2021

Bestial Putrefaction – Gore Drenched Barbarism [Canada, Black / Death] (2021)

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Self Released | 2-3-21

HOLY SHIT. End of review. Most of my reviews are done in the morning with my morning coffee which is why I feel I gravitate to some of the more repellent sounds perhaps as a way to jumpstart my day. Bestial Putrefaction is a new entity with a 2021 demo and now another release which is 17 minutes of fluid leaking chaos. From artwork to sound to general presence, Bestial Putrefaction has found a way to be fucking disgusting without sacrificing on sound. For as much of an avalanche as this release is, Gore Drenched Barbarism is precise in its ability to grab the listener by the throat and never let go with its skeletal hands. Get wild. Get sick. Get your mind ripped open by malevolent ghosts.

Vaelastrasz – Shadows Of The Eastern Kingdoms [US, Dungeon Synth] (2020)

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Gondolin Records | 12-29-20

Another Cusp record which was released on the 29th of December in 2020. Shadows of the Eastern Kingdoms was apart of the final 2020 drop from Gondolin Records, a label I have praised many times before. Vaelastrasz has been a name in dungeon synth before 2018 but the release of The Plagueland Chronicles solidified the artist’s status as a dealer in hypnotic dungeon synth that could lull a listener to dreams or incubate future nightmares. Shadows Of The Eastern Kingdoms is another tentpole release both for the artist as well as Gondolin as the dreary mists inhabit every mile of this record which feels less like an album and more a landscape of dread and despondency. I am thankful for labels like Gondolin and also artists like Vaelastrasz who continue to craft worlds where the middle grey is a cast of characters embroiled in a tragic play.

Black Mass Pervertor – Sodomiittien seura [Black / Punk] (2021)

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Self Released | 3-21-21

Writting about this review is a reminder to myself to finish my black/punk — punk/black primer. I love this sound and the more I explore in the rotted afterparty of the fusion between black and punk, the more I find the sound as varied as something like death metal. Black Mass Pervertor leans towards a thrash driven speed style of black metal with an aura of perverted partying rather than occult rituals. With tags like “sodomite rock,” and themes such as blasphemous revelry both in the flesh and in spirit, Black Mass Pervertor continues to hold the soiled flag of black/punk as it chucks liquor bottles at the ones who are cheering them on.

The Orb Weaver – The Orb Weaver [Germany, Dungeon Synth] (2021)

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Neverwood Records | 1-1-21

Yes. A 2021 record I can safely assume is apart of this year. I have talked before about Neverwood Records being a fine merchant of a wide variety of Dungeon Synth. the Orb Weaver is but another chapter in the continuing story of Neverwood with a record of forest based drone that is a near 40 minutes spent in the nebula of grey mist. the Orb Weaver is a project from a German artist by the name of Willow Tea. Similar to past projects, The Orb Weaver explores ambient drone in varying levels of texture and mood. Fans of Neptune Towers will be happy to know the debut from The Orb Weaver is nothing less than a cosmic burial in neutral shades of grey. the artist’s off hand story surrounding the album,, and creation myth, is understand compared to the glacial sounds of its debut

when I was 12, I spent a week at my grandparents’ house. when I got out of their car, there was an orbweaver that had constructed its web in such a way I had to bend backwards to avoid ruining it. it became a familiar companion. the day I left, the web was gone, and the orbweaver too. probably on some adventure.

This small story contrasted with the cerebral sounds of the music is quite a journey as the hypnosis of The Orb Weaver comes with not being prepared for the experience one is about to undertake. There will be joy and narcotic haze undercut by an ever-present sense of anxiety that comes with knowledge of the unknowable. Enjoy this new year and the endless space that exists after awareness recedes.

Chanterelle – Earthly Delights [US, Dungeon Synth] (2021)

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Neverwood Records | 1-29-21

I recently received another tape from Neverwood Records and I paused to think that this tape label was one of the more recent outfits to take over my life. With an exceptional catalog, Neverwood Records seems to offer an endless supply of intriguing DS which a range of sounds. Chanterelle’s Earthly Delights embraces the quiet lo-fi spectrum of the sound but without a need to fall into a comfy designation. Earthly Delights is a compilation (?) of previous and unreleased music which serves as an introduction to one of the more hidden gems of dungeon synth. Magical and mysterious this music is vibrant and offers a sense of adventure for anyone who follows the wisps of light through the thickets of woods. I have always been pleased with Neverwood Records and Chanterelle is just another reason why I blindly eat mushrooms that I find on the forest floor.

Spear of Tetua – Scorn [Croatia, Black / Post Punk] (2021)

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Self Released | 1-18-20

Even though I have a problem with artists calling a two song 11 minute release an EP, it is their prerogative so I can not complain. Scorn, as a release, is fleshed out enough to be considered an EP despite a demo being a better fit. Also the act’s 2020 demo was 18 minutes. All of this audited of time is only superficial criticism on a sound that is widely exciting and is thrown in the wheelhouse of anyone who enjoys grim dark post punk and doesn’t mind the vocals with a little bit more gravel. Through two tracks, Spear of Tetua wrestles with darkness in both a aesthetic fashion but also in the raw shambles of visceral reaction.

Siegecraft – Noble Infantry [US, Dungeon Synth] (2020)

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Moonworshipper Records | 12-25-20

I am currently going through my holiday purchases and trying to catalog all of the dungeon synth that was released in the waning hours of 2020. though it is 2021 and most of this material lies on the cusp of years, I am going to make a special designation for material released in December of a year and make considerations when discussing the end of the year. This has been something that I have wanted to do for a while and Noble Infantry is one of those records which I want to include in discussions of 2021. From the band of weirdo misfits at Moonworshipper comes a surprisingly tame record whose strangeness comes in blurred edges emanating from a core of classic sounding dungeon synth. There are dungeons and dark shapes which moves through shows. At points, it sounds calm and at other times, it looms over you as a proper ghoul should. This is Mortiis worship but only in the spirt as Noble Infantry attempts to being medieval grimness back into the cusp of 2021.

Wyndcrawler – Obsidian Swords For The Heavendwellers [US, Dungeon Synth / Dark Ambient] (2021)

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Stench Ov Death Prod | 1-23-21

This is wonderful. Stench Ov Death is a Washington based tape label that seems to specialize in black metal and dark ambient. Wyndcrawler is a dark ambient act which invokes the spirits of old and new in a record that is textural and understated. Obsidian Swords For The Heavendwellers ( cool album name) is a tribute to both acts like Neptune Towers as well ads the newer dark ambient inspired acts like Old Tower. Wyndcrawler’s embrace of both melody and darkness results in a release that is less apart of the dark dungeons than it is the cold forest floor in the deep of winter. There is ancient magic which runs through the middle of this release which is something that could be missed due to its raw production. I look forward to more from this label and artist as there is something potent in this sound.

Sewermeister – Subterranean Ceremony [?, Raw Black Metal] (2021)

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Self Released | 1-25-21

Well, this is certainly wonderful with morning coffee. there are some releases which feel like they shouldn’t exist or at least try their very best to be repellent to the mind and ear. Subterranean Ceremony is one one of them and I hope it stays on Bandcamp throughout the year as these types of releases tend to disappear after I write about them. Sewermeister is steeped in ritual and this under ten minute offering is less a demo than it is a pastiche of noise and texture which resembles black metal. To some that feels like a negative but to others, it is exactly what they need. Through darkness the heat of chaos pours through this demo offering clarity or just wild abandon for all that seek its wisdom. This might sound grandiose yet this type of raw black metal is wonderful for anyone that is into its sound as the mystery and violence of it aligns with black metal’s history and ultimate mythos. That or it is just a cool sound that scares the locals. Your choice.