2020

Zundmarazkhulshilkîn – Izremabrusây ra Shâkalmamakhhul [UK, Dungeon Synth] (2020)

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Self Released | 6-17-20

“Izremabrusây ra Shâkalmamakhhul translates from the dwarvish as Flotsam and Jetsam, the title of the ninth chapter in the Two Towers. It also describes the manner of tracks that feature on this album. Although I have fit them into a narrative most started life as one-offs, pieces that drifted here from elsewhere, either tracks for compilations, tunes I worked on under a previous project or works that have sat, semi-completed on my hard drive waiting to find a home.”

SO I am guessing that this is a compilation of sorts from an artist I have never heard of before today. Outside of a successful 2018 debut, Zundmarazkhulshilkîn has been drifting in and out of collaboration and split projects before resting on Izremabrusây ra Shâkalmamakhhul which by the description makes it seem ancillary rather than what it really is — magical hypnosis. Disguised as raw bedroom DIY, Zundmarazkhulshilkîn presents tender and melodious synth that despite their preamble feel complete as soundtracks to a fantasy land I desperate want to be apart of.

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Forbidden Tomb – Demo I [Indonesia, Raw Black] (2020)

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Self Released | 6-18-20

This is the sound I love. This is also the album cover I am inherently drawn to. Forbidden Tomb is a new(?) one member (?) black metal act from Jakarta which sounds lie it could have been unearthed out of any place among the world. Its cold and desolate sound throws itself on the altar of bands like Judas Iscariot with a presentation that is as visceral and astringent as the albums in which it worships.

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Vale Minstrel – Warden of the Vale [US, Dungeon Synth] (2020)

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Self Released | 6-18-20

I do not want to be critical but I feel the only thing I dislike about this release is the logo as it does not truly capture the magic which floats around this release like magical pollen. Vale Minstrel has tagged this release with “JRPG” among other things. The more I think about it the more I am inclined to believe this music would be perfect for a cozy new gen RPG set in some distant land. Warden of the Vales full dedication to fantasy themes is evident with music that is both immersive and competent.

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Bergtrollets Gravferd – Bergtrollets Gravferd [Sweden, Experimental] (2020)

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Self Released | 6-18-20

I would like everyone to be aware before entering into this record that looks like raw black that you are stepping into a world of dark ambient, post punk, blackwave, and noisy goth. Things are about to get weird and spooky in the realm of abstract bats and conceptual castles. Welcome Bergtrollets Gravferd, a new outfit that has just released this tape today and I feel I am staring at a non euclidean building and its giving me anxiety. I will be honest in saying I do not know what this demo is trying to be but I believe it is operating on a parallel time frame from a intrademension.

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Longmoan – Longmoan [Canada, Dungeon Synth] (2020)

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Self Released | 6-16-20

“$2 from every cassette sold will go to the NAACP legal defense fund.”

I enjoy conscientious pledges like this even when its from a sub niche tape release in an already obscured genre. Welcome Longmoan, a 16 bit themed DS release that is styled after a Sega game that never existed. CRPG music and video game worship is something that is not talked about a lot in the DS community though I secretly feel everyone is slightly into it. Longmoan welcomes the listener into a world of bright dark blues and top down dungeon crawling that is littered with deadly skeletons and ghouls. This is Saturday afternoons spent in the living room trying to beat the level and strategy guides opened up on the carpet.

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OČI VLKA – Demo [Czech Republic, Black / Death] (2020)

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Caligari Records | 6-12-20

Another day, another Caligari demo that is mind boggling and soul shredding. I wont bore people about my infatuation and uneasy crush on Caligari records save this label has been consistent in its dealings of death and dismemberment for years. Today we have a genre bending trip into the cold and unforgiving Czech wilderness which sounds like frozen earth and fires that billow black smoke. This is a sort of primal aggression which is distilled into a demo with one song for preview. By now, I trust Caligari enough that this whole demo is going to be something I will discuss later in the year.

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Amn – Lands of Intrigue [UK, Electronic / Dungeon Synth] (2020)

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Mystic Timbre | 9-2-20

This release once against comes from Mystic Timbre, a place that I recently stumbled on and have not yet left. This label has been a boon for not only traditional dungeon synth but for progressive and left field electronic. The best is when the two combine and Amn’s Land of Intrigue is a perfect marriage between the classic sounds of dungeon synth and the cosmic scrying of Kosmische Music. Though not everything will be harmonious or even comforting, the far out visions generated by this release are enough to allow one to see into the future.

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Torture Tomb – Killing to See How It Feels [US, Death Metal] (2020)

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Transylvanian Tapes | 6-6-20

First of all I would like to give this band 10 points for their name as it is really cool. Second of all I would like to give this band 5 points for artwork. Last of all, I will be scattering points here and there for riffs that are scattered throughout this EP. Torture Tomb is listed as “Blackened Death Metal,” so I will throw that out there despite not really hearing black at all in this new EP. Genres though do not matter when you are being flung against the wall by encroaching zombies. Embrace the undead.

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Enbarr – Sage [Algeria, Dungeon Synth] (2020)

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Self Released | 6-20-20

Sometimes a cover says it all. Having paged through many dungeon synth and other self released records, if one has a mastery of a cover, it usually is an good indication of the music that would follow after. This is not always the case but it at least gives me hope that the music will match what was visually promised. Hailing from Algeria (!), comes Enbarr who on the third release this year, presents a conceptual record devoted to the imagery of Crystal Towers. The music is a more of old school dungeon synth which sketches a moat around the hazy image of a spire veiled in fog. Even outside of this probably being the first African DS release I have personally encountered, I am just struck about the design and the music which seems to be as promising as the front cover.

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Moon – Saturn Exerzitium [Australia, Black] (2020)

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Self released | 6-14-20

So this is an interesting place to start with Moon. While some would think this is a new hot demo from a fresh artist, the entity known as moon has been operating for .. more than 10 years. The Saturn Exerzitium demo is the first release in 5 years following a 2015 full length. The Saturn Exerzitium demo is also a change in pace for the artist as it presents two lengthy instrumental black tracks that despite the lack of vocals presents a world full of horror and cold. While instrumental black usually never retains my interest, the landscapes of misery and toil are vivid in the world on Moon with a complete picture painted by the artist. I do not know if I would approach the other material but for now this is incredibly entertaining.

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