Critical Role Presents: Winter's Crest (A Holiday Album) was originally released on November 4, 2024 as an EP containing four Critmas-themed songs published by Critical Role Productions LLC's record label Scanlan Shorthalt Music, and available on all major digital music platforms. Critical Role invited Critters to sing along, cover, remix, and use the tracks on social media while providing a link to stream or purchase the album.[1] The full 11-song album released about a month later.
The vocals were performed by the cast of Critical Role with Peter Habib on instruments. Sam Riegel and Peter Habib masterminded and produced the project.[1]
The EP album included four tracks: Winter's Crest Festival Time, Silent Mind, Twelve Days of Grogmas, and It's Critmas!.[1] On December 3, 2024, seven additional tracks were released[2] for streaming and digital purchase, as well as pre-order for the full album which was then released on vinyl in Spring 2025 in both a standard edition and a deluxe signed edition with extras.[3][4] In addition, Critical Role has released a music video for Twelve Days of Grogmas.
- Winter's Crest Welcome (written by Sam Riegel and Neal Acree)
Matthew Mercer - Winter's Crest Festival Time (written by Peter Habib and Sam Riegel)
Matthew Mercer (as Pumat Sol) - Silent Mind (written by Peter Habib and Sam Riegel)
Laura Bailey (as Imogen Temult) - Naughty & Nice (written by Peter Habib and Sam Riegel)
Sam Riegel (as Scanlan Shorthalt) - Nothin' Under the Tree (written by Peter Habib, Sam Riegel and Kyle Kelso)
Taliesin Jaffe (as Ashton Greymoore) - O Mighty Nein (written by Sam Riegel and Colm McGuinness)
Liam O'Brien (as Caleb Widogast) - Twelve Days of Grogmas (written by Peter Habib and Sam Riegel)
Travis Willingham (as Grog Strongjaw), Ashley Johnson (as Pike Trickfoot) - Cold Inside (written by Tom Cardy and Sam Riegel)[5]
Marisha Ray (as Laudna), Matthew Mercer (as Pâté de Rolo), Sam Riegel (as Fresh Cut Grass), Travis Willingham (as Chetney Pock O'Pea), Laura Bailey (as Imogen Temult) - Winter Anymore (written by Peter Habib and Sam Riegel)
Ashley Johnson (as Yasha Nydoorin) - Deck the Bear (written by Peter Habib, Sam Riegel, and Neal Acree)
Laura Bailey (as Vex'ahlia), Liam O'Brien (as Vax'ildan), Ashley Johnson (as Pike Trickfoot), Taliesin Jaffe (as Percival de Rolo), Sam Riegel (as Scanlan Shorthalt), Travis Willingham (as Grog Strongjaw), Marisha Ray (as Keyleth) - It's Critmas! (written by Peter Habib and Sam Riegel)
Laura Bailey, Taliesin Jaffe, Ashley Johnson, Matthew Mercer, Liam O'Brien, Marisha Ray, Sam Riegel, Travis Willingham
Related links[]
Critical Role Presents: Winter's Crest (A Holiday Album) on YouTube.- Twelve Days of Grogmas | Official Music Video on the Critical Role YouTube channel
Trivia[]
- Winter's Crest is the wintertime holiday of the continent of Tal'Dorei in Exandria.
- According to Matthew Mercer, the idea of making a Christmas album started as a joke the cast made among themselves.[6]
- On the Beacon Discord server, Sam Riegel revealed they had other ideas for songs they didn't end up going with. There was a Jester Lavorre song about candy that was high on the list, a Chetney Pock O'Pea song about hating Santa, and a Fearne Calloway song about stealing presents.[7]
- According to Marisha Ray, they recorded the songs piecemeal over the summer of 2024.[8]
- According to Sam, the identity of the person that Yasha Nydoorin sings about in the song Winter Anymore is open to interpretation. It could be about Beauregard Lionett when she's off on a mission. It could also be about Zuala.[9]
- Sam and Peter Habib had the idea of making a Critmas album during a family ski trip about a year before the album happened. Even though some of the songs on the album are similar to real life Christmas songs, they're not tied to any sort of religion, faith, or region. They're just a celebration of the holiday spirit.[10]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 See the announcement on critrole.com.
- ↑ Critical Role Presents: Winter's Crest (A Holiday Album) on YouTube.
- ↑
Critical Role (@CriticalRole) on Twitter: "Winter's Crest (A Holiday Album) is now available for streaming and digital purchase, but that's not all! Take home the perfect musical gift to warm your solstice season with the full album on vinyl, including a special deluxe signed edition packed with extras - available now for pre-order!" (2024-12-03).
- ↑ See Scanlan Shorthalt Music's website.
- ↑ Matthew Mercer (@matthewmercer) on Twitter: "OH, also… “Cold Inside” was written by the immeasurably talented @Tomycardy!!! <3" (2024-12-3).
- ↑ Matthew Mercer (@matthewmercer) on Twitter: "The problem with jokes around this crew is somehow silly ideas tend to materialize…" (2024-11-04).
- ↑ See two screenshots of Sam's responses for the various ideas on the Beacon Discord server, (2024-12-03).
- ↑ See a screenshot of Marisha's response on the Beacon Discord server, (2024-12-03).
- ↑ See a screenshot of Sam's response about Yasha's song on the Beacon Discord server, (2024-12-03).
- ↑ See "Critical Role Has Been A Great Way to Express Ourselves": Sam Riegel On Winter's Crest (A Holiday Album) on CBR.
Art:
- ↑ Critical Role Presents: Winter's Crest (A Holiday Album EP) album cover, by Nate Gonzalez and Adelle Kincel (source). This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.
- ↑ Critical Role Presents: Winter's Crest (A Holiday Album) cover, by Nate Gonzalez and Adelle Kincel (source). This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.
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