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Dunno if you'll reach Midra yourself, but imo it was the most enjoyable boss battle in the DLC. The Frenzied Flame is the embodiment of utter annihilation btw.
That one word is a curse no matter how you use it. Anything you have to "endure" if it doesn't make you miserable at first, you will be later for sure.
@@Dastardly_Duo Nah, the Frenzied Flame burns brighter in more despair and hate. Nanaya wanted him to "endure" so that when the time comes, he'll shine the brightest he could rather than fizzle out like the rest.
@@davidreljac1707 I thought that at first, but now I don't think so. Why would he apologize for unleashing the FF? Why would he say he's endured enough? He even tells you to leave. The ghost in the very beginning says you should probably leave. They rejected the Aged Ones right outside the Manor. I'm just not seeing enough evidence that they WANTED him to destroy the world
I love how he's the Lord of Chaos, so you'd expect him to be wild and savage in his moves. When you fight him though, he's eerily smooth and graceful in his movements.
I love that Midra is in complete ecstasy when we fight him, he's been tortured so long that nothing we as Tarnished could inflict on him is worse than the Golden Crux. Notice how during his fight he never attempts to dodge anything at all, like ever.
@@Gayhan- It kind of is tho. Saint Trina taught the merchants the song of despair so that it might lull them into deep slumber, where the frenzied flame would not burn them, their eyes would not hurt, for in sleep there is no pain. In this case, if the song of despair is playing during the Lord of Frenzied Flame battle with Midra, it is mocking it, for Midra was not able to endure the flame of chaos, and succumbed to madness.
@@Gayhan- it actually is a lullaby which was played by st trina to soothe the merchants' madness, which is why the mad merchants who were buried alive can be heard playing it
The 'Lonely Violin' is exactly that; a highly distorted version of the melody a lone merchant plays on repeat in an area where thousands of people were thrown away and forgotten due to their relation to the Frenzied Flame. A beautiful callback to a heart stopping moment of loneliness, and it adds even more sadness and power to this track.
@@MangaMatti Underneath Leyndell is their sewer system; the shunning grounds for the disgraced omen. But, even deeper, Leyndell hides the tomb of the Frenzied Flame. It's not only hidden behind the maze of sewer pipes, but also behind a secret altar that opens when hit. If you haven't found it yet, I suggest you try and find it, one of the most hauntingly beautiful places in the game, and the core to one of the secret endings.
The blasphemy of shabrir was convincing the goldern order to lock away the merchants. The merchants sorrow caused the 3 fingers to apperar near them in the lands between
Midra is indeed a tragic character. He was supposed to be a lord of frenzied flame, essentially, a vessel for a entity that wants to bring death to all life. But he couldn't ascend to his fate because he promised to his spouse, Nanaya, that he would endure and not let the frenzy flame take control. The hornsent, the people that were in charge of that land even killed everyone in Midra's manse, tortured him and killed Nanaya, sealing everything so Noone could find it, but when our character steps in, Midra can't resist anymore and just unleashes his power and transform into that lord everyone is afraid of.
I’ve also heard the theory that Nanaya is a figment of Midra’s imagination via the mental and physical torment he is going through in the unwilling process of the ritual to be the lord, and her telling him to endure is actually HELPING the process so his descent will be all the more steeper.
@@hideharu-xiii8852There is a painting with both Midra and presumably Nanaya on it, though. The body Nanaya‘s Torch can be found on also resembles the woman in the painting, so I believe that theory is rather unlikely
@@jakeniclaz5393 Most likely (at least my interpretation) is that Nanaya was essentially manipulating him into becoming the Lord of Frenzied flame, thus why her encouragement to "endure" becoming a curse for him.
Ohhh, the happy chord. That finally makes it make sense. It's relief and euphoria. He's been impaled in the head for who-knows how long, and when we find him, he finally gets the willpower to pull his own head off. He's relieved of the countless years of pain, of the struggle to endure just to stop the frenzy flame from inhabiting him. And when he finally gives up... happiness. Euphoria. Watch how he raises his hands, as if simply existing is the most pleasurable thing in the world to him. I'm guessing the Frenzy Flame makes the user not feel pain anymore? But also, in second phase the rising intensity and anger you mentioned, is probably him getting over the euphoria and remembering how angry he is at the world for whatever caused him to get impaled in the first place.
I'm pretty sure the person taken over by the Frenzied Flame is no longer alive, or at least not conscious anymore. What supports this theory is the sudden change of Midra's character and the main game's Frenzied Flame ending, where the player character "decides" to burn the world. Oh, also his head is literally gone.
I think we can say with certainty that the frenzied flame inflicts a buttload of pain, if only judging by the howling of everyone inflicted with it who still has a mouth to howl. But then, the frenzied flame burns away all that divides and distinguishes, perhaps including the distinction between pain and pleasure. And for midra, who has endured nothing but pain for the last who knows how many centuries that could be the ultimate exaltation
@@Arcanefungus i was under the impression that the howls of pain were a result of whatever pushed them towards the frenzied flame in the first place. The common theme of the followers is that they were in dire pain, mentally or otherwise, beforehand.
From the Frenzyflame Pot description: "The flame of frenzy burns the eyes, but tranquility follows in its wake. May this pot bring salvation to those it strikes." So yeah, while the frenzy at first causes agony it eventually burns away all pain and sorrow, leaving the afflicted in a kind of rapturous bliss. Explains Midra’s swagger (though at that point there’s likely nothing of him as a person left, the replacement of the LoFF’s head with the flame itself is pretty strong symbolism for him being nothing but a vessel of the presumed hivemind that the frenzied flame likely is).
The little bit of happiness in there is so interesting. After enduring great suffering and becoming the Lord of Frenzied flame, Midra does look like he's having the time of his life when we're fighting him.
I believe Midra's lore is that his wife Nanaya, is speculated, as being a figure who wanted to cultivate the Frenzy Flame. Some people have wondered if she had tried before with others and had moved on to Midra. Midra showed promise but as the progression may have been coming to fruition they were attacked. Midra's "survival" is where some of the lore lines come from. Nanaya's dying words were to endure and so Midra, quite horrifically maimed, endured in his mansion. Until we came and send him on his way. And instead he became a Lord of the Frenzy Flame. And by lore standards he's a "failed lord." And in true Miyazaki fashion, the failure is just as existentially a threat to everything. Perhaps there's some mania coming from what became of Midra in the end. Chaos.
I firmly believe that what we fight is Midra in body alone. I believe his soul and mind are dead and gone, that it is the Flame of Frenzy itself that controls his dessicated corpse.
@@sanguineregis5354 Are you talking about after removing the sword? Or do you believe the FF was saying that IT had endured enough and was apologizing to Nanaya?
13:15 when I heard the leitmotiff of the Song of Despair I just choked during the bossfight. For those unaware, St. Trina made that song to soothe the Nomadic Merchants, so they could have some semblance of peace in the form of sleep. Hearing it play in Midra's OST as a twisted shriek that dies out in a few notes adds so much gravity into the situation overall. Midra is in a pain so, SO severe, not even the lull of eternal sleep can soothe him.
the frenzied flame finds its way into people who have experienced a deep sense of grieving, loneliness, hatred, despair & nihilism and I think Midra’s theme encapsulated that perfectly
The freaky violin part in phase 2 alludes to what the community dubbed the song of despair, and should be very familiar to anyone who has done the Lord of Frenzied Flame ending.
The frenzied flame embodies the will of the utterly downtrodden, those who have experienced absolute despair and lost everything. At the same time, the madness it imparts eventually brings a form of glorious relief. So it makes sense that this track carries both an immense sense of sadness but also glorious bombast. "The Lord of Frenzied Flame shall take their torment, despair. Their affliction. Every sin, every curse. All melted away."
It’s a beautiful concept in the game. You’d expect something that’s tied to Chaos and Disarray to be…well… chaotic. But there’s a certain beauty to the Chaos flame. Because, the person who inherits the Flame of Despair are chaotic in their mannerisms…. Until they ascend. Once they ascend, they rid themselves of pure agony. And hence, ironically enough, the flame of “Chaos” brings about an unparalleled sense of Euphoria to its beholder. Fromsoftware knocked that theme/concept outta the park with Midra. His movements are arguably the most Dance-like/smooth movements in the entire game - further reinforcing what was already established in the basegame, regarding the Frenzied Flame, with how euphoric it can become
The horrifying part that I think this track illustrates so well is that what the player may have misunderstood as uncontrolled madness, is revealed to be absolutely willful. This force has reason, and it has reasoned the world as it knows must be burned to the ground to be righted.
Absolutely-Midra post-ascendancy is the most self-assured enemy we face in the entire game, even compared to Miquella, who divested himself of his very doubt and indecision. The Lord of madness is not the creature who has gone the most mad, it is the creature who has become madness itself. The very philosophy of chaos, made incarnate. Its goal is absolute-the King in Yellow would wrench the Greater Will down from the heavens, and force it to look suffering in the eye, where it will finally be held accountable, and face the pain it had wrought with the gift of life. …that is, it would, if our Tarnished’s resolve weren’t as steely as it is.
You correctly noticed that there seems to be no chaos. Despite the fact that frenzied flame seems to be all about chaos in every descriptions, in reality its manifestations are distinguished by surprising calmness and composure. This is the fire of those who were almost destroyed by their suffering and injustices of the world. But in the end they accepted it. Now all they want is to end. Real death for everything around. In a world where the concept of Destined Death exists, feared by many, it is actually the Frenzied Flame that brings final death. For everything living and nonliving. And those who accepted it are usually calm, cold and even graceful. And lonely of course. It's true about Midra, and about anyone else. Seems like they all forgot about anyone around. Like they all don't exist anymore. Of course there is also Shabriri, but it is kinda different story. He's more like a herald of the flame than one of its victims. Thanks for your videos! I love them all. Really))
17:59 looking at the descending notes you can actually see the momentum at which everything falls into chaos. It feels like the second pair of descending notes are skipping a step. It’s like they’re trembling, not being able to keep up with the madness they’re being sucked into. They are in a freefall, accelerating while unwillingly being pulled into the yellow flame of the frenzied outer god. For some context, story wise you are just as overwhelmed by what’s happening as the music suggests. It goes from 0 to 100, with 100 being one of the worst possible things that can happen to the world of Elden Ring. You’re thinking to yourself „if this thing manages to leave this room, everything was for nothing.“ And at the very end of the piece, the loudly crackling and overwhelmingly oppressive fire that has pushed you into the corner of this small room it erupted in, filling the entire building with burning destruction, finally goes out like blowing out a candle.
13:25 I adore how this sublimely goes from the Merchant's melody into regal madness. That choir is in peak form. I love a fight that feels like a dance.
This song finally dethroned Living Failures OST from Bloodborne for me. You literally waltz with the boss, its an amazing moment in the game and this is the perfect OST to go with the fight. "Descent into madness" is a spot on description. I like to call it "A waltz with the devil against the clock".
The general concepts they're going for with the Frenzied Flame is that it's the ultimate destroyer of all things, and it doesn't show up often, but when it does it's a panic to desperately contain it before it destroys all reality. That's what this song is conveying, along with elements of Midra's backstory and the massive amount of tension leading up to the discovery of Midra at the end of the level.
Midra is the vessel for the Frenzied Flame, a nihilistic force that seeks to end all of creation as a means to end suffering, and is only summoned in places of intense suffering. When we find Midea, he has been suppressing the flame for years at the request of a woman named Nanaya, who (while we don't know their exact relationship) was close to Midra. He has been tortured as evident by the scars on his body, his emancipation and most notably by the massive barbed sword stuck through his body. We come along and beat him down, at which point he decides enough is enough, and unleashes the power of frenzy by forcefully removing the sword from his body. The reason this sounds so grandiose and terrifying is because we are facing the living avatar of the apocalypse, something every faction feared.
Honestly yeah when I first heard the choir as Midra's frenzy head lit up, I never pogged so hard in my life dude the time and presentation of the reveal only makes it better.
I absolutely adore this theme. It reminds me a lot of Micolash's even though the two are so different, but while Micolash's feels like a descent into his insanity, Midra's feels like a mastery over his madness
In phase two as the music becomes more of a waltz he adds more frenzy attacks to his arsenal including an entire volley of Frenzied Bursts, an incantation born of trying to control the flame. Midra being able to unleash an entire volley is a testament to his growing mastery over chaos. A small detail I also like is that the only frenzy incantation he doesn't use is unendurable frenzy.
What is crazy to me is that the start is 5/8 through the first half and then it becomes complete shifting to a 6/8 dance feel in the second half showing how the frenzy flame is gaining more control and power and then it returns to 5/8 but with more grace almost embracing it’s own chaos and then back to 6/8 for the final melody where it’s lucidity is at its peak
A detail I love in Elden ring is how instruments that would seem out of place in the setting are used to convey unnatural forces. The organ in Fortissax's theme conveying how twisted and monstrous the murder of Godwyn was and the bass drops in Midra's being to signal the power of the frenzied flame.
Also, the chords you listed early in the video: Sad - Unexpected Sad - Sad - Tense - Unexpected Tense/Happy - Disturbing That is definitely a descent into madness in the form of chord progression.
From what I've heard about the song, some people describe Midra's theme as a maddening waltz, starting off disturbed but slowly grows into a chaotic but elegant dance.
It’s cool how the first phase is (almost) entirely composed in a 5/8 time signature, which at first can feel abnormal and chaotic, but by phase 2 it switches between 5/8 and 6/8, a shift between a dancelike majesty and the chaos from phase 1, even including two very melodic sequences, one in 5/8 and one in 6/8.
The happy cord mixed with the disturbing ones represents madness like when a madman is happy when he comits a murder. Its a disturbing happy cord. Midra is happy because while he burns the entire world to ash his suffering would finally end. That little violin represents poor Midra lost in the hivemindish pulsing horror that is frenzied flame. Its also a throwback to the merchants song. Imprisoning of merchants is the one thing that started all the madness, just to rub salt in the wound to remind you who is responsible
Enough! I have endured more than enough! Forgive me dearest Nanaia.. And proceeds with the most metal thing I have ever seen... Man this boss is amazing and tragic.
Midra was a potential lord of frenzied flame, whose goal it was to burn the world into nothing to erase all suffering. It would explain why there's so much sadness and so many 'evil' sounding chords, since Midra suffered quite a lot. But it also explains why there's some happiness throughout. People afflicted with the flame of frenzy, while insane, are also thrilled with the prospect of melting away all despair in the world. "May chaos take the world!"
Those strings in the background that start at 11:43 , 12:14 , and 12:24 immediately reminded me of the strings in Lawrence’s theme, which coincidentally also symbolized a fall from grace now that I think about it.
I think the happy chord, and the calm ending, both have an explanation in Midra. He is a human that contained the god of Madness himself in him, while being tortured for years. But when the MC comes, he decide to let it all go, and i think this is what the happy chord is : Midra finally don't have to endure anymore. And the calm at the end is, i think, because he can stop the pains he felt for so long. The entire rest of the theme is the theme of the Madness god, and the almost cosmic threat he is, which explein all the disturbing chords and the descent without stop in the music. The calm at the end can mean too that now that the thing is gone, the everything seems so calm (or, in case you are doing the quest to become the lord of frenzied flame yourself, you can relax because now YOU are the ONLY lord 😂)
That screeching sound at the beginning is a scream of anguish. Midra's suffered for far too long. Far longer than he should have, and he's finally had enough. All that pain has culminated into his transformation into a horrifying monster. A demon of wrath.
I love how this track goes from nearly ambient, to banger phase2-esque, to holy fuck it's still getting bigger. Also you stopping to say "this goes so hard man" lmao
The most surprising themes in this song to me, as someone who experienced it in the fight and understood the context surrounding it, were not the sinister or lonely parts, but the parts which almost seem overflowing with defiant self-confidence and pride. It really refined my perspective on the story being told.
I think the best thing to me is how the first half is so wildly inconsistent with the time signature, it's nearly impossible to keep consistent track of the beat, but the later phase is usually 3/4, almost dance like though it still doesn't stay restrained by the conventional beat. The piece sounds so chaotic at first, but the longer it goes on the more regal is sounds, oddly controlled, with a confident and powerful vocal chorus and supporting strings overpowering the small voice of the solo violin and the powerful slow heartbeat driving it forward. To me it says that the Frenzied Flame isn't just madness and chaos, it has a will and a method, just one that's beyond our limited minds. This is a Lord we're fighting, a ruler, and though incomprehensible to us it has a reason to its madness. There's a series of descents as you noted, but also a pattern of ascending phrases. He's rising to lordship as he descends into madness.
Midra is a man who dove into the secrets of the outer gods, discovering the three fingers. His lady Nanaya seems to have been a follower of the flame as when his mansion is burned by the hornsent and himself impaled on the greatsword of damnation she begs him to endure. The flame is strengthened by pain and despair. By the time the player reaches him he has been suffering for centuries, the dormant flame growing stronger all the while, and after the player attacks him he finally relents and releases the flame accepting his role as the harbinger of destruction.
Its interesting. The Frenzied Flame is chaos, but its not chaos without a purpose. It represents the idea that life implies suffering, and embodies the wishes of all those who suffered so much that they wished they had never lived at all. So as Lord of Frenzied Flame, Midra champions the idea of burning away all life in the chaos of the yellow flames not out of malice, but as a twisted form of mercy.
you're kinda selling me on midra now while i'm watching at first i thought the theme was mid and just too chaotic but there's definitely some great complexity here from composer (myself) to composer (davi)
I always hear such glee in the song. Such elation and ecstasy. An unrepenting and uncaring malice that whirls at the center of the madness. It is happy to have been unleashed.
Midra was tortured and impaled upon the weapon he uses in the fight for embodying the frenzied flame, basically something that is reviled and shunned. The only enemies you find in his location are effectively his jailersand torturers, preventing him from ever escaping. What i find interesting is the melody is almost incomplete in first phase but then you hear the full melody in second phase almost as if he is realizing and embracing his abilities as a lord of frenzy flame.
Second phase comes Davi: "Is the good part over? Is there a bridge from where i can start analysing the song?" Midra: "THE DEPTHS OF YOUR FOOLISHNESS!" (The good part keeps building up and you can't stop it just like your madness bar)
Once again got my mind blown by how accurate your guess about Midra is. Indeed, the Lord of Frenzied Flame, despite being the very embodiment of chaos, has a very distinct majesty to him. Cant wait to see you get to that part of the game, and get that particular ending.
its possible the inclusion of the "happy chord" in the second phase is due to midra's suffering ending as he is immolated into the flame of frenzied, like he is freed but in a horrifying manner
Midra and Nanaya start playing around with a god of chaos known as the Frenzy Flame, and for their heresy, Midra's entire estate was ritualistically executed. Midra is left alive in a torturous state to imprison this Frenzy Flame within him, clinging to the last words of Nanaya to "endure." My speculation... Midra thinks that he will "endure" to keep this chaos god contained. But in reality, Nanaya said to "endure" so that Midra could experience more suffering, driving him further into insanity and thus becoming a worthy vessel for the Frenzy Flame. However, it was Midra's love for Nanaya that kept him from achieving true lordship.
You have no idea how excited i was to see that you reacted to this finally!! Glad you realize how impressive and masterly crafted this song is in how it speaks volumes to telling Midras suffering and its just beautiful and horrific ❤
I always really appreciate how you go into detail with stuff like happy and disturbing chords, it really helps a guy like me, who doesn't know any music theory, to follow along with the analysis.
With the malice and horror in the background but the heavy personality in the foreground it feels like something horrible is eating away at a tragic character, that's the impression I get at least
When I finally beated him, I had no flasks left, my spirit summon had already died some time ago... I almost had a heart attack lol. It took me some minutes to calm down and process everything. The melody portrays the character very well, as well as the scary, powerful, presence of the Frenzied Flame. The, creepy and scary, yet comforting hope of those who dispair. Melt all that disguinshes and divides in yellow Flame of Chaos...
In terms of lore, this boss is just pure evil. Fire that would burn away everything that exists, including spirits. When fire has the power to burn down afterlife itself, you know it's bad :D
Finally, after not being able to play for so long, I have reached this boss and I can finally watch this video spoiler free. Even just seeing the cutscene (I was so close my first run before dying lol) I was creeeped out. This music is truly the personification of disturbing for me in Elden Ring. It's absolutely perfect. Seriously all the composers went all out for these themes, massive applause to them for this DLC's tracks.
This song has a deep feeling of foreboding to it. It carries some primordial fear in its notes, you arent merely fighting somone or some monster. This is a world-annihilating force. The frenzied flame will burn away all things, you are fighting the end of the world itself, fueled by dispair and madness, hosted by a man who finally gave in to his suffering. That gracefulness i think comes from it. Its in the steps leading to madness we see chaos, but once you reach that final point where you give into it, where you feel so much despair you simply stop caring, thats where the gracefulness comes in. By ceasing to care, you are freed. Edit: the violin you are hearing is a song played by the frnezied merchants, trying to kee themselves sane. The sheer madness and volume of the surrounding music blows it away and distorts its notes, very fitting.
Mr. Vasc: "Endure". Like DionellGames said in a Short: Perhaps his weakness was compassion. The read you did on this theme was incredibly accurate. 10:22 Awesome, man. Also real fun to have your insight to understand way better why this ost conveys so much power. Only with your help could I hear those drums as the beating of a heart 11:51. I´ll be happy to follow future vids.
I so hoped you would cover this and you didn't disappoint. This score is insanity in its beauty! The fact it has in phase 2 at the start the Merchants song that played when you first entered the place where you find all the dead merchants or those gone mad. One played the lullaby forever to quell the rest. Midra is the definition of DONE WITH EVERYONE's SHIT. He has Endured enough.
Just found your channel. This is an epic piece and love that you can’t even see the character but you pull out the essence of him little by little as you analyse the music. I subscribed.
You’ve gotta listen to Promised Consort. That is by far the absolute best track on the soundtrack. I will say you might be able to make connections with that one, but it is actually amazing
Hey Davi, I understand that you probably want to cover the DLC tracks before anything else, but I have to recommend Slave Knight Gael from DS3. Even after the DLC, he has to be my favorite track, tied with Ludwig. Also, good luck with your streams! I’ll definitely be tuning in.
I think the harmony of those chords at 8:29 can be correlated to the story, sad chord showing the tragedy of Midra attempting to befriend the three fingers, then tense sad showing the negotiations or discussions riled the three fingers in someways, the next sad chord and the unforeseen event of the inquisitors finding and piercing midra, subduing the frenzied flame , tense chord showing the three fingers distasteful reaction, unexpected tense chord showing the transformation of the abyssal woods into what they are now, and finally the disturbing chord showing what the result is, this once peaceful area is now a husk of its former domain and how the man who would never be evil is now the lord of frenzied flame
5:30 I think this melody is played by something similar to the instruments the wandering merchants and the crazed in the subterranean shunning grounds play on, because as we know they are also part of the frenzied flame. That’s what it sounds like to me.
That loneliness you hear in the music speaks to the story of Midra, how he spent years in solitude, secluded from the world within his ruined manor, alone enduring eternal suffering, spear-like barbs impaling him from the inside, ripping apart his organs, forever tearing his flesh However, amidst all this suffering he held to the word his true love gave in her final moment “Endure” The word was a curse to Midra. Forever pushing him forward, encouraging him to survive the intense pain he feels. This word was said out of a hope that Midra would not transform into a lord of frenzied flame. Should he ever die, the lord would be released and destroy the entire world, engulfing it in flames. Once our character mauls Midra enough, he finally gives in. He gives up on his loves final words and releases the Lord, damning the entire world to its soon to be demise. The feelings of praise or exhalation you hear are Midra embracing the lord and releasing all his frustration in the form of the frenzied flame. Embracing the chaos that would follow in his wake. The fearful undertones that accompany this track empathize the peril our character is in. If we do not defeat Midra, here and now, at the birth of his power… *THE WORLD WILL END*
Midra and Messmer are probably my favorite two DLC bosses. Especially Midra. When you get to the DLC, don't let yourself get spoiled by ANYONE! Midra and the whole area leading up to him are absolutely amazing and imo a huge homage to some other Fromsoftware title. Definitely my favorite area.
The motiff you hear at 13:15 is a distorted version of the frenzied flame merchant caravan song, a group of nomads who were framed for calling down the frenzied flame to their world. The golden order had then decided to seal them deep down in the depths of the sewers away from the world for their crimes, only to later find out that the caravan had been framed when it was too late. By that time they had been left to waste away in their prison without any hope of escape, not even from death since it had been removed from the order of the world. And so they decided to brandish their sentence in full and summoned the frenzied flame down to their prison so that they could curse their world with it's existence and free themselves from the torture of rotting away forever by using the unique attribute of the frenzied flame burn everything down, including the soul and spirits. by this point the golden order had given up hope for the caravan's salvation, but a character named St. Trina would descend to their prison and would attempt to give them peace by giving them a song that they could play that would help keep their reason against the flame. Unfortunately, almost all of them give up and surrender to the flames, clasping at their eyes in an agonizing position in their final moments, with only one of them in the prison barely keeping themselves sound with the song. From the lore we get in game, the frenzied flame seems to have been in existence since the beginning of the universe when it was formed and exists as an outer god. This universe back then seemed to have once been a single object known as the one great. This object was not alive and had nothing living on it, until one day, the being known as the greater will took the one great and broke it apart to make the stars, planets, and the opportunities for other outer gods to form. When this happened, life started to form and create it's own civilizations. when the frenzied flame observed the life, it found that all it created was grief and strife, pain and suffering, curses and sin. It viewed the action of creating life itself as a mistake, a wrong of existence. and so it would spread its order of the eradication of everything to those who regret ever being born into their world, hoping that one of them would have the strength to house the power of frenzied flame and melt it all away. The only problem was that life, despite all the suffering and pain it goes through, always still holds some hope for a better future, leaving it incapable of controlling the madness of the flame. It could be that St. Trina tried to soothe the frenzied flame in the prison and give it hope for life, but the flame decided that the fact that what happened to the caravan was the exact reason it was right in the first place. That the reason any of these events could happen in the first place is the very reason why life shouldn't have existed in the first place. And so, the use of this theme in the boss fight could be that the frenzied flame is conveying to us that it's solution is the ultimate compassion for life, that life can only bring suffering when it exists and all other ways are nothing more than distractions from the pain and suffering living, itself, permeates.
You werent far off when you beought up Chaos. The frenzied flame IS chaos. But thats...about it actually, its pure chaos. The opposite and antithesis of order, those burnt by it suffer immense pain, followrd by a deep tranquility and a blessing of immense knowledge, the idea that in the end all is as one. This is reflected in the behavior of its avatar, the lord of frenzied flame. Who is so powerful that all around it simply burns, but is apso disdonantly serene and gentle in its movements. It isnt something infected by madness. It IS the madness. Regarding the world around it with eyes tinted with bloody gold. Next you should check out the theme of the Promised consort
actually I feel like people might misunderstand what chaos means in this context. It's not something disorderly I think it might be in line with what chaos is in the greek mythology an abyss where nothing lives or is just indistinguishable matter which fits the frenzied flame of melting everything away.
You did an excellent job breaking down the song and were dancing around the story meaning so perfectly. I definitely think that the reason they made the song the way they did was to highlight that despite all this Midra is still not a true lord of frenzied flame. There is still an element of individuality to him despite having ascended to become a host. He never actually WANTED to be the lord of the frenzied flame, he did it for his lover and despite him "surrendering" to it and becoming the frenzied flame, it is still an imperfect match compared to when the player does it if they pursue the frenzied flame ending.
Fantastic breakdown. Somehow you’re great at finding the story in these pieces. I’d love to see a reaction for Bayle the Dread or Promised Consort next!
I'll continue streaming my first ever Elden Ring adventure TOMORROW (Saturday)! Get caugth up with the first episode so you can join us live: th-cam.com/video/4ksadJshG94/w-d-xo.html
Wow, i hope you enjoy the game as much as many others have.
Always remember, if you get stuck in something, look for something else to explore!
The Lord of Frenzied Flame will take all torment, all despair, every sin, every curse, and melt it all away.
Dunno if you'll reach Midra yourself, but imo it was the most enjoyable boss battle in the DLC. The Frenzied Flame is the embodiment of utter annihilation btw.
Anything happen if you play it backwards?
THE DEPTHS OF YOUR FOOLISHNESS‼️
THE DEPTHS OF YOUR FOOLISHNESS!!! 📢📢📢
THE DEPTHS OF YOUR FOOLISHNESS🗣️🗣️🗣️
THE DEPTHS OF YOUR FO....😵
😐 = ❌
🔥 = ✅
@@camiloabarca5476 THE DEP-😵
“Endure”
The word was a curse.
That one word is a curse no matter how you use it. Anything you have to "endure" if it doesn't make you miserable at first, you will be later for sure.
Endure the Frenzied Flame? Or embrace it? Dearest Nanaya... Please forgive me.
@@waveburner1254
Pretty sure she meant endure the torture of the thorn plunged into him to prevent the Frenzied Flame from coming out
@@Dastardly_Duo Nah, the Frenzied Flame burns brighter in more despair and hate. Nanaya wanted him to "endure" so that when the time comes, he'll shine the brightest he could rather than fizzle out like the rest.
@@davidreljac1707
I thought that at first, but now I don't think so. Why would he apologize for unleashing the FF? Why would he say he's endured enough? He even tells you to leave. The ghost in the very beginning says you should probably leave. They rejected the Aged Ones right outside the Manor. I'm just not seeing enough evidence that they WANTED him to destroy the world
I love how he's the Lord of Chaos, so you'd expect him to be wild and savage in his moves. When you fight him though, he's eerily smooth and graceful in his movements.
Maybe you noticed this already yourself but his second phase is a walz. We're DANCING against him!
@@waveburner1254 just like Ludwig The Holy Blade. Love it.
@@DirtSpud True. Ludwig is still one of the best bosses in all of Fromsoftware history.
I love that Midra is in complete ecstasy when we fight him, he's been tortured so long that nothing we as Tarnished could inflict on him is worse than the Golden Crux. Notice how during his fight he never attempts to dodge anything at all, like ever.
@@sibren9874 Oh man! I didn't even notice that he didn't dodge anything! That's an incredible detail!
THE DEPTHS... OF YOUR ANALYSIS!!!
You can hear the the motiff of the tune the frenzied merchants play in 13:15
Important part of their theme is that it's saint Trina's. They use it to soothe the ache of madness so midras theme is mocking it
@@lemonsnickers86no
The tune was made to soothe those inflicted with Madness
However, the theme makes it clear that St. Trina is no longer enough.
@@Gayhan- It kind of is tho. Saint Trina taught the merchants the song of despair so that it might lull them into deep slumber, where the frenzied flame would not burn them, their eyes would not hurt, for in sleep there is no pain. In this case, if the song of despair is playing during the Lord of Frenzied Flame battle with Midra, it is mocking it, for Midra was not able to endure the flame of chaos, and succumbed to madness.
@@Gayhan- it actually is a lullaby which was played by st trina to soothe the merchants' madness, which is why the mad merchants who were buried alive can be heard playing it
i dont think ive heard a track that embodies the character as well as Midras theme. super horrific i love it
Oh yeah. It really makes it feel like if you let him leave the room, the world is done for.
Slave Knight Gael
Bayle
MOHG
Laurence
The 'Lonely Violin' is exactly that; a highly distorted version of the melody a lone merchant plays on repeat in an area where thousands of people were thrown away and forgotten due to their relation to the Frenzied Flame. A beautiful callback to a heart stopping moment of loneliness, and it adds even more sadness and power to this track.
Which area? 😮
@@MangaMatti Underneath Leyndell is their sewer system; the shunning grounds for the disgraced omen. But, even deeper, Leyndell hides the tomb of the Frenzied Flame. It's not only hidden behind the maze of sewer pipes, but also behind a secret altar that opens when hit. If you haven't found it yet, I suggest you try and find it, one of the most hauntingly beautiful places in the game, and the core to one of the secret endings.
@@mr.spooks8313 Thanks!!!
The blasphemy of shabrir was convincing the goldern order to lock away the merchants. The merchants sorrow caused the 3 fingers to apperar near them in the lands between
Midra is indeed a tragic character. He was supposed to be a lord of frenzied flame, essentially, a vessel for a entity that wants to bring death to all life. But he couldn't ascend to his fate because he promised to his spouse, Nanaya, that he would endure and not let the frenzy flame take control. The hornsent, the people that were in charge of that land even killed everyone in Midra's manse, tortured him and killed Nanaya, sealing everything so Noone could find it, but when our character steps in, Midra can't resist anymore and just unleashes his power and transform into that lord everyone is afraid of.
worth noting that this is just one of many reasonable interpretations
@@HK_BLAU yes that's the beauty of the storytelling in a fromsoftware game, it's all about the interpretation of we as players and spectators.
I’ve also heard the theory that Nanaya is a figment of Midra’s imagination via the mental and physical torment he is going through in the unwilling process of the ritual to be the lord, and her telling him to endure is actually HELPING the process so his descent will be all the more steeper.
@@hideharu-xiii8852There is a painting with both Midra and presumably Nanaya on it, though. The body Nanaya‘s Torch can be found on also resembles the woman in the painting, so I believe that theory is rather unlikely
@@jakeniclaz5393 Most likely (at least my interpretation) is that Nanaya was essentially manipulating him into becoming the Lord of Frenzied flame, thus why her encouragement to "endure" becoming a curse for him.
This theme almost felt alien. Even the way the boss moves like a sea serpent in some attacks. It was crazy. My favourite boss and theme in the DLC
That pulsing heartbeat feels like a hivemind that came to consume everything and that small violing represents poor Midra lost in it...
Well the frenzied flame is kind of a world ending cosmic threat if left unchecked.
@@portalmanHUN Shabriri: "What unchecked? It's bliss! it's pure ecstasy!"
Radahn's theme is better
It felt straight out of Bloodborne, Lovecraftian
Ohhh, the happy chord. That finally makes it make sense. It's relief and euphoria. He's been impaled in the head for who-knows how long, and when we find him, he finally gets the willpower to pull his own head off.
He's relieved of the countless years of pain, of the struggle to endure just to stop the frenzy flame from inhabiting him. And when he finally gives up... happiness. Euphoria. Watch how he raises his hands, as if simply existing is the most pleasurable thing in the world to him. I'm guessing the Frenzy Flame makes the user not feel pain anymore?
But also, in second phase the rising intensity and anger you mentioned, is probably him getting over the euphoria and remembering how angry he is at the world for whatever caused him to get impaled in the first place.
Feels like he is in relief for not enduring anymore
I'm pretty sure the person taken over by the Frenzied Flame is no longer alive, or at least not conscious anymore. What supports this theory is the sudden change of Midra's character and the main game's Frenzied Flame ending, where the player character "decides" to burn the world.
Oh, also his head is literally gone.
I think we can say with certainty that the frenzied flame inflicts a buttload of pain, if only judging by the howling of everyone inflicted with it who still has a mouth to howl. But then, the frenzied flame burns away all that divides and distinguishes, perhaps including the distinction between pain and pleasure. And for midra, who has endured nothing but pain for the last who knows how many centuries that could be the ultimate exaltation
@@Arcanefungus i was under the impression that the howls of pain were a result of whatever pushed them towards the frenzied flame in the first place.
The common theme of the followers is that they were in dire pain, mentally or otherwise, beforehand.
From the Frenzyflame Pot description: "The flame of frenzy burns the eyes, but tranquility follows in its wake. May this pot bring salvation to those it strikes."
So yeah, while the frenzy at first causes agony it eventually burns away all pain and sorrow, leaving the afflicted in a kind of rapturous bliss. Explains Midra’s swagger (though at that point there’s likely nothing of him as a person left, the replacement of the LoFF’s head with the flame itself is pretty strong symbolism for him being nothing but a vessel of the presumed hivemind that the frenzied flame likely is).
The little bit of happiness in there is so interesting.
After enduring great suffering and becoming the Lord of Frenzied flame, Midra does look like he's having the time of his life when we're fighting him.
Nuclear belly flop!
I believe Midra's lore is that his wife Nanaya, is speculated, as being a figure who wanted to cultivate the Frenzy Flame. Some people have wondered if she had tried before with others and had moved on to Midra. Midra showed promise but as the progression may have been coming to fruition they were attacked.
Midra's "survival" is where some of the lore lines come from. Nanaya's dying words were to endure and so Midra, quite horrifically maimed, endured in his mansion. Until we came and send him on his way. And instead he became a Lord of the Frenzy Flame. And by lore standards he's a "failed lord." And in true Miyazaki fashion, the failure is just as existentially a threat to everything.
Perhaps there's some mania coming from what became of Midra in the end. Chaos.
The happiness comes the end result, all melted away in the yellow flames, no more suffering, no more curses, all is one and harmonious once more.
I firmly believe that what we fight is Midra in body alone. I believe his soul and mind are dead and gone, that it is the Flame of Frenzy itself that controls his dessicated corpse.
@@sanguineregis5354 Are you talking about after removing the sword? Or do you believe the FF was saying that IT had endured enough and was apologizing to Nanaya?
13:15 when I heard the leitmotiff of the Song of Despair I just choked during the bossfight.
For those unaware, St. Trina made that song to soothe the Nomadic Merchants, so they could have some semblance of peace in the form of sleep. Hearing it play in Midra's OST as a twisted shriek that dies out in a few notes adds so much gravity into the situation overall. Midra is in a pain so, SO severe, not even the lull of eternal sleep can soothe him.
the frenzied flame finds its way into people who have experienced a deep sense of grieving, loneliness, hatred, despair & nihilism and I think Midra’s theme encapsulated that perfectly
The freaky violin part in phase 2 alludes to what the community dubbed the song of despair, and should be very familiar to anyone who has done the Lord of Frenzied Flame ending.
The frenzied flame embodies the will of the utterly downtrodden, those who have experienced absolute despair and lost everything. At the same time, the madness it imparts eventually brings a form of glorious relief. So it makes sense that this track carries both an immense sense of sadness but also glorious bombast.
"The Lord of Frenzied Flame shall take their torment, despair. Their affliction. Every sin, every curse. All melted away."
It’s a beautiful concept in the game. You’d expect something that’s tied to Chaos and Disarray to be…well… chaotic. But there’s a certain beauty to the Chaos flame.
Because, the person who inherits the Flame of Despair are chaotic in their mannerisms…. Until they ascend. Once they ascend, they rid themselves of pure agony. And hence, ironically enough, the flame of “Chaos” brings about an unparalleled sense of Euphoria to its beholder.
Fromsoftware knocked that theme/concept outta the park with Midra. His movements are arguably the most Dance-like/smooth movements in the entire game - further reinforcing what was already established in the basegame, regarding the Frenzied Flame, with how euphoric it can become
The horrifying part that I think this track illustrates so well is that what the player may have misunderstood as uncontrolled madness, is revealed to be absolutely willful. This force has reason, and it has reasoned the world as it knows must be burned to the ground to be righted.
"In an insane world, it is the sane who are called crazy." - that depressed power star from the Super Mario movie
Absolutely-Midra post-ascendancy is the most self-assured enemy we face in the entire game, even compared to Miquella, who divested himself of his very doubt and indecision.
The Lord of madness is not the creature who has gone the most mad, it is the creature who has become madness itself. The very philosophy of chaos, made incarnate. Its goal is absolute-the King in Yellow would wrench the Greater Will down from the heavens, and force it to look suffering in the eye, where it will finally be held accountable, and face the pain it had wrought with the gift of life.
…that is, it would, if our Tarnished’s resolve weren’t as steely as it is.
Just like all mental illnesses irl
People call it "mad", but they're just deeply terrified of understanding it
You correctly noticed that there seems to be no chaos. Despite the fact that frenzied flame seems to be all about chaos in every descriptions, in reality its manifestations are distinguished by surprising calmness and composure. This is the fire of those who were almost destroyed by their suffering and injustices of the world. But in the end they accepted it. Now all they want is to end. Real death for everything around.
In a world where the concept of Destined Death exists, feared by many, it is actually the Frenzied Flame that brings final death. For everything living and nonliving. And those who accepted it are usually calm, cold and even graceful. And lonely of course. It's true about Midra, and about anyone else. Seems like they all forgot about anyone around. Like they all don't exist anymore.
Of course there is also Shabriri, but it is kinda different story. He's more like a herald of the flame than one of its victims.
Thanks for your videos! I love them all. Really))
17:59 looking at the descending notes you can actually see the momentum at which everything falls into chaos. It feels like the second pair of descending notes are skipping a step. It’s like they’re trembling, not being able to keep up with the madness they’re being sucked into. They are in a freefall, accelerating while unwillingly being pulled into the yellow flame of the frenzied outer god. For some context, story wise you are just as overwhelmed by what’s happening as the music suggests. It goes from 0 to 100, with 100 being one of the worst possible things that can happen to the world of Elden Ring. You’re thinking to yourself „if this thing manages to leave this room, everything was for nothing.“ And at the very end of the piece, the loudly crackling and overwhelmingly oppressive fire that has pushed you into the corner of this small room it erupted in, filling the entire building with burning destruction, finally goes out like blowing out a candle.
13:25 I adore how this sublimely goes from the Merchant's melody into regal madness. That choir is in peak form. I love a fight that feels like a dance.
This song finally dethroned Living Failures OST from Bloodborne for me. You literally waltz with the boss, its an amazing moment in the game and this is the perfect OST to go with the fight. "Descent into madness" is a spot on description. I like to call it "A waltz with the devil against the clock".
The general concepts they're going for with the Frenzied Flame is that it's the ultimate destroyer of all things, and it doesn't show up often, but when it does it's a panic to desperately contain it before it destroys all reality. That's what this song is conveying, along with elements of Midra's backstory and the massive amount of tension leading up to the discovery of Midra at the end of the level.
Oohhh, sounds like depression, 🫠 lol
This song sounds exactly as it must. A God of Chaos taking root in mortal flesh should evoke both terror and awe and they nailed it
Midra is the vessel for the Frenzied Flame, a nihilistic force that seeks to end all of creation as a means to end suffering, and is only summoned in places of intense suffering.
When we find Midea, he has been suppressing the flame for years at the request of a woman named Nanaya, who (while we don't know their exact relationship) was close to Midra. He has been tortured as evident by the scars on his body, his emancipation and most notably by the massive barbed sword stuck through his body.
We come along and beat him down, at which point he decides enough is enough, and unleashes the power of frenzy by forcefully removing the sword from his body.
The reason this sounds so grandiose and terrifying is because we are facing the living avatar of the apocalypse, something every faction feared.
I just love how Davi can explain music in simple words, so any pure strength build main can understand (me included)
Bro really went there lol
Best ost in the game imo
Ive listened to midra and messmers ost 5 times aday if not more since release, i love those 2 tracks and bosses
I agree. Although I have Midra, Mogh and Romina all tied for 1st place.
Honestly yeah when I first heard the choir as Midra's frenzy head lit up, I never pogged so hard in my life dude the time and presentation of the reveal only makes it better.
Yeah mohg is still the #1 theme for me, but this one is great@im2arrogant118
PCR goes hard tho
Most elden ring boss fights involve a boss trying to stop you and you trying to get past them. This fight you are the one trying to stop the boss.
Yep. While most bosses are constantly calling me a "foul/unfit tarnished" , this boss gave me the impression of "Come my friend! Lets dance together as the world is destroyed!" \©/
I absolutely adore this theme. It reminds me a lot of Micolash's even though the two are so different, but while Micolash's feels like a descent into his insanity, Midra's feels like a mastery over his madness
Well put.
In phase two as the music becomes more of a waltz he adds more frenzy attacks to his arsenal including an entire volley of Frenzied Bursts, an incantation born of trying to control the flame. Midra being able to unleash an entire volley is a testament to his growing mastery over chaos.
A small detail I also like is that the only frenzy incantation he doesn't use is unendurable frenzy.
What is crazy to me is that the start is 5/8 through the first half and then it becomes complete shifting to a 6/8 dance feel in the second half showing how the frenzy flame is gaining more control and power and then it returns to 5/8 but with more grace almost embracing it’s own chaos and then back to 6/8 for the final melody where it’s lucidity is at its peak
A detail I love in Elden ring is how instruments that would seem out of place in the setting are used to convey unnatural forces. The organ in Fortissax's theme conveying how twisted and monstrous the murder of Godwyn was and the bass drops in Midra's being to signal the power of the frenzied flame.
You gotta listen to Bayle the Dread next.
That is the plan!
@@DaviVasc also the mother of fingers and the promised consort, please
CURSE YOU BAYLE!
@@SomeCrowI HEREBY VOW YOU'LL RUE THIS DAY!
@@calibula95SOLID OF SCALE YOU MAY BE, FOUL DRAGON
Also, the chords you listed early in the video:
Sad - Unexpected Sad - Sad - Tense - Unexpected Tense/Happy - Disturbing
That is definitely a descent into madness in the form of chord progression.
This is probably my favorite track in the whole OST
This is the only reaction video on this piece of music that was actually insightful. Fantastic video!
This was definitely my favorite theme of the dlc. I love how you can so accurately pick out what the story themes of the character is in the music.
PLEASE THE PROMISED CONSORT NEXT
@@Lupurius_Scarlet Up there definitely
From what I've heard about the song, some people describe Midra's theme as a maddening waltz, starting off disturbed but slowly grows into a chaotic but elegant dance.
The lore behind the flame of frenzy is my favorite part of Elden Ring, so happy to see the music associated hits just as hard!
It’s cool how the first phase is (almost) entirely composed in a 5/8 time signature, which at first can feel abnormal and chaotic, but by phase 2 it switches between 5/8 and 6/8, a shift between a dancelike majesty and the chaos from phase 1, even including two very melodic sequences, one in 5/8 and one in 6/8.
The happy cord mixed with the disturbing ones represents madness like when a madman is happy when he comits a murder. Its a disturbing happy cord. Midra is happy because while he burns the entire world to ash his suffering would finally end. That little violin represents poor Midra lost in the hivemindish pulsing horror that is frenzied flame. Its also a throwback to the merchants song. Imprisoning of merchants is the one thing that started all the madness, just to rub salt in the wound to remind you who is responsible
Enough! I have endured more than enough!
Forgive me dearest Nanaia..
And proceeds with the most metal thing I have ever seen... Man this boss is amazing and tragic.
Midra was a potential lord of frenzied flame, whose goal it was to burn the world into nothing to erase all suffering. It would explain why there's so much sadness and so many 'evil' sounding chords, since Midra suffered quite a lot. But it also explains why there's some happiness throughout. People afflicted with the flame of frenzy, while insane, are also thrilled with the prospect of melting away all despair in the world.
"May chaos take the world!"
Those strings in the background that start at 11:43 , 12:14 , and 12:24 immediately reminded me of the strings in Lawrence’s theme, which coincidentally also symbolized a fall from grace now that I think about it.
I think the happy chord, and the calm ending, both have an explanation in Midra. He is a human that contained the god of Madness himself in him, while being tortured for years. But when the MC comes, he decide to let it all go, and i think this is what the happy chord is : Midra finally don't have to endure anymore. And the calm at the end is, i think, because he can stop the pains he felt for so long. The entire rest of the theme is the theme of the Madness god, and the almost cosmic threat he is, which explein all the disturbing chords and the descent without stop in the music. The calm at the end can mean too that now that the thing is gone, the everything seems so calm (or, in case you are doing the quest to become the lord of frenzied flame yourself, you can relax because now YOU are the ONLY lord 😂)
That screeching sound at the beginning is a scream of anguish. Midra's suffered for far too long. Far longer than he should have, and he's finally had enough. All that pain has culminated into his transformation into a horrifying monster. A demon of wrath.
I love how this track goes from nearly ambient, to banger phase2-esque, to holy fuck it's still getting bigger.
Also you stopping to say "this goes so hard man" lmao
The most surprising themes in this song to me, as someone who experienced it in the fight and understood the context surrounding it, were not the sinister or lonely parts, but the parts which almost seem overflowing with defiant self-confidence and pride.
It really refined my perspective on the story being told.
When you mentioned the bass sounds like the heartbeat, it was spot on because that is exactly what I thought!
I think the best thing to me is how the first half is so wildly inconsistent with the time signature, it's nearly impossible to keep consistent track of the beat, but the later phase is usually 3/4, almost dance like though it still doesn't stay restrained by the conventional beat. The piece sounds so chaotic at first, but the longer it goes on the more regal is sounds, oddly controlled, with a confident and powerful vocal chorus and supporting strings overpowering the small voice of the solo violin and the powerful slow heartbeat driving it forward. To me it says that the Frenzied Flame isn't just madness and chaos, it has a will and a method, just one that's beyond our limited minds. This is a Lord we're fighting, a ruler, and though incomprehensible to us it has a reason to its madness. There's a series of descents as you noted, but also a pattern of ascending phrases. He's rising to lordship as he descends into madness.
The first half isn't that inconsistent, it's mostly just in 5/8. The second half is mostly in 6/8 except for when it reprises the first part.
Midra is a man who dove into the secrets of the outer gods, discovering the three fingers. His lady Nanaya seems to have been a follower of the flame as when his mansion is burned by the hornsent and himself impaled on the greatsword of damnation she begs him to endure. The flame is strengthened by pain and despair. By the time the player reaches him he has been suffering for centuries, the dormant flame growing stronger all the while, and after the player attacks him he finally relents and releases the flame accepting his role as the harbinger of destruction.
Its interesting.
The Frenzied Flame is chaos, but its not chaos without a purpose. It represents the idea that life implies suffering, and embodies the wishes of all those who suffered so much that they wished they had never lived at all.
So as Lord of Frenzied Flame, Midra champions the idea of burning away all life in the chaos of the yellow flames not out of malice, but as a twisted form of mercy.
this song really gives the feeling of "you need to kill this thing NOW"
It's here guys!
We're going mad with this one!
you're kinda selling me on midra now while i'm watching
at first i thought the theme was mid and just too chaotic but there's definitely some great complexity here from composer (myself) to composer (davi)
for comparison my favorite theme is morgott's from base, and from the dlc even though i completed it i still have to figure that out.
@@bloodofphantoms That's funny, I can't remember any of Morgott's theme, I found it super forgettable.
This track really sounds like straight out of a horror movie, absolutely fantastic stuff 😍
I always hear such glee in the song. Such elation and ecstasy. An unrepenting and uncaring malice that whirls at the center of the madness. It is happy to have been unleashed.
Midra was tortured and impaled upon the weapon he uses in the fight for embodying the frenzied flame, basically something that is reviled and shunned. The only enemies you find in his location are effectively his jailersand torturers, preventing him from ever escaping. What i find interesting is the melody is almost incomplete in first phase but then you hear the full melody in second phase almost as if he is realizing and embracing his abilities as a lord of frenzy flame.
Second phase comes
Davi: "Is the good part over? Is there a bridge from where i can start analysing the song?"
Midra: "THE DEPTHS OF YOUR FOOLISHNESS!" (The good part keeps building up and you can't stop it just like your madness bar)
Once again got my mind blown by how accurate your guess about Midra is. Indeed, the Lord of Frenzied Flame, despite being the very embodiment of chaos, has a very distinct majesty to him.
Cant wait to see you get to that part of the game, and get that particular ending.
its possible the inclusion of the "happy chord" in the second phase is due to midra's suffering ending as he is immolated into the flame of frenzied, like he is freed but in a horrifying manner
Midra and Nanaya start playing around with a god of chaos known as the Frenzy Flame, and for their heresy, Midra's entire estate was ritualistically executed. Midra is left alive in a torturous state to imprison this Frenzy Flame within him, clinging to the last words of Nanaya to "endure."
My speculation...
Midra thinks that he will "endure" to keep this chaos god contained. But in reality, Nanaya said to "endure" so that Midra could experience more suffering, driving him further into insanity and thus becoming a worthy vessel for the Frenzy Flame. However, it was Midra's love for Nanaya that kept him from achieving true lordship.
You have no idea how excited i was to see that you reacted to this finally!! Glad you realize how impressive and masterly crafted this song is in how it speaks volumes to telling Midras suffering and its just beautiful and horrific ❤
I always really appreciate how you go into detail with stuff like happy and disturbing chords, it really helps a guy like me, who doesn't know any music theory, to follow along with the analysis.
There's a sense of glee in midras theme and his animations
First, also this is now my favorite track from Elden ring of all time now
THE MERCHANT VIOLIN GOES SO HARD
This track is the dismal hymn of loneliness, despair and suffering turning into a calculated, maddening wish for the end of all life.
the word you're looking for is "despair"
I remember physically shivering from the music my first fight with him.
15:36 Somekind of Maaaaaaadness
That peaceful resolution makes sense now, we finally ended Midra's suffering
Sensei Miyazawa is an absolute G O A T
With the malice and horror in the background but the heavy personality in the foreground it feels like something horrible is eating away at a tragic character, that's the impression I get at least
🎉🎉🎉 awesome I was one to request this one ain’t it just horrifyingly good thanks for the reaction
When I finally beated him, I had no flasks left, my spirit summon had already died some time ago... I almost had a heart attack lol. It took me some minutes to calm down and process everything. The melody portrays the character very well, as well as the scary, powerful, presence of the Frenzied Flame. The, creepy and scary, yet comforting hope of those who dispair. Melt all that disguinshes and divides in yellow Flame of Chaos...
it's so cool that he can tell the entire backstory of a boss just by listening to the OST
In terms of lore, this boss is just pure evil. Fire that would burn away everything that exists, including spirits. When fire has the power to burn down afterlife itself, you know it's bad :D
Midra was a super cool boss. The sound effect they use for the frenzied flame is super intimidating.
Finally, after not being able to play for so long, I have reached this boss and I can finally watch this video spoiler free. Even just seeing the cutscene (I was so close my first run before dying lol) I was creeeped out. This music is truly the personification of disturbing for me in Elden Ring. It's absolutely perfect.
Seriously all the composers went all out for these themes, massive applause to them for this DLC's tracks.
This song has a deep feeling of foreboding to it. It carries some primordial fear in its notes, you arent merely fighting somone or some monster.
This is a world-annihilating force. The frenzied flame will burn away all things, you are fighting the end of the world itself, fueled by dispair and madness, hosted by a man who finally gave in to his suffering.
That gracefulness i think comes from it. Its in the steps leading to madness we see chaos, but once you reach that final point where you give into it, where you feel so much despair you simply stop caring, thats where the gracefulness comes in. By ceasing to care, you are freed.
Edit: the violin you are hearing is a song played by the frnezied merchants, trying to kee themselves sane. The sheer madness and volume of the surrounding music blows it away and distorts its notes, very fitting.
Mr. Vasc: "Endure".
Like DionellGames said in a Short: Perhaps his weakness was compassion.
The read you did on this theme was incredibly accurate.
10:22 Awesome, man.
Also real fun to have your insight to understand way better why this ost conveys so much power. Only with your help could I hear those drums as the beating of a heart 11:51.
I´ll be happy to follow future vids.
I so hoped you would cover this and you didn't disappoint. This score is insanity in its beauty! The fact it has in phase 2 at the start the Merchants song that played when you first entered the place where you find all the dead merchants or those gone mad. One played the lullaby forever to quell the rest. Midra is the definition of DONE WITH EVERYONE's SHIT. He has Endured enough.
Just found your channel. This is an epic piece and love that you can’t even see the character but you pull out the essence of him little by little as you analyse the music. I subscribed.
The seemingly random happy tones are from the sweet release of nothingness after suffering and torture for many many years
I love it when its a song that makes him lose his mind. Davi, your a treasure. Never change
You’ve gotta listen to Promised Consort. That is by far the absolute best track on the soundtrack.
I will say you might be able to make connections with that one, but it is actually amazing
Hey Davi, I understand that you probably want to cover the DLC tracks before anything else, but I have to recommend Slave Knight Gael from DS3. Even after the DLC, he has to be my favorite track, tied with Ludwig. Also, good luck with your streams! I’ll definitely be tuning in.
I think the harmony of those chords at 8:29 can be correlated to the story, sad chord showing the tragedy of Midra attempting to befriend the three fingers, then tense sad showing the negotiations or discussions riled the three fingers in someways, the next sad chord and the unforeseen event of the inquisitors finding and piercing midra, subduing the frenzied flame , tense chord showing the three fingers distasteful reaction, unexpected tense chord showing the transformation of the abyssal woods into what they are now, and finally the disturbing chord showing what the result is, this once peaceful area is now a husk of its former domain and how the man who would never be evil is now the lord of frenzied flame
5:30 I think this melody is played by something similar to the instruments the wandering merchants and the crazed in the subterranean shunning grounds play on, because as we know they are also part of the frenzied flame. That’s what it sounds like to me.
Soooo many goosebumps. This song really goes so hard.
It's always so crazy how spot on you are with your in your deductions, it's honestly impressive!
I cannot wait til you hear the final boss' music
"May Chaos take the world!!!"
That loneliness you hear in the music speaks to the story of Midra, how he spent years in solitude, secluded from the world within his ruined manor, alone enduring eternal suffering, spear-like barbs impaling him from the inside, ripping apart his organs, forever tearing his flesh
However, amidst all this suffering he held to the word his true love gave in her final moment
“Endure”
The word was a curse to Midra. Forever pushing him forward, encouraging him to survive the intense pain he feels. This word was said out of a hope that Midra would not transform into a lord of frenzied flame. Should he ever die, the lord would be released and destroy the entire world, engulfing it in flames.
Once our character mauls Midra enough, he finally gives in. He gives up on his loves final words and releases the Lord, damning the entire world to its soon to be demise.
The feelings of praise or exhalation you hear are Midra embracing the lord and releasing all his frustration in the form of the frenzied flame. Embracing the chaos that would follow in his wake.
The fearful undertones that accompany this track empathize the peril our character is in.
If we do not defeat Midra, here and now, at the birth of his power…
*THE WORLD WILL END*
Midra and Messmer are probably my favorite two DLC bosses. Especially Midra. When you get to the DLC, don't let yourself get spoiled by ANYONE! Midra and the whole area leading up to him are absolutely amazing and imo a huge homage to some other Fromsoftware title.
Definitely my favorite area.
The motiff you hear at 13:15 is a distorted version of the frenzied flame merchant caravan song, a group of nomads who were framed for calling down the frenzied flame to their world. The golden order had then decided to seal them deep down in the depths of the sewers away from the world for their crimes, only to later find out that the caravan had been framed when it was too late. By that time they had been left to waste away in their prison without any hope of escape, not even from death since it had been removed from the order of the world. And so they decided to brandish their sentence in full and summoned the frenzied flame down to their prison so that they could curse their world with it's existence and free themselves from the torture of rotting away forever by using the unique attribute of the frenzied flame burn everything down, including the soul and spirits. by this point the golden order had given up hope for the caravan's salvation, but a character named St. Trina would descend to their prison and would attempt to give them peace by giving them a song that they could play that would help keep their reason against the flame. Unfortunately, almost all of them give up and surrender to the flames, clasping at their eyes in an agonizing position in their final moments, with only one of them in the prison barely keeping themselves sound with the song. From the lore we get in game, the frenzied flame seems to have been in existence since the beginning of the universe when it was formed and exists as an outer god. This universe back then seemed to have once been a single object known as the one great. This object was not alive and had nothing living on it, until one day, the being known as the greater will took the one great and broke it apart to make the stars, planets, and the opportunities for other outer gods to form. When this happened, life started to form and create it's own civilizations. when the frenzied flame observed the life, it found that all it created was grief and strife, pain and suffering, curses and sin. It viewed the action of creating life itself as a mistake, a wrong of existence. and so it would spread its order of the eradication of everything to those who regret ever being born into their world, hoping that one of them would have the strength to house the power of frenzied flame and melt it all away. The only problem was that life, despite all the suffering and pain it goes through, always still holds some hope for a better future, leaving it incapable of controlling the madness of the flame. It could be that St. Trina tried to soothe the frenzied flame in the prison and give it hope for life, but the flame decided that the fact that what happened to the caravan was the exact reason it was right in the first place. That the reason any of these events could happen in the first place is the very reason why life shouldn't have existed in the first place. And so, the use of this theme in the boss fight could be that the frenzied flame is conveying to us that it's solution is the ultimate compassion for life, that life can only bring suffering when it exists and all other ways are nothing more than distractions from the pain and suffering living, itself, permeates.
You werent far off when you beought up Chaos. The frenzied flame IS chaos. But thats...about it actually, its pure chaos. The opposite and antithesis of order, those burnt by it suffer immense pain, followrd by a deep tranquility and a blessing of immense knowledge, the idea that in the end all is as one.
This is reflected in the behavior of its avatar, the lord of frenzied flame. Who is so powerful that all around it simply burns, but is apso disdonantly serene and gentle in its movements. It isnt something infected by madness. It IS the madness. Regarding the world around it with eyes tinted with bloody gold.
Next you should check out the theme of the Promised consort
actually I feel like people might misunderstand what chaos means in this context. It's not something disorderly I think it might be in line with what chaos is in the greek mythology an abyss where nothing lives or is just indistinguishable matter which fits the frenzied flame of melting everything away.
You did an excellent job breaking down the song and were dancing around the story meaning so perfectly. I definitely think that the reason they made the song the way they did was to highlight that despite all this Midra is still not a true lord of frenzied flame. There is still an element of individuality to him despite having ascended to become a host. He never actually WANTED to be the lord of the frenzied flame, he did it for his lover and despite him "surrendering" to it and becoming the frenzied flame, it is still an imperfect match compared to when the player does it if they pursue the frenzied flame ending.
Fantastic breakdown. Somehow you’re great at finding the story in these pieces. I’d love to see a reaction for Bayle the Dread or Promised Consort next!
This was the ONLY ost of all souls that made me go "this boss is about to die, i'll let him hill me so i can listen to the track again"
Your so onpoint with your analys alligning with what that boss, it is kinda insane, absolutely perfect work!