DLC info: Steam
Listening: Bandcamp
Info
Apparently a DLC fourth chapter for Hell Clock came out a couple of months ago, that’s cool! This one is apparently a prequel and takes place during the Paraguayan War, which happened about thirty years before the real-life event that inspired the main part of the game. Though I haven’t played the game so I don’t know for sure what time period or periods the base game actually takes place in, there are some anachronistic elements in some of the late-game track titles.
Stylistically it’s most similar to the music from Act III: spooky, Halloween-leaning orchestral music with harpsichord, chorus vocals, and some electronic noises. Compared to Act III it’s slightly less electronic and has less Caipira viola (or maybe none), but the difference that stood out to me the most is that it has more detuned, dissonant microtonality; it’s definitely something the composer Thommaz Kauffmann has used before in a couple of tracks in the base game and also Dandara, but it’s really out in force here. Which makes the music sound even more Halloweeny! I should’ve listened to this last month instead when it was still legal to be spooky.
The style of music here isn’t my favorite in the entire world (I liked Act II’s music in the base game by far the most), but Kauffmann’s writing is good and the synths and detuning keep things cool and help it from feeling too schlocky to me. I tend to like music in this style when it’s most chaotic and weird, and for the most part this soundtrack isn’t super chaotic, but it does get a little weird, so that’s nice.
Recommended tracks:
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“Acampamento da Tropa (Cursed War Hub)” is stately and sorrowful
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“O Duque de Caxias (Duque of Caxias Boss Fight)” looks to be the final boss theme, I like the metallic riff this starts with
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“Jornada dos Milagres (Journey of Miracles)” is the most electronic piece in the game, some nice sounds in this one
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