel like a spectacle and it encourages you to keep going when losing and makes you feel great about yourself when winning.

This freaking song is the only reason I keep playing in the butchers circus since the infinite crashes

When your a newish player, youve beat the game and conqured all the bosses. But there is one boss left. Your Freind who has 500 plus hours in game and his team. *And now..the true test...*

Ah yes. The sound of buffoons being flummoxed.

omg this is so damn heroic!!

I really like the intensity changes when you get to the higher rank, you can hear more high intense part of music when you fight against higher rank match. like darkness intensity in single campaign.

Imagine going to Circus with family and you suddently start hearing this

there should be a spectator mode for those pvp battles. That carnage with this soundtrack would be marvelous

"Seize this momentum! Push on to the task's end!"

If I had to describe your compositions in one sentence, it'd probably be -- *_"A brilliant confluence of skill and purpose!"_*

Coming back to this, 1:12 is still fantastic. It evokes the sheer JUBILATION of being alive you'd get only by dancing on the knife's edge like a merry go round in a deranged deathmatch like the Butcher's Circus.

Soundtrack for the 2020s...it's chilling how true to life and the state of the world this one is at the moment....

The best music composer in the gaming industry today, easily. Every single track on this OST is stellar. It has come to the point where anything new content wise in Darkest Dungeon has me excited to see what new atmospheric theme comes out to blow my mind first and the gameplay portion comes second.

"It really makes you feel like a clown!" - IGN

Man seriously how can you pull out masterpieces of your head that easy? I promess that atleast 60% of my hype for Darkest Dungeon 2 is to hear all the new songs you have composed.

I want to thank you, Stuart. Your music throughout Darkest Dungeon has deeply influenced me and work. It has helped me in my pursuit of my own passions and helped me a lot while creating my novel. It has helped to get in a mindset that encapsulate the moments of despair and woe in intrugal parts of the story. I can't wait to hear the new pieces you compose in the future.

ONE.MUST.FALL

Used this song as the 'big reveal' background tune in my recent D&D game; two years of real-world time had passed since the start of that overarching campaign, and Saturday night was the climax and the 'reveal' of the man behind the mask in terms of who the big villain was. The music made it SO indescribably cool, and seeing the players literally screaming with excitement was glorious.

I can hear "Bellow" everytime this plays

Unrelated to my dumbass joke, below: Can I just point out that even the points that are "repetitive" are almost like they're lulling you into a false sense of security - of knowing where the song is going to go - before coming back around and hitting you with some new hotness? If that isn't Darkest Dungeon to a T, then I don't know what is. And as a friend of mine has repeatedly stated, "This music was designed for what is essentially a _mini-game._ In any other game, this music would be considered the kind of song worthy of a final boss battle." In fact, that's fitting in it's own way - what is a more dangerous opponent to face, than another human being who has put in as many sleepless hours as you in mastering this game and its mechanics? Who else can strategize around your own party composition and react appropriately?

_"The buffoon is flummoxed!"_ The buffoon is listening to this kickass song, thank you very much.

"Hey, Stuart, we're going to make some free bonus DLC for our game, and we need additional soundtracks for it. No need to go too hard." Stuart:

Beauty in madness

I've been listening to all sorts of DD music while i am writing my DnD campaign. it really helps me come up with morbid and mad scenarios to put my players in... it really is great inspiration muhahaha. Thanks for the great soundtrack you make Mr. Chatwood!

LISTEN MUSIC Time Cost: 10 Self Only: -100 Stress

1:12 and 6:00 has a stranglehold on why I love this ost. That RUSH of being alive, to fight on in this bloodsoaked sport fought by rabble and warriors alike, as if not just for entertainment or money, as it may to stand defiant against those of the crowd that wishes to see your corpse lifeless on the ground by defeating the enemy. Fight on, the crowd cheers for the underdog!

If you listen closely, you can hear old man screaming and 41 crit "ding"

I usually watch videos of Butchers Circus at 1.5 times speed, and the music gets INTENSE

Canadian masterpiece.

This is practically the definition of old 1890’s esc circus music, but brutal and maniacal added to it. Not like circus music didn’t have those themes but still.

Oh ma god, This is amazing, can't wait for DD 2!

You really can't pay much attention to the music in the game, but looking back it's been a wild ride.

Well-well-well it would appear *that buffon is flummoxed*

Listening to Stuart Chatwood.... It fills you with determination.

"Unsheathe your blades!"

When Dismas and Reynauld settled their dispute with a nice bout in the circus and everything was just fine!

No matter how many times I hear this track it instills me with a mixture of despair, chaos, betrayal, and violence. I have played so many matches of the Butcher's Circus but every time I am relishing this music, really pulled out all the stops on this one Stuart. If DD2's music is even half as good as this, I'll be very happy.

the campaing can wait,for now carnage calls!

i want this on switch sooooo badly

"The buffoon is flummoxed!"

Perfect music for heroes' anihhilation and stressing out

HOW HOW ARE YOU SO GOOD ITS LIKE THE MOOD IS MADE FOR THE MUSIC NOT OTHERWISE YOU'RE SUCH A GREAT MUSICIAN ITS INSANE

can already taste all the salt that will be produced to the sound of this amazing piece may the crits favor ye

wow you have outdone yourself again amazing work !

Honestly the soundtrack and narration are the two things that bring me back to this game after a long break. It revives a sense of longing to return and challenge myself.

this is the best ost i hear recently ....scratch that , BEST MUSIC IVE HEARD IN A LONG WHILE .

This is such a menacing and dark theme for what is seemingly a circus. Absolutely amazing song that captures the tone perfectly!

Sir, as a Spaniard I can only love the name "Mano a mano" It's perfect.

Absolutely Incredible

I've discovered this a while ago because some person made a remix of it (that I also like) and I must admit, I love that frenzy orchestral vibe it has. Especially at 4:55 when the drop comes in. I love it and I just can't help but say that this is a piece of art and definitely in the top 3 of my best 10 min long songs !

Hitting a crit and hearing the crowd go "aaaah" while this song is in crescendo is an out-of-body experience

This is now probably one of my favourite tracks in Darkest Dungeon to be honest. It just feels quite different from the rest of the game and fits the atmosphere really well!

My opponents must have heard "Hah! The buffoon is flummoxed!" quite often from when I was taking my time listening to the song instead of making a move.

The foes are something you thought you know, the madness of the world is there, eternal as everything, but, the blood quickens, the crowd cheers... And this masterpiece sets all to battle against your comrades and fiends!

Once again Stuart surprises me with another outstanding track. Thank you for your amazing work!

"The Grinding can wait, for now... Humilliation calls"

Stuart Chatwood puts out another banger for the Darkest Dungeon soundtrack? I didn't expect anything different. Keep it up, the Darkest Dungeon is my favorite OST literally EVER.