Another round of the dungeon synth sounds currently haunting the chapel, the forest, the ancient ruins. This time, the epic journey to ‘Persepolis’ with Tir, cruising the ‘Deep Form of Cosmic Signals & Psychonautic Sphere of Nothingness’ with Aldebaran’s Nebulah, checking in on Castellan on ‘Demo III’, and have a bite with Stuffed Crust on ‘Sacrificial Slice Upon The Blackened Stone’.

Let’s enjoy some dungeon synth.

Dungeon Synth Digest

Tir – Persepolis

Tir never seems to be truly satisfied with his work, and ‘Persepolis’ is once more a Redux version of an earlier release. Building on the carcass of ‘The Vanished Civilization of Xattoth’ (recently released on cassette by the ever-impressive Heimat Der Katastrophe label), Tir takes us into the shadows of the past. Clocking over 57 minutes, this is truly a journey. Tir doesn’t use an overly rich amount of sounds but relies on strong melodies en good sound. You can instantly feel this as the rhythm of ‘Daemon of Desert (Ahzi)’ swells. The music is sonorous, deep and slow, never going to briefly over what it has to say to you. I like to compare the music of Tir to breathing, as it waxes and wains with a patience, that feels particularly organic and natural.

Yet, there is also a melancholy in the sound. Certainly, a song like ‘Summoning Alborz’ has a more pressing urgency and tension to it, and ‘Righteous Viraz is even playful, but at its more pensive moments Tir feels like reminiscing. The extended version of ‘The Stone Thrown From Cinwad Bridge’ and ‘The Song of the Cosmos is Heard from Persepolis’ are illustrative of that. The record is diverse, that is definitely true. It can lean towards lighter sounds, with a classic notion, on songs such as ‘Empire of Stars’, or dwell in darkness that feels like black metal. Particular shout-out to the contribution of Varkâna on ‘Forgetten Prophecy’.  This is a masterful record, full of atmospheres, places and ideas to wander through, to get lost in, to forget yourself in… among the ancient, crumbling stone of Persepolis.

Artist: Tir
Origin: Turkey
Label: Brilliant Emperor Record

Castellan – Demo III

There is a lot to like about Castellan. For one, the music is great, but I also love how the music is packed up into adventure modules. Dungeon synth is about nostalgia for imaginary places, and D&D references to embody exactly that. This story is about princesses, dragons and a once peaceful green valley. I don’t need much more. Castellan uses that 8-bit sound, which I particularly enjoy. There’s a level of abstraction to the games of those eras that fully activates the imagination. Music does a lot to make that feeling resurface, particularly opener ‘Doom of the Savage Kings’. Majestic, yet basic, with those regal, clean synth tones. I just love this sound. The cavernous notes on ‘The Illusion of the Decapus’ for example, are monumental. Oh, so just to be clear, you get two versions of each song. One ‘clean’ and one 8-bit. Both ‘sides’ are great, this rules.

Artist: Castellan
Origin: Norway
Label: self-released

Aldebaran’s Nebulah – Deep Form of Cosmic Signals & Psychonautic Sphere of Nothingness

You can always wonder if things are or are not dungeon synth. I guess Aldebaran’s Nebulah isn’t but that doesn’t stop me from including it here, because this is my blog. Also, I think it has become abundantly clear that dungeon synth is an umbrella term more than ever, and encompasses a broader concept. Wintersynth, goblinsynth, comfy synth, why not space synth. And with further ado, this record from Poland. I get Berlin School vibes from this set of synthy drones and astral projections, which are also a bit Jean-Michel Jarre of course. There’s something creepy in the music, it’s that obvious prelude to darkness in the depths of space, where one last signal can be traced from a lost vessel. Some fool goes to investigate because… don’t they always? We hear the pulsations of the astral depths, the soaring sounds of planetoids moving by, the droning of an approaching ship. It’s a magical journey to the great cold beyond. Synth has many dimensions, and so does space, greatly conveyed on this strong release.

Artist: Aldebaran’s Nebulah
Origin: Poland
Label: Vicious Mockery Records

Stuffed Crust – Sacrificial Slice Upon The Blackened Stone

This record is pretty much what I would imagine if you particularly labeled it ‘American-Italian Dungeon Synth’ and that’s fine. It’s wacky and wonky as is vividly illustrated by opening track ‘Willy’s wacky pizza party’. There’s some black metal stuffed into this, but that’s what you get when the pizza stays in the oven too long I would assume. I do not approve of stuffed crust by the way, I find it the most abhorrent addition to a food that is good as it is. It just didn’t need that, you know? Anyways, the second track has a bit of that black metal screaming, but still feels very comical due to the sounds. It’s not a serious record, you got that right? But it does blend the stuff nicely together, as ‘extra cheese and good times’ really embodies that comfy synth sound in turn. The constant changing, yet consistent pizza-focus is in itself admirable.  A song like ‘pizzazzzaazzz’ could just as well be from some forest synth group, that’s how well done it is. My favorite is the secret bonus track, ‘gabberoni pizza’, with some true gabber beats. YES!

Artist: Stuffed Crust
Origin: USA
Label: WereGnome Records