Nobody has commented on this in a long time. I just wanna say, this song is still incredible 2 years later! It was awesome from the beginning, but now it has the weight of this incredible campaign on its back. From the high seas, to the southern coasts of Wildemount, to the dark plains of Xhorhas, to the diverse cities of the Dwendalian Empire, to the chaotic sub-planes of Halas, and all the way back to the small town of Trostenwalde. The carny whose thread was severed too soon. The dark angel struggling for freedom of will. The naïve little girl who won’t let the world be taken too seriously. The goblin desperate to defy fate and restore the life she once had. The sailor whose desire for validation almost wrought calamity upon Exandria. The sad wizard who wants the break reality. The no-shits-given monk who’s learned to give a shit. The lonely gardener searching for his family and a purpose. This song represents something magical. When an episode, of any tone, ends and this song plays, it holds just the perfect soundscape for this story. When it ends on a particularly heavy or emotional note, this song means the world. It’s been a crazy 2 years. Thank you for your small but very large contribution.

This is the official track that plays over the fanart slideshow now! You made it, man!

Rolled a Nat 20 on your performance check. This was incredible.

Dishonored meets the Witcher. I love the uncertainty and tarnished beauty that this piece evokes.

You are a bard extraordinaire

I’m so happy that this now plays over the fan art instead of the old music! It helps to give the new campaign it’s own feel.

Even all these years later, this is THE Critical Role song. To me, not even the original theme captures the feel quite as well.

Genuinely makes me emotional to listen to this now, I miss the Mighty Nein already :(

WAIT! This is the original? i had no idea. THAT'S SO FREAKING AWESOME!

The music that plays during game breaks helps to capture the "heart" of the campaign. "Twin Elms" by Justin Bell is what played for campaign 1, and many of those who were there for C1 go back and listen to wax nostalgic. It hits you in the feels. You remember the good times, the tragedies, the goofy goobing, the losses, and the love of a found family. It's truly fascinating what power music holds. I got into Critical Role right as C1 was ending, so I watched C2 live from start to finish. It was something to look forward to every week for 3 and a half years. The booming onset of "Welcome to Wildemount" hits you like a rush of wind, and it just carries me back instantly to that world and those exciting nights. Laughing at these idiots and their mischief (chaos crew for life). The fear as they faced horrors beyond horrors. When new loves ebbed and flowed. When they overcame their struggles, and when they didn't, and suffered great pain. A story 3 years in the telling. I miss the Nein dearly, but their story continues on.

Getting around to answering as many comments and questions as I can, guys! Again thank you all for listening, without trying to sound like a broken record, this is by far one of the most positive and supportive communities for creativity on the internet and I appreciate every single kind word! This is by and large the biggest and most positive response I've had for a single piece to date and I have a flooded inbox of requests to do more tracks to spam the cast with (mainly ambient ones) so DO give me your suggestions on that topic and what you'd like to hear! Just to cover a few bundles of Q's: I'm 24 and have been composing for video games from small apps to indie developed steam games for the last 2 years now. A number of you wanted to know more about my PhD which is in fact also centered around game score. I plan on doing a lot of travelling in the next year to network and connect with larger companies and developers, most importantly GDC 2019 in California. Like VO this type of work can be nerve wracking in between commissions and if this show has provided anything to me, it's the knowledge that anyone with a creative spark is able to go as far as they allow themselves to. If you'd like to use the music for your own campaign the download link is in the description! Much gratitude once again, you kind-hearted, handsome, handsome people! -Colm

I prefer this over the “remastered” version. There is a fluid, natural, profound sound to it that I think the remaster lacks. There are additions to the remaster I do enjoy, but it is hard to improve on something that is already perfect.

Matthew Mercer sent me here

I'm gonna miss this song

This legit sounds like something from the Witcher 3. Phenomenal job man. Completely awesome.

THIS NEEDS TO BE THE MUSIC THAT PLAYS DURING THE FAN ART SLIDESHOW BEFORE EACH EPISODE OPENING. G&S PLEASE.

Masterfully done. I hope the whole crew flips out when they hear this.

This soundtrack + the fanart reel during the break is what brought mighty nein to life for me . Whenever I imagine a part of a story this theme plays and the fanarts start to animate in the back of my head I miss the art reel, too bad it had to go

CONGRATS TO BEING ON CRITICAL ROLE AS THE NEW SLIDESHOW SONG!!! SO PROUD!!

This music ideally represents a melancholic nature of Caleb and a feel of Fiords's connectrion to the deeps.

I still remember when I first heard this song after finishing an episode. I froze right in my tracks and didn’t move until the whole thing was over. Beautiful piece of work

more of this and i would buy an album. no joke. this is a god send for my dnd combat music.

i literally get full body chills and goosebumps from listening to this, soo amazing

Needs to be played during the fan art. Gave me chills.

I legitimately thought that this was some track from a Witcher game that I had never heard, come to find out that it is an original piece. Absolutely stunning, gorgeous amazing work!

Two years later, and I'm still not sick of this song, and I still get hype about it.

This is breathtaking. You are a master of your craft. Also, to me it sounds very reminiscent of music from the Witcher series. So I love it even more.

PLEASE I love this version but I ADORE THE NEW ONE PLEASE UPLOAD PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. You're so incredibly talented.

This is fantastic. Matt even tweeted about it. I think this should be the new theme for the campaign. Maybe once they've proven themselves to be worthy adventurers. The Disco theme is great, don't get me wrong, but this just feels right. It feels like home. Like Wildemount.

Sad this is not on Spotify so I can listen to it over and over. This music drags you in SO MUCH seems like magic.

I can't believe this doesn't have a million views yet!

this is real talent and amazing skill especially with the cello

Man I've literally been scouring every major piece of video media I've consumed in the past 15 years trying to pin this song down and here it is, out of left field. AMAZING piece and production, sir. Amazing.

Dude ... thats so epic .... I want this to be Critical Roles new titlemusic .... E P I C ! ! !

God this music is AMAZING

Thank you for this amazing, song Colm. Campaign 2 never fails to make me happy or sad and your song just makes me weep tears that campaign 2 is over. Thank you again Colm.

Dude. We need to collaborate some time! This is sick!

Thank you critical role, for introducing me to this absolutely awesome musician. So far, every single on of your pieces have given me chills.

Everytime I hear this song my heart fills with joy. This makes my day every thursday. Thank you

this is so beautiful and it fits the story perfectly.. i cry listening to this sometimes :')

Matt has found this. I came here after he tweeted about it.

Despair, lamenting, but also hope. Three emotions I feel when I hear this. It's the sound of a crushing reality setting it only to have a tiny ray of sunshine, a chance, a fragment of possibility present an out. It's beautiful.

I can’t believe that I found this incredible piece of music a couple months ago while listening to Aiden Chan, and now it’s the official fan art music for Critical Role. What a way to make an entrance! Gorgeous music! Simply gorgeous!

The Welcome to Tal'Dorei album version is good but this is by far my favorite. Keep coming back to it and still gives me those trilling goose bumps while listening every time. Thank you for such a great piece.

HOLY SHIT NEW OFFICIAL ART SONG I’ve been loving this and am so glad to hear it each week now.

Loved it. Great theme. Made me pumped to watch the stream tonight. Was freaking amazing along with the art. Will be looking at your other music.

I'm so glad this popped up in my recommended videos, so I can give you major props and kudos for so perfectly capturing the spirit, not only of the Mighty Nein, but of the world they live in, of the adventures they embark on, and the incredible story they're telling.

This is still one of the best tracks on youtube, bar none.

Dont get me wrong the original song they used for the art slideshow was good. But this song is absolutely incredible. Gets me excited everytime i hear it. Amazing job here

I have listened to this for my whole 9-hour shift on repeat and I still love it! so that says something :D Great work!

18th of august 2020. Still LOVING this

Dude. I am over the moon to finally have found the original version of this song on KZfaq. This track makes me so incredibly, incredibly happy. No words

Heard this for the first time tonight on stream. Amazing, epic feeling. Now with the video, it looks like you are also living my life goal of learning every stringed instrument in the world. Thank you for this; I'm glad to see that the cast/crew at G&S appreciate this as much as the rest of us.

This piece really is amazing. At first I thought this was a cover of the song from critical role, then realized it's your original. This tune carries a lot of weight with it. It is powerful, yet has beautiful dynamics and chill moments, only to come back up to a heart-pounding energy again. It is inspiring for the future and nostalgic of the past all at once. At certain times, it will have you at the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next, and of others, it feels like it makes you sit back and think, "Man, that was a heck of a day...". I have heard this hundreds of times now and it never gets old. As a fellow musician, I ask you to please keep this up. Do not stop making epic music like this. I would personally love to see you make some longer battle music scores with similar power and a more subtle, soft bit for the quiet, serious, personal or romantic moments.

Dude, the Emotions I get from this just auto-playing while vibing to your music. What a long way everyone has come!

3 years later, (Almost four!) I still get pumped listening to this version and the newer version.

Sweet Ioun this is masterful. Gave me an almost Avengers vibe once the violins kicked in this needs to be critical role's new theme

Sometimes you just have to come back to relive this amazing music from C2.

This is amazing! Just the sort of mood I envisioned for Wildemount.

This gives me chills each week I hear it on the show, it's gorgeous

Heard this song in a critical role art reel and thought "wow this song is amazing! I come to listen to it and I HAVE to make a loop of this so I can just listen to it all of the time!

Sounds like you've updated the official track for 2021, my fellow Dub, absolutely killing it man 💚

This song just goes straight to my heart. Idk how else to explain it but ughhh this music sends me to happy places!

I went to the Chicago Live Show back in February. The entrance to the place took forever to let everyone into the theater. We ended up waiting an hour and a half before the show started but during that wait they had the slideshow of fan art playing on repeat. With some music, if you play it to many times, you get bored after a while but not this song. Every time that opening played I would get that tingling in my spine like hearing it for the first time. Every art piece that was showed was that much more with the sound of Wildemount thundering around the theater. Thank you so much for the amazing music and I can not wait for your next piece.

I did not tear up... okay. maybe I did. this is incredible.

When I first heard this (having never played the Witcher series) I was completely convinced it had to be part of the OST, given how much they’ve incorporated Witcher music into the new campaign. It blew my mind to discover it was a fan piece. Well done!!

can easily imagine this over a sweeping landscape of wildmount like the perfect opening credits scene to get your blood going; the dark cello adds the element of danger that effortlessly woven into the background of the story and the overall mystery but then the lighter notes have that whimsical nature. ugh, would listen to a 10 hour cut of this.

I am so sad I CANNOT LIKE THIS MORE THAN ONCE HOLY BALLS ITS AMAZING!!!! Thank you so much for sharing your talent with us!

I really wish this was on Spotify I absolutely love it, three years and still killing it

This sounds like something that could have come out of The Witcher. Absolutely incredible. It makes me excited for the fan art breaks.

Discovering this track is one of the reasons I’m so glad I started watching critical role, you’re amazing!!

This is still my favorite piece for all of Critical Role

So I've been watching critical role for years, hearing this song at the beginning of every single episode of campaign two, and I found you in a completely unrelated way a few months ago, but I only learned TODAY that you wrote this song. The world really is smaller than I thought.

And now the Official Mighty Nien fanart music! Congrats! :D Awesome Sauce! :D

Fellow critter here! I am loving this music! It brings such vivid images to my brain! If I had to describe what I thought of this in one word, it would simply be EPIC!

This needs at least ONE MILLION VIEWS!

I have heard this countless times over the past three years. It never gets old!

That slide on the cello is is wicked and my favorite part.

I just want to show appreciation for this piece. It has been years and I still love it. Someone used it in a instagram reel and I immediately was thinking back to the m9 and the campaign. I am actually thinking of rewatching it now. Thank you again for the music you make

I always stay around for the slideshow. It is just so amazing thinking about what you just watched while seeing the art and listening to the music. This is such an amazing community.

The power of critters and this is proof of the talent inspiring talent.

That's the music that plays during the art reel? Oh my goodness it's so cool! Every time I hear this song it makes me feel so hyped!

Have you thought at all about putting your work onto Apple Music and Spotify? I would have your music downloaded in a heartbeat man. You capture that rustic Eastern Europe sound so flawlessly, and THAT PERCUSSION SECTION IS 🔥 🔥 🔥

I've had this piece on repeat in my noggin' for years because of Critical Role but I never found out it was from you... until now... SUBSCRIBED!

Wonderful and epic! Thank you for your music. :D

This is the coolest song EVER... it’s perfect for Critical Role; epic and yet so emotional... Whenever I listen to this soundtrack I am filled with a feeling of longing I can not describe and god... it’s just amazing. Props to you man, you have no clue how much this song has improved my overall Critical Role experience 🙃

Hey hey. I started campaign 2 almost two years ago and am I only about a little less than half way through it but everytime this song comes on without fail I can’t skip past it. It’s a go to on the playlist. It’s a song that brings me a sense of calmness and almost assurance that even if things are as daunting as they seem, it’ll be alright. I genuinely love this song, thank you so much for sharing it with the world five years ago.

I'm here from Matt's post, and this is incredible.

I am just now watching through The Mighty Nein campaign, and I thought to myself, "This music during the fan art is awesome. I wonder where it comes from?" Apparently it came from you! Very nice work, it's truly epic.

please put this on Spotify! would love to listen to this on repeat haha

This is such a fantastic piece! My fiance and I stream Critical Role through our tv, and I genuinely got chills when I heard this on the full sound system. Something about that slide on the cello is just trance-inducing.

I would love a more in depth analysis please! Also this is my new head canon for Wildemount Looking forward to listening to the rest of your stuff! After I listen to this again. For the 20th time. This hour. edit forgot about strikethrough

I'm really hoping that after we get to hear this throughout the campaign, Matt uses this piece during a climactic battle/moment. I would lose my freaking mind! Chills every time, great work.

BRO I DID NOT KNOW THIS WAS AN ORIGINAL BY COLM MCGUINNESS THATS SO COOL

Just came from hearing this as the new fan art music!! Amazing job!!

this popped up and I almost cried cuz of everything it makes me think about... the whole story of the Mighty Nein, Caleb's journey, Fjord and Nott... geez I love it!!

Who voted thumbs down already? Vecna?

Incredible! Matt's Twitter lead me here. This is beautiful.

This sounds straight out of the Witcher soundtrack, this is PHENOMENAL! I love it

One of my favorite instrumental pieces that enchanted me from the first moment I heard it. Thank you so much for sharing it, and especially the download link. You're incredible!!