Sidereal Fortress - Vette Inquiete

Heimat Der Katastrophe, 2018

Deh, spiriti miei, quando mi vedete
con tanta pena, come non mandate
fuor della mente parole adornate
di pianto, dolorose e sbigottite?

Hailing from the Italian landscapes of Florence was Sidereal Fortress. A project that brought forth an impressive discography and, sadly, ceased to exist this very year. Gone, but not forgotten, as Vette Inquiete has unveiled itself to be an effort I’ll happily revisit from this day on.

In 40 minutes' time, Sidereal Fortress paints a landscape that echoes a fictional, medieval Italy; a sight that can be as sunny and welcoming, as it is dark and dangerous. Narratively, the album speaks volumes by gracefully diving into dark and oppressive ambiances, yet giving just enough light and warmth to guide us along. The best example of this might be the mesmerizing, foreboding, and personal favorite, ‘Castrum Vetus’. Starting off as one of the album’s most sinister tunes, it beautifully opens up at the end, shifting tone severely for a brief moment, only to once more surround the listener by darkness.

Vette Inquiete’s biggest threat is how easy it is to hum along with its melodies. Do not mistake this accessibility for simplicity, because the record hosts a pleasantly layered complexity. Rather, see it as an unexpected adventure in a familiar dungeon.

TL;DR: While in its core foreboding, Vette Inquiete offers a wide palette of flavours through which it gracefully shifts as it pleases.

Sidereal Fortress on Bandcamp | Heimat Der Katastrophe on Bandcamp

INTERVIEW: Utred

Gothic

There is joy and love to be found in the works of Utred. They’re spontaneous, adventurous, and to me personally, one of the highlights of the current scene. With the bombastic and light-hearted Gothic in the background, I sat down with its creator to discuss his creative output.

First of all, congratulations on your latest record! While your previous efforts are amongst some of my favorites, I do feel that Gothic has pushed your creative capabilities immensely. It’s catchy, mesmerizing and all-in-all such an exciting ride. How did these four songs come into existence, and what do they mean to you as the author?

Thank you so much. I’ve put a lot of work into this album. The first idea was to compose a long track, based on the organ timbres of my synthesizer, and without repetitions, so it would flow in the same way as you would tell a story. The second track follows this concept, but with harpsichord timbres. The two short tracks at the end aim to make the album lighter. "Helmet" is a reminiscence of the first album Citadel, and "Chalice" is kind of an experimental track, with new tones and a delicate arrangement. So, in the end, we have this upward structure throughout the album, in an effort to recreate Gothic architecture in sound.

I love the idea of recreating physical architecture throughout the ungraspable medium that is sound. Where does your fascination with Gothic architecture come from? Is it very present throughout Moscow?

Mostly it comes from books and films since we don't have much Gothic architecture in Moscow, just a few cathedrals. The architecture does have a tight connection with scholasticism, which is my second inspiration for the album. I found out about this theological school when I was forced to study philosophy for postgraduate studies and was fascinated by the originality of its ideas.

Knowing that you’re from Russia, I’m probably wrong, but does Utred refer to the Swedish verb utreda, meaning “to investigate”? And even if not, do you see your work with Utred as some sort of investigation?

Wow, I didn't know that. We do have many artifacts of medieval Swedish expansion in the burial mounds over here though, especially in the region of Smolensk, where my mother was born. When speaking about any original form of art, "to investigate" is absolutely the right expression. And yes, I am incredibly passionate about investigating new musical landscapes.

I’ve got to be honest. My first encounter with Utred was thanks to the Toto cover “Africa”. I immediately ordered Tribute I + II on cassette and even though I’ve heard those songs many, many times, they still manage to put a smile on my face. What drove you to create these fantastic covers - and why these particular songs?

I asked myself the question: “Would I be able to play some beloved rock songs on my lonely synthesizer, with a fully painted palette and in the vein of the Dungeon Synth genre?” The choosing of songs was simple since they contain my favorite melodies, and I like them very much. "Africa" was recorded especially for my friend Anton from the project Raevjager, he is absolutely mad about this song.

It’s one of my favorites as well!
What does the future hold for Utred? Can we expect new themes, or will we dive further into what you’ve already dug into?

The future plan is to publish remastered versions of all albums (except Gothic) and to record a new one next year. I wouldn't like to tell any details, so a little intrigue still exists.

The final words are all yours!

Thank you very much for this interview. I wish everybody to be healthy and prosperous, to love and to be loved. Stay true at any cost.

Utred on Bandcamp

Fiendish Imp - Fiendish Imp

Dunkelheit Produktionen, 2018

“She is large and I am small -- but

Oh! How I dance and prance ‘round all!

And though she's queen

How I will glean

Her only child as I'd foreseen”

To wager with the mischievous might be one of our most exciting activities. Tricksters are charming creatures, not only by presence, but mainly because they’ve always given us the idea that we could outsmart them. We could out riddle the troll on the bridge, trick Mephisto in his own game, wrangle the ring from Gollum’s fingers, or guess Rumpelstiltskin’s name. These creatures offer us an exciting gamble. And we'll probably lose, but there’s always a chance. Isn’t there?

Fiendish Imp fully taps into this mischievous atmosphere. Its melodies are quirky but carry a weight that doesn’t become clear until we’ve reached the latter part of the record. Within 18 minutes it slowly transforms its airy and playful attitude to a much more serious and foreboding one, successfully mirroring old folklore in the process. This subtle switch of attitude - and the rather short playtime - really encourages repeated listens. To be honest, I’ve been returning to this little devil since its release in October 2018.

It saddens me to say that the Imp has outsmarted me. 

I’ve fallen under its spell and signed my name.

TL;DR: A captivating and malevolent effort.

Fiendish Imp on Bandcamp | Fiendish Imp on Facebook

Shy Knight - Shy Knight

Self-released, 2019

“This is not only about him,
this is about all of us.”

Some knights are brave, others are villainess - and then there’s Shy Knight; a tiny man in armor, tumbling down dungeons. It’s not particularly reserved in a stylish way, rather, its aura borders on nervous timidity; a character that only gets enhanced by the use of what’s seemingly one single synth sound.

What I like the most about Shy Knight is its inability to fully finish melodies. Somewhere near the end they kind of fall apart, like a sentence that just doesn’t really hit home. Combining this with a slightly lo-fi sound makes this debut such an adorably naive effort that I can only hope that this is all intentional - because it's either that, or I’m just reading into it way too much!

And hey, I know. Being in dungeons can be stressful. The lack of sunshine and fresh air sometimes really gets to you. The solitude and dampness don’t particularly train your social skills, nor does it give you a healthy dose of self-reflection. Shy Knight is an honest depiction of listening to too much doots and suddenly setting foot in the outside world, after what might have been an eternity downstairs.

TL;DR: Simplistic, quirky and charming.

Shy Knight on Bandcamp

Trolltjern ‎- Hymner Fra Trolltjern

Self-released, 1995

"Eg høyrde vindsuset kalle meg
Oppi fjellet oppi fjellet
Den tok meg vekk i fra folksom gard
Oppi fjellet oppi fjellet"

20 Minutes of music is enough to wander deep into Norwegian forests. It is enough to get lost in the fog, with only a sporadic appearing moon for guidance. It is enough to expect to hear another's footsteps getting nearer any moment - yet it never happens. We are alone, cold, and surrounded by the sparsely colored and vivid imagery of untouched Northern landscapes.

There’s this beauty in tape hiss. It stretches far beyond mere conventional aesthetics and manages to carry and ascend music through its gentle waves. Combined with Hymner Fra Trolltjern’s subtle melodies, spoken words and wind samples, it continuously paints pictures that have a pleasing similarity with the cassette’s artwork, and extends the experience the music alone already offers.

Honestly, why isn’t there more of this? With a burgeoning scene, releasing material frantically, it baffles me that there is so little material that harkens back to the atmosphere Trolltjern already introduced back in 1995. Don’t get me wrong; this is no plea to produce similar sounds, since I love the genre's current diversity. It’s just that Hymner Fra Trolltjern is so incredibly convincing that I find it difficult to believe it’s not a much broader embraced influence.

TL;DR: Oldschool but extraordinary refreshing.

Trolltjern on Youtube

Castle Zagyx - Dungeons of Despair

Self-released, 2019

"When a house is both hungry and awake,
every room becomes a mouth."

I like a good challenge. It spices up life and confronts our own biases. The saying is that the hardest dungeons hold the best loot, so let’s explore what’s behind Zagyx’s gates.

Right from the start tyrannical synths push us further down this castle’s hallways. Heavy brass-like sounds pound upon us and quickly all becomes clear: there is no escape. We are trapped in a fast hold that bests us at every turn. Clever melodies creep out from hidden areas while thick, stone walls continually surround us.

Drenched in distortion and reverb Dungeons of Despair elbows its way forth. I have to say, this is one of the most disparaging Dungeon Synth records I’ve ever laid my ears on. It completely dwarfs the listener by use of sheer grandeur and violence. Never does it grant any form of comfort, instead it evokes the feeling of danger, adventure and - perhaps - an awaiting reward, just out of reach, somewhere hidden amidst these castle walls.

TL;DR: Dungeons of Despair is an active, atmospheric and disparaging effort that would undoubtedly appeal to the bravest of adventurers.

Castle Zagyx on Bandcamp

Disciples of Sunlight - Radiance

Self-released, 2019

"The sun shines
upon good and bad alike."

Radiance is a compilation featuring Vandalorum (who we remember of their excellent Flagellum Dei), Nameless King, Rêvoeil, Amethyst Dagger and Count Shirintsu. This brave quintet has set out with only one mission in mind: to worship the Sunlight.

With these two themes provided - worship and sunlight - I at first expected a more oppressive record. The cover art and short description tell tales of a dominant sun, one that makes us bend both knees through its overwhelming and all-touching display of heat and presence. Contradictorily, Radiance delivers a light-hearted record, not really forcing us to do anything. It doesn’t come off as oppressive or bombastic in any way. It’s just there, in the background, available if we’d want to.

There is a poetic quality to this approach. Instead of actively praising this giant star at the center of a solar system - the most important source of energy for life - we get a humble approach to worship; a praise that’s under one’s breath. Combining this interpretation with the titles that are provided, one could even suggest that these devotees haven’t experienced sunlight in quite some time, making their hymns mere fragments of both memories and imagination.

Poetic quality or not, musically and thematically I have the feeling that Disciples of Sunlight's first release only shows us a glance of their true potential. I therefore hope to see these disciples gather once more, but with an effort that feels slightly more cohesive, for its object of praise deserves so much better.

TL;DR: A pale sun shines upon us.

Disciples of Sunlight on Bandcamp

INTERVIEW: Torchlight

Haunting Dreams for Dying Kings

Torchlight first surfaced with the excellent Realms of Oblivion; a record that means a great deal to me due to its refreshing and mystical character. After emerging out of nowhere, the project has already graced us with a total of five releases. Its latest, Haunting Dreams for Dying Kings, was released on Bandcamp on the 17th of September this year. The time has come for us to sit down with this anonymous torchbearer, to find out if we can shed a light on his marvelous project.

Castles, ruins and other artifacts of an older civilization are richly scattered throughout the beautiful and diverse landscapes of Italy. With Torchlight hailing from Salerno, a port city just south-east of Naples - and very close to the green and mystical Valle delle Ferriere - I’m rather curious towards the way your local environment influences your music.

Yes, I live in a small town near Salerno, in a valley where almost every high elevation has a castle, a ruin or a hermitage. Every town in Campania (the region where Salerno is located) is rich in history, monuments, and mysterious charm. The place where I live certainly influenced my way of making music. Mountains are my dearest childhood friends and visiting abandoned castles, ruins covered with ivy, woods with stream and, tunnels of leaves and branches take my mind into the realms of imagination. I love solitude, and often I walk through these places, leaving everything behind, just to be alone with myself, to meditate.
 

I am lucky to live in such a place, remaining such strong roots with a distant past.
 A curiosity: the last album, Haunting Dreams ..., should have been called I was born between the ruins. It would have had other songs, another style, and another cover, fully dedicated to my native place. When I discovered that there already are albums with a similar name, I decided to postpone the project.

Your description of the environment sounds like a dream and - above all - very inspirational! I’d love to see a Torchlight record dedicated, both sonically and visually, to this rich and exciting area. Speaking of inspirational environments: Is there a national - or even local - Dungeon Synth community that you are aware of?

No, nothing at all, neither national nor local. Despite the affinity of places with the DS genre, I feel like a white fly in Italy. This genre is known to very few people here. The only communities with which I maintain contact and interact are the groups on Facebook, where there are people from all over the world who listen to this particular type of music. What to say ... sometimes even modernity has its positive sides!



Do you think that this absence of a physical scene could also be seen as a constructive element? For example: does this “solitude” evoke a certain character that couldn’t be achieved otherwise?

Good question! Probably yes, this solitude also has its positive sides since I have no pressure or external influences on making music. Torchlight could never have been a band or even a duo-project; its expressiveness comes from a single soul and must not compromise with anything or anyone. Creating with Torchlight is not a job and I only record when I’m inspired and when I have something clear in mind (or something that is becoming clear).

I listen to many Dungeon Synth albums a week, but there are times when I completely leave the genre, to return a few months later with renewed passion and with new ears. You need to follow your heart if you don't want your music to fall into the banality of "doing it because you have to do it". Probably a nearby DS community would unconsciously influence my way of doing, listening, recording, and the Torchlight project would not be the same as it is today.

There seems to be a gentle transformation going on throughout your music. Every album has its own character while maintaining a very specific “Torchlightean” sound. Is there an overarching theme to the project? Something conceptual that ties the entire project together?

Musically, Torchlight moves between fantasy, ambient music, and orchestral darkwave. I always try to keep an inner coherence between these two poles. 
Ideologically, I think that what holds the albums together, beyond the appeal for the past, is an attempt for psychological introspection through the symbols of myth. For example, The long quest is a search for knowledge about ourselves and the world, the quest of our "raison d'être" through the senses (many songs are about natural elements), and the track that closes the work is "Depths of unknown ". This means that the last truth about ourselves will always remain an unexplored mystery (and another curiosity, this cd was initially thought of as a search for gold by dwarves, but more or less the concept remained the same). 
Even Witchcraft, although to a lesser extent, hides psychological research, this time not of knowledge but of domination of nature’s forces through magic and witchcraft. Also, Realms of Oblivion and Haunting Dreams for the Dying King have their own ideology. 
However, this more conceptual approach should not distract from what is the core of Dungeon Synth music, which is the sense of mystery, wonder, terror and attraction to the unknown, nature, castles, ruins and the whole medieval imagery. Finding these themes in an album is worth more than any psychological or philosophical concept, however profound it may be. We are making music, not philosophy.

As a creator, how do you preserve this sense of mystery wonder, terror and attraction when you’re in the process of continually improving your craft?



I have always been attracted by the charm of the unknown, the thrill of fear, the irrational and the supernatural. It is not difficult for me to preserve this tension towards these things, because I am also made of these things and these things are me. I make no effort to create songs that evoke mystery and terror because my musical vein has these innate propulsion. I would never be able to create happy songs because it really isn't in my style and I wouldn't know how to do it. For me, music is a medium to transcend reality, and the passage must always be somehow painful and uncertain: in a sense, to pass the bridge that divides reality from the imagination, we must seek the death of the ego anchored to space and time, and this is never an easy thing. 
When I need inspiration I just need to watch a movie, read a book, take a walk, look at some pictures and my mind fills with ideas. Making music is only rationalizing the feeling of sublime that is stirred up within. I consider this a gift, no doubt, that I share only with those who can understand it because they too bear this gift, the ability to carry the “torch” and see everything in its “light”.

With Torchlight being a very, but not too productive project, would it be wrong of me to suspect even more material is in the making already?

I can't reveal much but I've already got a pretty long album that will be an RPG game soundtrack. Also, probably by the end of the year, the cassettes of both Haunting Dreams ... and Witchcraft will be produced, and perhaps a reprint of all the previous albums. Maybe also some co-operations. 
I’m planning to record a new EP shortly and I have many ideas for many albums.

Wonderful! My curiosity is fueled! Thank you for your time and very descriptive answers. The final words are all yours.

When I met the DS environment I was fascinated by the passion of all those who produced and listened to this music. I believe that within us there is a common language that we share, and it is not just a musical taste, because we understand each other despite the distance. This is beautiful because it feels as if we’re part of something ancient and profound, like a team, an army struggling to preserve the beauty of this world.
 We have never stopped dreaming and flying in the realms of fantasy. Surely, you know what I'm talking about. DS music has no lyrics, so what it wants to express is not caged by alphabetic language. The music speaks and allows us to meet in the realms of imagination. Long live Dungeon Synth!

Torchlight on Bandcamp | Torchlight on Facebook

Isenfeldt - Hall of Kings

Self-released, 2016

All harmony, all wondrous fairness
Aloof from passions and the world.
She rests with tranquil unawareness
In her triumphant beauty furled.

It’s quite common for me to refer to Dungeon Synth as bombastic, atmospheric, quirky, trance-inducing, lo-fi, or use other useful terms that describe the sounds that I’m hearing. Very rarely though, the first thing that pops into my mind is beautiful.

Now, this might be because this descriptor feels a bit obvious. When you’re enthusiastic about something, there’s a big chance that you’ve found a sense of beauty within it. Skipping its notion feels almost necessary to actually get to the point that you’re trying to get across.
I’d like to make an exception when it comes to Isenfeldt’s Hall of Kings.

It’s beautiful.

Right. There you have it! Plain as day! Isenfeldt delivers a soothing, folksy type of Dungeon Synth/ Medieval Folk that occasionally showcases a rather intrepid character. It’s carefully layered with a broad variety of instruments, of which the harp plays the most dominant role, bringing forth delightful melodies while it dances around its accompanying plucked-, percussive- and wind instruments.

Hall of Kings is a record that shines because of its subtle complexity. Never does it catch us off-guard or overwhelm us with an awful lot of notes. Instead, it enhances its rather typical sound with the sparse use of polyrhythms, texture changes, and organic-sounding passages.
I'd suggest you'd give it a go! Also, if you have any recent information about this project, do feel free to contact me. They seem to be active again on VK, but my Russian isn't very applaudable - to say the least.

TL;DR: прекрасный

Isenfeldt on Bandcamp

Isenfeldt, 2019

Vetus Supulcrum - From The Land Of Shadows

Kapmes Records, 2019

"We must face the long dark of Moria. Be on your guard. There are older and fouler things than Orcs, in the deep places of the world."

What’s so lovely about Dungeon Synth from the Netherlands, is how it covers quite a thematic region. You have your edgy, basement-dwelling, blackened thematics, you have forefather-honoring dreamscapes, there are playful releases about curious turtles and - of course - there’s Vetus Supulcrum, delivering its unique combination of serenity and bombast.

Vetus Supulcrum has been around since February 2019 and steadily released quality material in a short timeframe. Some of you might know its creator, M. de Jong, through his other works. Gnaw Their Tongues has had a kvlt-following for years now and - my personal favorite - Seirom has attracted a much broader audience with its soothing ambient/drone-like releases. It feels good to have such a seasoned musician enter the scene - and it suffices to say that From The Land Of Shadows delivers the quality you might expect.

M. de Jong

If there’s one word for this record, it would be rich. Not only because of its diversity, but mainly because of its sonic spectrum. Every track has a very, very dense production in which multiple layers of sound expose themselves to the listener. Even during those moments in which the bombast has taken a backseat, we are still left with very full-produced synths that fill up the entire room. And yes, one really has to applaud the depth of Vetus Supulcrum’s drums, for they feel as if they’re recorded in the Mines of Moria themselves.

Compositionally we’re treated to a broad display of instruments, voices, and atmospheres, making the record a rather adventurous one. Instead of confronting us with some monotonous navel-gazing, Vetus Supulcrum takes the listener by the hand to show what this Land Of Shadows is precisely made of. And let’s be honest. It’s wonderful.

TL;DR: Highly recommended.
A rich cinematographic experience to explore at one's own risk.

Vetus Supulcrum on Bandcamp | Vetus Spulcrum on Facebook