Opera Singer Reacts: Divine Beast Dancing Lion || Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree OST 

If i had to describe this boss and theme in a few words it would be "divinity untamed" or "divinity unshackled". To quote its remembrance "when the impalers army assailed the tower, the ritual of the lion dance was turned toward martial ends - its divinity, its fury, its light-footed beauty."

The coolest part is the boss actually "dances" to the OST. He has a lightning, ice, and wind phase. And at the exact time (more or less) the in game OST starts playing that part, he changes to that element. It's such a cool gimmick!

This whole DLC has mindblowing themes. I'm certain you'll like them all. The music team went all on it.

One of my first toughts white fighting this Boss was: man i can’t wait to see Marcos reaction to this OST.

The heroic theme I believe is because of the fact that the Divine Dancing Lions were employed to defend Belurat (a city in the DLC) from Messmer's invaders. So in a way, you get to fight one of the "good guys".

About the song (Don’t read if you haven’t done the fight yet): During specific music queues during the second phase, the Dancing Lion will shift into different elements in correlation with the music. It’s not random, the song’s programmed into the fight and the AI behavior of the boss. It really makes the fight like a dance. From the theatrical arena, to the move set the boss has, the music, down to the name of the boss, it’s one of From Soft’s best dance fights.

This theme is easily one of the best I heard from this somptuous DLC, the way it pictures a beast-like/adrenaline fueled performance, yet being able to exhibit its divine status, and its elegance, furthermore in the fight, the soundtrack switches in synchronization with the change of element.

they really took the ideas of "storm, dance, fight" and meshed them into one song

It's crazy when the music lines up with the phase transitions.

Miyazawa has done some of the best damn tracks in the series

10:58 there you go, that's exactly what it is! a beautiful celebratory dance that was turned into a weapon of war

Shadow of the Erdtree is full of amazing music! My favorite was Messmer's theme

i think you should do Midra next, personally my favorite ost in the dlc

This is one of the only times I can remember where I had trouble focusing on the boss because of how good the music was

This, Metyr's theme, and The Promised Consort are definitely my favorites from the DLC. Metyr felt special cause the soundscape really captures that cosmic tone

All tracks in dlc is another level

this is one of those bosses where I am really sad, that there is no repeated boss fights in Elden Ring except NG+, because this fight was so cool and I would gladly fight it again.

im gonna *NEED* one of these for Midra. That track is insane.

The second phase theme reminds me of a fierce storm at sea. The constant up and down are the rolling waves, the strings are the wind, the flute is lightning, the chanting is thunder.

There is an NPC in the area near the boss that talks about singing for the Divine Beast("My song will I sing... in service to thee.") wishing for it to take revenge on the army that surpresses them.

This theme reminded me a lot of Ludwig from Bloodborne. Like Ludwig the Dancing Lion seems to be this once-proud divine beast who is now reduced to a rotten shadow of its former self. So all of this pomp in the music kind of contrasts the way the beast looks terribly weak and sad, and kind of tells you a story of its fall from grace.

You were spot on with how I feel! It feels as though you're the victim in an exhibition gladiator match and you're fighting for your life, but you're losing

It is incredible how you haven’t seen or played the dlc and you just described this boss fight perfectly. Always love the videos.

This honestly reminds me a lot of Monster Hunter with that eastern meets western soundscape Take away to vocals and it really sounds like a Monster Hunter theme

when the second phase kicks in, the boss becomes empowered with lightning and then proceeds to switch elements as time goes on (and music too), not like it's typically done when it's reliant on hp lvl, so the boss literally dances with the player and music really resembles his different styles during the fight

I feel like this track is the perfect blend of Sekiro music and Souls music. The violin in this track and really the whole expansion’s OST is on another plane of existence good. You’ll really like the Twin Moon Knight OST as well!

Shoi Miyazawa is so fucking good composer

The divine beast is literally two guys in a lion costume; it's a direct reference to the Chinese lion dance. No wonder it sounds a bit like a festival/ceremony/celebration. On top of that, the rhythm is 4 x 1,2,3 (if I'm not mistaken). The track sounds delightfully chaotic and matches the storm/lightning/blizzard theme of the boss. I hoped you would discuss this one; it's definitely going to be my favorite piece from the DLC.

Genuinely one of the best themes i've ever heard in a video game, and it's the first fucking boss, so good!

i feel like the chior is a storm that the instruments are trying to push through.

The reason I like this sountrack so much is the fact, that the music transitions so perfectly into the element transitions. First "lightning", then "frost" and last "storm". Such a beautiful track and fight.

From the cutscene for this boss, the dialogue spoken really also adds to the feeling of wanting celebration, especially considering what happened before in the story that you learn as you continue on: "O Horn-deck'd beast, from higher sphere deliver'd. Take root inside the tower's sculpted keepers. And perch'd within, we beg of thee; rise. Dance and cavort, cleanse all that thou wilt. Cruelty, woe, and those who plague the tower. Cleanse away the strumpet's vile progeny." It was a fantastic battle for the start of the DLC and the music definitely adds to the welcoming of the DLC's story. What a powerful opening. Onwards to the Twin Moon Knight!

This boss is incredible but honestly fighting him again and again was worth it cuz you could listen to this theme again and again too

I just finished the boss, and I was already checking you to see if you have played/listened to this. The entire arena is literally a stage, and you’re both dancing with death.

Every single track in the dlc is amazing, you will love every single piece

Having fought this boss and knowing it’s lore (haven’t finished the whole dlc yet), I am amazed at how you managed to nail the boss on the head just by listening to its music. The sense of heroism, and the idea of an ‘audience’ celebrating the beast is spot-on, since the basic idea is that the dancing lion(s, I believe there used to be multiple) was the main defender of the city where you fight it, and it was the only thing that could stand up to the tyrannical forces that ultimately destroyed the city. The people of the city really do regard the beast as a saviour, so they absolutely celebrate it in that way.

It feels like some sort of carnival or festival, watching it twist through the air calling storms was truly breathtaking

I have not played the dlc yet and this music set something primal off in my brain with the single repeating thought of ROLL ROLL ROLL!!!!!!!!

This is my favorite piece so far, it's such a breath of fresh air and made the fight such as a spectacle

To me it sounded like you are facing the full force of a storm blowing you away while you hold on for dear life. But coming to your appreciation Marco, I also felt like yeah, you are facing a performance of some sort. It is a beast trying to kill you, embodying a powerful storm, but it sounds like a performance.

2° phase ALWAYS gives me chills man, is such a masterpiece, and I think the up beat comes everytime he goes into a element to fight you, It's magnificent

Can't wait for you to listen to Messmer and Bayle's theme. Those two are probably my favourite for me now

Love this casual showing of your own octave range while singing the baritone part then the flute parts right after. Very impressive!

I've watched so many MarcoBeatball reactions now I had to subscribe. This is another level of gaming where we have a professional actually breaking down the music. Can't wait for the rest of the bosses ! Especially the next one !

This is my fav track in the DLC! I love how they give the impression of something whirling about with music, and the low grating sounds underneath the melody is reminiscent of a beast growling.

I was waiting for this breakdown of this incredible piece 🤩🤩

I was going through the entire boss fight listening to this and just couldn't wait to hear your thoughts on it! I'm glad the video came out so soon!

I found the boss a bit janky with some parts of the moveset. But I couldn’t really be mad when I had this theme going the whole time. What a stunning bossfight. I also notice the music has some Eastern musical culture influences, which really fits the aesthetic of the bosses fight, which really gives off a Chinese dragon vibe with the swirling motions.

the fact the fight almost always syncs up to the fight itself is the best part.

Angry elegance is a perfect description for the boss' backstory. One of the last survivors of a massacre, a creation that was meant for celebrations that was forced to fight to defend its city.

Been waiting for this!!

I was hoping you’d do this one first and I’m glad to see it happen, this is one of my personal favorites in the dlc.

This OST is literally Miyazaki telling us "Welcome to your first trial. Give it all, because only the best are allowed to pass..."

You’re pretty much spot on with the analysis. The Divine Beast was a celebration of the three elements ice, storm and lighting, with storm being the pinnacle, all of it performed in an actual dedicated theater. However, when the Golden Order’s army came to attack the tower, this same “god” (as seen by the people now) became a war machine, its performance turned towards violence.

been waiting for this vid since the 21 hehe, cheers Marco < 3

The Twin Princes OST is still the best ever.

Been waiting for these 🤝

I absolutely loved this theme. One of the best they have ever done. It gave the lion which is an inanimate object such a personality.

I absolutely love the strings on this, they're just so fun to me. Excited to see your opinions on the other themes. There's so many pretty things in there.

this boss is littearly just chinse dancing lion music but they made it so demented and horrifying that it sounds like the music of an actual monster, it has a real dance to it and it syncs with the boss fights phases and attacks, its done really well my favorite bit was 7:16 that whole bit just sounds so intense

From what I understand, the Divine Beast Dancing Lions were first performers who were later used in the war against Messmer's forces. That's where I think both the celebratory and the angry tones come from. Also you literally fight them on a stage! I really enjoyed the music changing along with the boss changing elements. Dynamic doesn't even begin to describe this theme!

The track, especially the second phase, feels so ritualistic. Which fits, obviously. It really reminds me of the boss from Blasphemous 1 where the hands are holding up the mummified Saint.

yessss this was my favorite track from the DLC and i was hoping you'd listen to it. the melody is so wild and untamed.

Best ost of the dlc in my opinion, it incorporates divinity, wrath, and escalation perfectly. I know people have their own opinions but The Dancing Lion and Margit the Fell Omen are probably the best themes in the game to me

OMG! Yes! I've been listening to it today and thought of your reactions! :D

the way you spoke was really very complete, how I felt listening, I stood there for about 5 seconds completely frozen by his dance, how he is looked at

Good video! I also love the Belurat, Tower Settlement OST. Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree is a true masterpiece and the music is outstanding!

I always am amazed how he is able to completely read the lore just from the music

I was looking for this reaction when I heard the theme for the first time. Great track. Great fight.

So a cool thing about the fight is that(as others have mentionned) the boss actually changes from using lightning magic, to ice magic, and then wind magic. And the music/audio changes as he does as well, maybe see if you can guess which parts are for which elements

I NEED to see you breakdown Midra's theme, it's evil, beautiful, CHAOS!

I think its pretty accurate to feel like this OST (and this whole fight) is a celebration. I felt that way when i fought Godrick for the first time, it's like From Software is saying "i know you waited a long time for this, this is your first big step, enjoy it"

This boss looks to be inspired by the Chinese dragon puppets that dancers puppeteer from underneath, as it's essentially the exact same but a lion with horns all over it and the elements of wind, lightning, ice and deathblight (there's a second lion dancer in Rauh ruins if anyone is curious what i mean by deathblight)

My god I can't wait for your reaction to a certain Lord's theme in the DLC.. its so fucking good!

hearing this song outside of the game is a whole different experience. In-game i was too busy running for my life to appreciate how awesome it is lol.

Was waiting for this goat

I'm now obsessed with this track the same way I was with Godrick's theme 2 years ago... I love Miyazawa so much 😍

After listening to this again and watching people fight the creature, I thought about this: The majestic beast swings and twirls, making players dance to it. It doesn't want a quick kill. It wants to play the game and celebrate the battle. The king wishes to be entertained. Even the elements are excited and that's why the battle is so intense, you're not just fighting the Lion King, you're fighting the elements. The wind howls, the thunder crashes, and the lightning dances. The battle is a chaotic dance of madness. I’m sure you will enjoy fighting this beast when you play the DLC. ☺️

"Optimistic vengeance" is a very interesting and insightful read once you delve in to what the Divine Beasts are and their animating purpose

Wow! That's actually great. Kinda expected that but still suprised.

I could not 1v1 this boss, and hated trying, but I definitely did a few attempts just to listen to this them and appreciate it. Man, those flutes. Even in the chaos of the fight those flutes hit just right. X)

Oh fun fact: if the foght drags on past when you should reasonably kill the beast the rapid swirching part of the ost comes into play and the boss starts spamming changes in tune with the music.

I swear this is the best video game music I have ever heard. Fromsoft never disappoints.

I love how the music’s syncs up with the bosses changing elements in the actual fight

The vocal hits when the beast changes to lightning for the first time genuinely gave me goosebumps

Can't wait for a final for theme reaction. I am in love with that theme

It'd make sense that there'd be a sense of "celebration" to the song, as the boss is completely modeled after the "dancing lions/dragons" seen in Chinese parades, being actually two guys puppeting a beastly costume.

i love the way u broke down the song, explains exactly what u feel when fighting

It's always impressive to hear you describe what you imagine from the music and being very spot on =o

This one was crazy, i felt in an otherwordly flow, somehow it all made sense, i saw it's moveset clearly, i almost kill it first try as well.

I've been waiting for this ever since I started the fight. The theme goes haaaaaaard

In my opinion you cant separate the music from the bossfight itself. The transition from phase to phase its really memorable

i was just thinking you were going to do a video on this boss.

I would say that the second phase is more primal and raw, the first one says: okay, lets celebrate this clash, but then it switches up with the choir especially to a more: ok, playtime is over, let us get serious and I will not hold back. Also to note, these piccolo runs are one of the best I have ever heard ANYWHERE,

I would say that the second phase is more primal and raw, the first one says: okay, lets celebrate this clash, but then, in the second phase, it switches up with the choir especially to a more: ok, playtime is over, let us get serious and I will not hold back. Also to note, these piccolo runs are one of the best I have ever heard ANYWHERE.

Man I can't wait for your reaction to.... all the bosses in the dlc😭All the themes are awesome (spoiler for the name of a boss below!!) ESPECIALLY Midra, that guy's theme is amazing. Also it has the frontières flame leitmotif? The composers really put their whole ussy into that

I really have to listen to it all on youtube now, it's hard to appreciate those tracks in full when you're fighting for your life 😅 I actually like that though, it lets me experience the soundtrack twice

Hey marko glad you finally reacting to the dlc soundtracks. This boss took me almost 1 day to beat, was quite challenging but fun. But damn the music man. Its truly god tier. Already my favorite. Its so so damn good. I love it so much. Fromsoftware never disappoints 😍🙏 10/10 🔥🔥👌👌

Hey man, just wanted to say thanks for making me more interested in Elden Ring, I had bought it but didn’t go far past Limgrave for a long time, did a few quests like the wolf-man’s cave and the invisible man, then saw the dragon at the lake and the troll, then some random people started appearing out of nowhere and I started getting bum rushed, these ‘invaders’ were extremely OP and I was losing lots of runes because of it, and then I just put the game down out of frustration. Then I listened to how passionate you were about the game and decided to give the game a second chance, just got past Godrick in the castle, souls like games aren’t really my forte, but it’s fun. So yeah, thanks man! Also the video is great! Have an amazing day! 😁

excited to see you play the dlc and actually see how well your analysis lines up to what its like to fight this boss. if i am to tie the lore into it though without spoiling much, in classic fromsoft fashion, you're fighting something that isn't inherently evil per se but is definitely aligned with divinity or is in itself a divine creature and these frantic violins really give the vibe that you're fighting just a force of nature. you pointed out the frantic flutes as well which i think really alludes to its grounds in the real life asian culture the beast is based on and also when you fight the boss, you are so right that theres a lot of leaping and bounding happening. for a beast so huge, the music really sells how athletic and elegant and how fast it is too. also again not too spoil too much, i think its also fair to say that its not you or us the player thats celebrating in this music but there is definitely a celebration of this beast's awakening for sure