Self Released | 4-20-20
Its funny that the idea of knuckledragging death has become a term or idea of affection that the dumber and ruder the riffs are the better quality the music. I do not know what lies on the otherside of kuckledragging death but for now, we are going to roll with the hairy punches and embrace the primitive or death metal with zero table manners since at the end of the day, the riffs on Writhing Shadows are obscene and the experience is rude and fascinating.
Self Released | 4-13-20
Comfy Synth was a small micro genre in an already micro genre and consisted of artists embracing a light yet intimate sound for their releases. The aesthetic was pointed to a pastoral/cottage setting and invoked scenes of nurture and and comfort. Most of it was less than average production put out at the same rate as most dungeon synth which was a lot. Dungeon synth has a tendency to embrace and run with titles and comfy synth can certainly act as a style within a genre much like winter synth, forest ambient, dark ambient, chip synth, and dungeon noise. The Shakespearean Frog used the tag comfy synth which made me dump a diatribe but outside of any assumptions, Handkerchief Soap is a wonderful vintage style string album that is just as magical as any other dungeon synth. Handkerchief Soap was released in the same month as its followup Elite Toilet Soap which despite its odd name is just as warm and inviting as the first. Come get a blanket and sit by the fire.
Ván Records | 3-27-20
I believe it was one of my online friends who said they loved this 30 seconds in by the sound of dragging chains. There is sometimes a moment when you know you will love a record. It calls to you with open arms of the right aesthetic, band photos, and song titles. I have joked about the decline of basement death which came at the decline of cavern death. this is all funny until there is a constant stream of great cavern/basement death records being released. Nekrovault is not just another festering slab of riffs and attitude rather they are one of the more effective slab of riffs and attitude in recent memory and makes me want to worship at the festering altar of chaos.
Wyrm Lodge Records | 4-10-20
“You Have Summoned The Slime Golem! (Master in awe of his creation)” is perhaps one of the greatest song titles in the history of music and if not that then it is a wonderful introduction to the tone of Slime Golem. Slime Golem comes from a Greek label called Wyrm Lodge which is a bunch of weirdo synth that I have trouble finding the members involved. It is okay since the music is a weirdos fever dream. The Short But Touching Tale Of Slime Golem is a loving embrace of horror film soundtracks like John Carpenter just run through bedroom production and given an EC Comic aesthetic. There is nothing wrong with any of this as Slime Golem and the rest of Wyrm Lodge operates in charming obsession to all things weird.
Self Released | 4-19-20
So unless I am mistaken, the bands name means Vile in Spanish which sounds pretty apt for a band that is seething venom. This self titled EP is the debut for VIL and comes with a slap to the face by a hand that is also holding broken glass. While the music is the standard mid-fi black everyone has come to love through the likes of Mgla, VIL continues that tradition with songs that despite their length, feel like churning journeys of riffs and atmosphere. I can always appreciate short and effective debuts and this EP sings to the halls of Hell with the choral chants of the dammed.
Self Released | 4-17-20
I feel this might not be dungeon synth but rather a floating moon caught in the orbit of the sound. Cerulean Tomb shares many aspects of dungeon synth in terms of production, fantastic storytelling, and the aesthetic approach but that is where the similarities end. Influenced by space travel and the spirits of Komische musik, Delmak-O creates science fiction landscapes that are illuminated by distant stars and the alien worlds of desolation and beauty. Cerulean Tomb is a wild and unrelenting escape into a solitary vessel which is fit for one and has an almost limitless capacity for imagination.
Self Released | 3-27-20
Phew, try to hold on. Sørgelig has been building up momentum for a few years with bleak looking demos and albums that look perfect for cassette tapes. the self titled EP comes quickly after a 2019 full length and by the time 12 minute EP begins, it feels like you are running to catch up with its fervor and forward momentum. With blistering black metal which is thrown at you like kitchen knives, Sørgelig rides the line between keeping their shit together and almost completely fucking losing it. there is little time for atmosphere when everything is collapsing around you.
Self Released | 4-16-20
I passed over this release two or three times since I did not initially pick up on its entire vibe. From what I saw, I thought Bespin Moons was a synthwave record wrongly tagged as dungeon synth. To my surprise not only was it dungeon synth, and fantastic dungeon synth at that, but this was also dedicated to the Star Wars universe. Suddenly everything made sense including the cover which looks like the Kenner action figure from the late 70’s. I feel a little silly missing this as finally listening to A Binding Force has propelled this record from cast away to one of the best releases in recent memory for its effortless worship of a speculative universe that eschews traditional high fantasy. Everything works, from the soundclips to the song titles to the traditional dungeon synth that is now on far planets in a galaxy far far away.
Self Released | 4-16-20
I enjoy traditional doom. I also enjoy rough and raw production. the combination of the two is not something that is usually seen including a release of a traditional doom demo but here we are in 2020. Eternal Abyss offers themselves to the council of bands like Trouble, Pagan Altar, Pentagram, and even Candlemass. The only difference is, Eternal Abyss is running their hearts and souls through the filter of bedroom production with a demo that has all of the energy distant and flat. This, surprisingly, works int he bands favor with a charming demo of potential and personality which reaches to the proverbial skies of projection. With a cover that looks like a black metal demo, Eternal Abyss rides the undercurrent of home production with a sound that is exciting and fresh.
Self Released | 4-15-20
Yes. Yes to everything about this. While I do not think Temple of the Fractured Light is entirely there, this artist is on the correct existential road to something super fucking weird and amazing. I noticed Temple of the Fractured Light before with its garish and occult psychedelic influenced covers. Rainbow Rituals of the Spiritual Sojourner tags itself as progressive dungeon synth which is a current trend in its combination of 70’s progressive aesthetic and dungeon synth. Temple of the Fractured Light, in my opinion, is more traditional dungeon synth just aimed at a weird cult aesthetic that mixes drug visuals with the somber motifs of death cults. The track titles and soundclips point to groups like Jonestown and Heaven’s Gate. This is certainly progressive, in concept, away from the tradition of fantasy escapism. The whole affair combined with a bedroom production gives Temple of the Fractured Light an alluring and sinister vibe and something that, like most cults, is ominous and inviting.