Kael Satan Interview

1.       For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?
Kaël Satan is the first ever vegan dungeon synth project.



2.       Recently you have released an ep, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style you went for on the recording?
The EP was written across a weekend of forest dwelling and become one with the evil of nature. I listened to a lot of Old Tower and Old Sorcery during the recording process and that is echoed in the style.



3.       You refer to your musical style as being 'raw depressive, suicidal dungeon synth, can you tell us a little bit more about this term?
This particular style of dungeon synth is supposed to evoke feelings of utter despair in the listener. The harrowing death barks on “A Lament for the Forgotten Wilderness” are used to describe the feeling of loss one feels when wandering a forest at night. At first I thought getting Boson on board was going to be impossible, but I was thrilled to have eventually harnessed the blackened bark of Dogstroyer.



4.       What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Kael Satan'?
That information is classified.



5.       Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the ep cover?
The EP cover is a photo of the Dungeonfest performance. The orange of the keyboard is meant to be the main colour so it is clear on the focus.



6.       What are some of the best shows that you have played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Dungeonfest 2019 was without a doubt the best show I’ve ever played. A Kaël Satan stage show is a horrifying onslaught of raw emotion that grips the audience and doesn’t let up until all happiness has been destroyed.



7.       Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

I’m very much looking forward to a show we’re playing in Norway in August on a Viking burial ground. A live recording will be made at this festival.



8.       Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
I fear our music is too controversial for a label.



9.       On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of dungeon synth?
We had a great following in Brazil around the launch of the ‘Live at Dungeonfest’ EP and we hope to improve on that to regions such as the Andes mountains and Northern Antarctica.



10.   When can we expect a full length and also where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?
I would never become a musician. I find their style to be too preachy and I don’t agree with their views.



11.   Are you also involved with any other bands or musical projects?
I’m currently working on an exciting project that will be recorded entirely within tunnels. There are many tunnels nearby and I don’t believe enough music has been recorded within them.



12.   What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and
also what are you listening to nowadays?
Kaël Satan’s music is heavily influenced by Xynfonica and Hypnotica.



13.   Does Satanism or Occultism play any role in your music?
I don’t believe that Satan has a place within Kaël Satan’s music.



14.   Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Varg did nothing wrong.

https://www.facebook.com/kaelsatan/?ref=page_internal

Folian Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the musical project since the recording and release of the new ep?
I did a short tour around the Pacific Northwest with Troubled By Insects following the release of Ache Pillars, and since then have been focusing on a release plan for the next album, which will be out later this year, as well as booking and playing more shows in the mean time.

2.Recently you have released a new ep, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
I consider this the first "proper" Folian release, in that it is structurally a more song-based work, rather than the past few releases which have been more drone/sound art type pieces. It is mostly centered around guitar, which everything else built around it.

3.According to the facebook page you refer to your music as being 'experimental sludge-pop', can you tell us a little bit more about this term?
I'll admit the term "experimental" is quite broad but there is always a degree of improvisation that goes into creating this work, using and exploring a variety of instruments. There is definitely a poppy element, however subtle, both structurally and vocally. I thought "experimental sludge-pop" just sounded a little fun, and I don't mean it to be very definitive.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with the newer music and also how would you describe your progress as a songwriter over the years?
Much of the lyrical content deals with the feeling of being stuck or unable to emotionally depart from the past. Other ideas explored are escapism, fear and depression, and confronting these things. I think my songwriting style has always been a bit free-flowing, meaning there is no set formula I ever follow. It can be totally improvised recording, layering, and experimentation, or it could be a song I wrote on acoustic guitar that I want to translate into an electric work. Often times, its a mix of both.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Folian'?
Its a made up word with no previously defined meaning. I know the word has been used places before but I don't pay mind to it. It means something to me.

6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new ep cover?
My friend Crystal Lee Lucas does incredible conceptual and thought provoking photography work. Though the image was complete and selected after the music had been finished, it represents this EP very well.

7.On the recordings you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?
I do enjoy the freedom and the process of recording everything myself, but I do often work with other musicians, both related to the project and not. I play in several bands with people I love, and I have had friends contribute sounds to upcoming Folian recordings. I have not performed with additional musicians in this project before, but it is something I would like to explore.

8.What are some of the best shows that you have done over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
I've had the pleasure of playing some great shows with this project, but my favorite would have to be the EP release show that happened in April here in Portland, OR. It was just a really dreamy night, and I felt really good about it. Recently I have been doing a lot of video work that I incorporate into my live sets via projector. This adds an element that I felt was important to the experience of what I do. I like to create a space for myself and others where it is comfortable to just let go.

9.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
I have several shows coming up in Portland, and plan do to some touring later this year or early next. I just bought a van so I'm hoping to get myself and another on the road shortly.

10.The new ep was released on 'Apneic Void Sounds', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
Apneic Void specializes in beautifully packaged, short-run cassette and CD releases. The catalogue consists of lots of different sounds ranging from harsh noise to mutilated bedroom pop/rock. My good friend Daniel runs the label.

11.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your newer music by fans of experimental, shoegaze and metal?
Like a lot of bands, I think the music is a lot to digest for people who are totally unfamiliar with the project, but it seems to have been received much better than I had thought it would.

12.When can we expect another full length and also where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?
New full length due out later this fall with some touring to support it. I have a few other releases in the works with this project, and also play in some other bands that will be releasing music and playing shows. Personally, I would like to score film and do some soundtrack work for film and video games even.

13.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
I really like a lot of new music, but otherwise I've been listening to lots of David Bowie, Unwound, Black Moth Super Rainbow and stuff. I feel like I'm often influenced by friends and music they make, or have made... I just feel closer to the music when I know the person. It's a beautiful things to see an artist as a piece of living art. Lately, Troubled By Insects, The Stargazer Lilies, Drowse, High Tides, Juracan, Body Shame, Planning For Burial, Elrond, hold a special place within me... These are all excellent musicians and people and I love what they do.

14.What are some of your non musical interests?
Cinema, hot sauce (I like to make my own), and currently house hunting. Also, my cat, Nebo.

15.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Come out to one of my shows and say hi!

6/2 - Portland, OR @ No Fun Bar
w/ Giardia, CHIBI

6/14 - Portland, OR @ Speck's Records
w/ Juracan, Matt Pollock

7/13 - Portland, OR @ High Water Mark Lounge
w/ Elizabeth Colour Wheel, Drowse, Taarna

7/25 - Eugene, OR @ Old Nick's Pub
w/ Zvi, Entresol

Thank you!

https://www.facebook.com/folianpdx/

Kaschade/2019 Singles Review

  Kaschade  is  a  solo  artist  from  Germany  that  plays  a  mixture  of  ambient,  experimental,  electronic  and  noise  and  this  is  a  review  of  a  couple  of  singles  from  his  soon  to  be  released  album  "Architecture".

  "Nightmares"

  The  song  starts  out  with  elements  of  electronic  music  and  harsh  noises  while  you  can  also  hear  touches  of  electronica  and  industrial  in  the  music  as  well  as  the  track  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  When  synths a re  utilized  it  gives  the  song  more  of  an  ambient  feeling  along  with  the  music  also  getting  very  experimental  at  times  and  the  music  is  all  instrumental.

  "Peppermint  Pub"

  The  song  starts  out  with  a  very  experimental  and  avant  garde  sound  while  also  mixing  in  elements  of  electronic  music.  The  song  is  all  instrumental  along  with  some  noises  also  being  added  into  some  parts  of  the  track  and  as  the  song  progresses  the  music  also  adds  in  some  distorted  sounds.

  On  both  of  these  tracks  Kaschade  mixes  noise,  experimental,  electronic  music  and  ambient  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own  while  keeping  everything  instrumental  and  the  production  sounds  very  dark.

  In  my  opinion  Kaschade  is  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  ambient,  experimental,  electronic  and  noise  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out t his  solo  project.  8  out  of  10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfORGgwFI90

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpCTf3R3HvM

http://www.brutalresonance.com/news/experimental-noise-musician-kaschade-releases-new-single-peppermint-pub/      

Cameraoscura Interview

1. Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the musical project since the recording and release of the new album?
We started working on some tracks at the end of 2017, experimenting some sounds without any ideas about the genre and without an initial concept. After a couple of month the album started to take shape and we found the name for the project, the title for the album and the whole concept. We finished the recordings in the middle of 2018 and we got in touch with Coito Negato for the graphics, meanwhile we collected some feedback among friends and other musicians and after the summer everything was ready. We had the pleasure to be part of Dio Drone's Xmas mixtape with a preview track from the album (V.I.T.R.I.O.L.), a remix of Bad Girl song taken from its last album “Borders” and another track was included in the Chandler Records' compilation “Black Solitude”. The album was released on march 2019 according to the scheduled releases of Toten Schwan Records.

2. A few months back you had released your first full length, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style you went for on the recording?
We choose not to focus on a specific style or genre, trying to keep our minds more focused on the mood and the feelings that lead us to create our music. The concept of the album reflects quiet well our way of composing, mixing all the ingredients of the formula trying to create something that holds all of them but also is not attributable to any specific style but dark, experimental electronic music.

3. Most of the music is instrumental, would you be open to using any vocals on future releases?
We are open to any changes and collaborations that fits with our ideas, we would like to collaborate with other musicians for the next album and, if there will be the opportunity, we could use also some vocals. There are some interesting artists close to Cameraoscura who could be perfect for our next album, like Paola Bianchi a female singer who discover the experimental world of singing already known as Femina Faber or Adriano Vincenti from Macelleria Mobile di Mezzanotte a dark jazz combo very famous in Europe. These are just the first names, the ones we've talked with last months. There are so many opportunities all around, not only in Italy, let's see what will happen, as we said we're totally opened to any kind of collaborations. The secret of a perfect sound is contamination, so why someone should be closed to others? Surely we won't.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Cameraoscura'?
“Cameraoscura” means “dark room” in Italian; we wished to use it as a single word, like a neologism, for a place that is not of this world, where even the brightest light is not enough to rip the deep darkness that permeate it. It also seemed to describe properly the mood and the sound of the album, so we choose it easily. Translated in English it can be seen like “darkroom” all attached. As you can see, also the artwork is totally black and white, for underline again and again our dark vision of the world. Colors are not allowed in our world.

5. With both the album title and cover, you have a theme of alchemy, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in Alchemy, Hermeticism and Occultism?
The title of the album is part of the Hermetical motto “quod est inferius est sicut quod est superius” written on the emerald tablet; it can be translated as “what is below is also what is above”, but we choose to focus on “what is below”, underneath the surface, hidden in the darkest corners of our mind/thoughts. As we said we approached the composition of the songs like an alchemist process, trying to melt the sounds to create our chimera, a musical monster that represents what we experience, what we see and feel in our lives every day. It can be also intended like a mirror of our society as it is nowadays, this medieval nightmare in which seems we are drowning, so the monster could be the new millennium man. The concept is well depicted from the cover, a maze ruled by chaos and beholden by the eye of a hideous being that lies in its middle.

6. Would you be open to doing any live shows with this musical project?
We would like to play our music live, despite it is very difficult to find live gigs and match them with our commitments [we live in different cities in Italy and we both have ordinary jobs], anyway we hope to be on the road soon. For this autumn we've just talk for fixing some dates for November I think. Right now we can't tell you nothing more, not for mysterious reasons, but just because we haven't already choose any day. We're very anxious about it, because we understand the meaning and the weight of being most perfect possible those days. Luckily we've got some months for build our set as we dream it.

7. You also ran 'Toten Schwan Records', can you tell us a little bit more about the label and the type of musical genres you release with this label?
The most important thing for Toten Schwan is staying away from clientelism, a nuisance spreaded all around in Italy. The second rules is not making ourselves a "only one genre's oriented label". Toten Schwan releases any kind of music which has nihilistic approach. From more aggressive to less, it's not important destroy people's ears.  It's surely better implants noise and unconventional approach under their skin. We've listen to so many aggressive music in the past [in our adolescent years] thinking that "it" could be the panacea of all evil, but right now we've learning that "faster and screamed than anything else" it's not the right way to describe our anger. it maybe has been correct think like that in the past, but now we're different people and we search for other sounds. These days we've just released our 111th album, not bad for a little reality like Toten Schwan. If we could we would like release only vinyl albums, but CD format is still the cheapest, so we can release 12" vinyls not so often as we like. Last releases are Cult of Terrorism [ambient noise] Haram [sludge] Julinko [dark folk noise] Der Finger [free jazz drone] and Empty Chalice [ambient]. And of course Cameraoscura. You can check'em at totenschwan.bandcamp.com where you can find the most part of TS releases in free download format too.

8. On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of dark ambient?
The reaction has been very good in the electronic/experimental scene, we had many reviews from Italian web-zines but also from Russia, Portugal, Germany and other countries. We are glad, despite it is a debut album from an unknown band, that our music reached many people even outside our country. People understood the authenticity of our project and our uncompromising attitude. We surely know that we didn't release the best album ever in music history but we think that our sounds could be interesting for any kind of listeners because it's free and away from patterns and rigid stylistic conditioning. if people free its mind Cameraoscura can be one of better poisoning for leave this planet.

9. Are you also involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?
We are currently working on some collaborations among which a split with Lilith Le Morte [a very interesting female duo from Italy who released its debut album on Toten Schwan two years ago], it will be a transparent lather cut 7 inches EP, and a remix of a song from the band Black/Lava; we also have recently realized a song for a book trailer of the upcoming book “Musica sull'abisso” written by famous Italian noir writer Marilù Oliva. [E]M has his solo project Pavor Nocturnus, two album has been released with the Canadian label D.M.T. Records and a third one is on the way, a concept album about the Dutch painter H. Bosch. M[V] has just stopped his solo project Les Filles De La Mort, maybe one day, in the future it will rise again from its ashes, but right now he's totally into Cameraoscura.

10. Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?
We don't know, anything can happens and change our life, our story, our dreams. We prefer don't dreaming about music, it's a strange world, where most of people doesn't deserve respect. There are, luckily, so many underground places and people like your that help reality like Cameraoscura, but believe to my words, here in Italy world music is like a jungle, only the strong survive and when we say “strong” we mean “the worst but the most sly, the ones who takes the crumbs dropped from the table of most influenced”. So, we prefer not to dream a lot into this shit. Today we're here, but tomorrow we don't know what could happen. Sometimes it's better disappear than become like the ones you hate for survive. Death is better than a ridiculous life. We hate shameless people, that's why we play this kind of deep and dark and fastidious “music”.

11. What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
We live in different places [something like 300 miles away each others] and we came from different life background, so our music preferences can't be the same. By the way, we can tell you that our homes are full of extreme and experimental music, even if not the same ones. We think that each one search the best  antidote for everyday's oppression. One day it could be more aggressive and intense, next one everything can change and our preferences should go to other ones less intense. For sure our listening are oriented to borderline sounds which can give us the perfect soundtrack of the senseless days we are living. [E]M likes recent works of Mz.412, MaiMaiMai, Godflesh and why not Angelo Badalamenti. M[V] prefers more dated sounds taken from the Seventies like David Bowie best creative period.

12. What are some of your non musical interests?
Lots of interests. You must understand one thing. There's a difference between us of 16 years. M[V] is older and he's a different life approach. [E]M still has a optimistic vision for the future and he likes cinema, literature, theater and art in general. He wants to discover the world. M[V] stops dreaming so many years ago and prefers spending his time outside the work in lonely places away from people with good books and his dog. The only thing we've got in common [and the most important not for our lives but we think for everyone's life] is “the search of beauty” in any form. Right now, we still haven't found it but we won't stop searching it. People should destroy its technology utilities and re-discover the pleasure of being “human”. Until the world didn't change its way we won't stop playing darkest music we can. So, there's a contradiction as you can say: we dream another world but we thanks this one for its creative motivations. Life's so strange John, but one thing is important for us: never become like the ones we hate. Never and in any way.
13. Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank you for your time and support. But most of all thanks for your approach and your efforts. Music world would be better with people like you. You give us this place even if we've never meet and we don't talk eyes to eyes. In Italy something like that is unusual. Don't change your mind, keep it open, Bye.

https://www.facebook.com/cameraoscura451/

Wyvernsnout Interview

Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the musical project since the recording and release of the new album?
At the time I’m answering to you, Wyvernsnout will appear in 2 DS compilation in the near future. I’m really satisfied with the feedbacks on this album; it is always pleasant to have recognition from people who really enjoy your work. This album will also be available on tape format later this year.

Recently you have released a new album, musically how does it differ from the staff you have released in the past?

I think I gain in orchestration on some parts, and this give me a more satisfying vision of what I want to do with Wyvernsnout. The main difference is that I always learn about the softwares I use so I can improve my sound on each release. We will see what comes next.

In a previous interview you talked about having an interest in fantasy, medieval times, paganism and the occult, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these topics and what influence do they have on the musical style that you play?

As far as I remember, I was always attracted by these topics. I don’t know what my exact roots are, my mother family was rooted in Brittany (a part of France, cradled in legends of witches and occults), and my father family was long times ago nomad peoples so I think they bring with them lot of influences from polytheist “religions” from Europe. It is always influencing me in a way or another. I also like classical and neo classical music, melted with metal and ambient music, I think it is a perfect mix for me to bring Wyvernsnout works.

Since 2018 you have put out a great amount of releases, do you spend a great amount of time writing and creating music?

It takes me a bit of time to write music. I think it could take me 2 hours for a track, sometimes 3 hours. And sometimes it takes less than 1 hour. So for the last album, it takes me between 16 and 48 hours. I am not the kind of “musician” that comes back to the tracks lot of times before it is OK. When it is OK, it is OK. I don’t want to lose the first feeling of the tracks.

Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

It is a random old map taken from the internet. Sorry. No great work on this. I wanted something simple and connected with medieval and ancient times

With this project you record everything by yourself, do you prefer to work solo instead or working with a full band?

Solo is better for me. I already worked with a real life band and it was catastrophic. I also work virtually with people for some projects, but wasn’t totally satisfied. I prefer solo.

'Akashic Envoy' is re-issuing the album on physical format; can you tell us a little bit more about how you got in contact with this label?

I first contacted Clayton for an article about DS, and then we talk about his label. It all started at the end of January. He was really excited about releasing “HER” on tape, and in the near future, he will release “Voyages”. It is simple and awesome to work with Clayton. He is a really nice guy.


On the album you also done some Ulver, Mortiis and Summoning covers, what was the decision behind doing your own versions of their songs?

On this album, I wanted to add some cult bands tracks cover that fit well with a DS feeling. Mortiis was unmissable, Summoning is one of my favorite epic black metal bands, and Ulver is the kind of project I enjoy listening to when I am alone at home.

On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of dungeon synth?

Pretty good I guess. Even if I got feedbacks, I don’t have hundreds and hundreds messages, but the few I have are very positives. I’m really satisfied with this album (like with each album).

Are you currently involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?

Yes, I have two other projects. OXALAIA, an electronic experimental and atmospheric black metal project, and PUS SANGLANT which is a cybergrind project. I wrote 1 album and 2 EPs with OXALAI, and I am finishing a demo with PUS SANGLANT.

Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?
I don’t know. I don’t plan anything for now, I take some times for myself right now.

What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Black metal, death metal, ambient and atmospheric music, classical and neo classical music, movie and video games OST. Also modern metal genre like djent and deathcore. It is not always listenable at the first time, but all these stuff have influences on my work. If you want some names, follow KENOS (French black metal with occult parts), ARS MORIENDI (French black metal, the last album is awesome), KOSMOS (French atmospheric BM) and DAWN OF LEVIATHAN (epic progressive deathcore).

What are some of your non musical interests?

Video games for sure. Days Gone is awesome, I’m waiting for The Last Of Us Part2, Dying Light 2 and the remake for my childhood favorite game Medievil. I got a simple, bit of boring life I guess, ha ha ha. Sleeping, working, playing, and taking care of my family. Not so epic.

Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

I hope you will listen to “Voyages” soon and will find something interesting into this album. Or if you find it is shit, just tell it and go away. Be yourself, do what you want, and listen to lot of metal and especially Black Metal.

https://wyvernsnout.bandcamp.com/

Franck Vigroux/Totem/Aesthetical/2019 CD Review

  Franck  Vigroux  is  a  solo  artist  from  France  that  plays  a  mixture  of  experimental,  ambient,  industrial  and  electronic  music  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2019  album  "Totem"  which  was  released  by  Aesthetical.

  Ambient  style  soundscapes  start  off  the  album  along  with  the  music  also  getting  very  experimental  and  avant  garde  at  times.  at  times  while  the  heavy  guitar  riffs  bring  elements  of  metal  into  the  music.  Programmed  beats  are  also  used  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  and  the songs  also  mix  in  traces  of  electronic  music.

  All  of  the  tracks  are  instrumental  while  synths  can  also  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording.  The  music  also  incorporates  a  great  amount  of  industrial  elements  along  with  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  all  of  the  tracks  sounding  very  different  from  each  other  and  on  some  tracks  the  music  also  captures  a  cinematic  atmosphere.

  Franck  Vigroux  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  experimental,  ambient,  industrial  and  electronic  music  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own  while  keeping  everything  instrumental  and  the  production  sounds  very  dark.

  In  my  opinion  Franck  Vigroux  is  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  experimental,  ambient,  industrial  and  electronic  music  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Tropiques"  "Cris"  "Frontieres"  and  "Diaphane".  8   out  of  10.

VIEW ON BANDCAMP

    

Francis Roberts Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your musical project?

I'm primarily a guitarist. This project is the result of a nosedive into synthesizers, which started as a way to improve my understanding of what kind of parts I could write for one of my bands, King Gorm (https://kinggorm.bandcamp.com/). I started making synthesizer music as a warmup for writing other (mostly rock) stuff, and at some point I just decided to start saving the recordings and posting them online.

2.You have a solo album coming out during the end of May, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style you went for on the recording?

I had a lot of fun making my first solo album (https://francisroberts.bandcamp.com/album/after-the-storm) and this album was mostly an attempt to do something similar to that. This one was really fun to make, too, so I'll probably keep going. Aside from obvious Dungeon Synth influences, the music is inspired by the music of video games, progressive rock, film scores, and other ambient music. I did all of it in my home studio, and I limited myself to only using hardware instruments this time.

3.I have read that you bring in some of the fantasy and science fiction influences into this musical project that you are not able to do with your rock and metal bands, can you tell us a little bit more about it?

Sure! If you listen to some of my other music (Old Man Wizard's most recent album is a great example) you'll hear that I enjoy making ambient transition tracks between songs. I've done this for other bands, too. I remember playing games from series like Diablo, Final Fantasy, and Castlevania when I was younger, and waiting in a town or a dungeon so I could listen to the music in that area while doing something else. Eventually, my brother and I would start looking for music similar to what we'd find in those types of games, and play it in the background while we had our friends over for Dungeons and Dragons. This album and most of my other solo material is basically designed as background music for that type of situation; I imagine an area or a scene in a tabletop game or a video game, and make music to accompany that vibe or experience.


4.On the album you play a dungeon synth style, most metal musicians that play this style come from more of a black metal background while you come from a completely different metal background, do you have ant black metal influences in your music?

Absolutely. I've never really liked my harsh vocals, so I stopped doing death metal and black metal style songs before I really got far enough to record my bands. Old Man Wizard has a song called “Innocent Hands” (https://oldmanwizard.com/track/innocent-hands-2 ) that is probably the closest I've come to releasing a BM style track. I think I wrote that song after listening to the entire Darkthrone discography or something. I think enough people are doing a great job with both classic and modern styles of BM that I don't feel like I'd have anything meaningful to contribute without blending it with other styles of music.

As far as my taste in black metal goes, I mostly like the classic stuff that is more punk inspired. I tend to find myself coming back to the stuff that's closer to what I guess I'd call proto-black metal, like Venom, Celtic Frost, King Diamond, etc. I like most of the super classic stuff - I mentioned Darkthrone already, but I really do think of Transylvanian Hunger as an untouchable album -  but I also like some of the more corny and “polished” shit too. Immortal put out some fantastic material, and Behemoth is a great example of how super fancy hi-fi production can work with a traditionally lo-fi genre.

5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the album cover?

I'd love to! First of all, I did the art. I think it'll be the first album cover I've ever illustrated, which is very exciting for me. I used to try to save some money by drawing up shirt designs and posters for my bands but until recently I never really felt like I was good enough to put my art on the cover of the actual album. My goal was to draw what looked like an area in a 2D video game if it were illustrated in pen for a children's book. The “guardian beast” thing in the corner is an unabashed ripoff of one of John Bauer's trolls.

The artists I tend to rip off most frequently when I'm practicing are Tove Jansson (famous for inventing and illustrating the Moomins; also did a beautifully simple Finnish edition of The Hobbit), John Bauer (pretty much any classic Swedish fairy tale has a version illustrated by him), Aubrey Beardsley (French artist who was heavily influenced by Japanese ink illustrations; check out his erotica, because it's completely hilarious). There are really too many fantastic illustrators to name here, but the last person I'll mention is Valin Mattheis, who I've hired to do art for Old Man Wizard albums. I'd be lying if I said his work didn't inspire me to draw more, too.

6.With this project you record everything by yourself while you also have plenty of experience playing in actual bands, how would you compare the two?

This is much easier! No rehearsals needed; I'll just record parts as I learn them, and as soon as I have what I feel is a good take, I'll move on. Also, drums are a fucking nightmare to mix, so the post production here is a breeze. Playing in a full band is really fun and rewarding, though, and I've found that there's really no other good way to capture a “live” vibe on a recording. I've tried so much stuff to get that feel from multitracking and at this point I just think it can't be done.

7.You have a live show in November, what can we expect from the stage performance?

That'll depend on whether I drive or fly to Seattle for Dungeon Siege West. If I book a tour around the fest, I'll probably bring some more stuff to put onstage, but if I fly, it'll be minimal; just me and my synths.

8.Are there any touring or show plans past November?

I'm actually doing a last-minute album release show here in San Diego on June 2 at the Tower Bar (one of my favorite small spots to play shows). I'm still deciding whether or not it'll be worth it to book a tour in November. I think I'll do at least a couple of pacific northwest dates; I have a few friends in Portland that have been very supportive of this venture so I'd like to play this music there.

9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your solo music by fans of dungeon synth that have heard it so far?

People seem to like it! The community is quite welcoming. I'm working on new tracks for two different compilation tapes, and I'm making a bunch of new friends as a result. To be honest, I probably wouldn't have made a second DS album if the community wasn't so cool. Supportive people are inspiring.

10.What is going on with your other bands these days?

Old Man Wizard actually has a new album totally written (you might have heard it here first? I don't remember if I posted that publicly anywhere else). We just did two songs from it at a show on Wednesday and so far all of the new songs are a blast to play. We have no plans to record it yet, but I think it might happen sooner than any of us expected.

King Gorm actually has a studio album recorded, mixed, and mastered. It should drop sometime this year, but I don't have the details on that yet. It's my favorite album that I've recorded so far, so I can't wait to share it with everyone.

11.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?

I'd like to get more into soundtrack work, specifically for games, and probably even more specifically for fantasy or sci fi games. I'll keep playing in bands, too. What you hear now is probably just a smaller scale version of what I want to be doing.

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

I think the biggest influences for most people are the things they “grew up” with as a musician, rather than as a person. So, the stuff that made you feel cool for listening to, because you felt like you “discovered” it rather than having it spoon fed to you from the TV or something. For me, those are bands like King Diamond, Motorhead, Jethro Tull, Queen, and Opeth. Obviously we all dig deeper and the list has grown too long to curate, but those five are probably a great representation of the bands that made me feel like music that I genuinely like could become popular. That, and video game music. I think Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy VII, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Age of Empires, Diablo, and Baldur's Gate were all games that made me realize how cool music was.

Lately, I've been exploring a ton of stuff I missed out on by being a pretentious metalhead when I was younger. For example, my favorite album to come out probably in the last decade is Random Access Memories by Daft Punk. I think that it's on par with Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon as a sort of modern classic. As far as rock and metal, I'm enjoying a lot of the sort of NWOTHM bands here in California like Gygax, Haunt, Hellfire, Great Electric Quest, etc. Again, too many good ones to name, but I have fun listening to bands I can actually afford to go see live.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

I like making stuff (art, stories, ideas) and I like playing games (video games and tabletop games). I try to go to the archery range sometimes, too. I occasionally read books and watch video reviews of music and studio equipment. I guess it's somewhat musical, but I spend a lot of time nerding out on signal routing and optimizing equipment that I use to make music. I like computer programming but I don't really make time for it.

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

I'm just happy that I finished another album, and people care enough to buy it or talk about it. I'm having lots of fun making this stuff, and I hope it ends up on somebody's tabletop gaming playlist. Thanks for your interest!

https://francisroberts.bandcamp.com/

Neraterrae 2019 Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the musical project since the recording and release of the new album?
“The Substance of Perception” came out on April 26th via Cyclic Law, after over two years of unceasing work. Did I take a break from producing music since I completed the record and forwarded it to the label? Of course not. Basically I’ve been working on the follow up (which will be out in 2020) since then.
Apart from that, right after the album release, a video was realized by SMI Video for the track “Shadows of Regret” (featuring Northaunt). You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1dxxhqRCFs
I’m actually making up my mind about the next videoclip too.

2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe your musical progress on this recording from previous releases?
It’s been long journey, I feel like I’ve learned a lot throughout the process even though I still have to learn much.
I approached the music differently and I “watched” at it from other perspectives.
I think the tracks sound more immersive than ever, they have a strong evocative feel, and they have a strong character too.
Many techniques were adopted both mixing and mastering wise and what matters the most is that I’m happy with the results, and people seem to be enjoying the album too, which makes it all way gratifying.

3.While all of the earlier releases where instrumental, you added some spoken words and vocals on the new album, can you tell us a little bit more about it?
True, there are some vocals on this record.
You can clearly hear Alexey Tegin’s incomparabile voice on the second track “To Reveal the Unseen”, for example; well, that vocal line was recorded live, one take straight, no editing at all was made, I just treated it a bit in post-production, and the result is mysterious and beautiful.
Also you can notice the eerie voice of Treha Sektori on tracks 3 “Becoming the Nightmare” and 5 “That Which Shall Not Be Witnessed”. I’ve always been a fan of Treha Sektori’s Dehn Sora’s music visions, his unique style and language (yes, that’s his own language) are so original and inspiring and it was just great to have him part of the album.
Some spoken passages can be also heard on track 1 “Shadows of Regret”; that was Northaunt’s idea, which I found very intriguing and I think it gives the song an interesting nuance.

4.How would you describe the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
The artwork for “The Substance of Perception” was realized by Nihil and Daria Endresen, and let me say that they’ve done a fantastic job, I couldn’t be happier about it. It perfectly fits the overall feel of the music and its theme. I find it to be evocative, a work of beauty enshrouded in mellow obscurity.
The limited edition CD comes in a stunning 6 panels digipak version, you’ve got to see that.

5.On the new album you also had some collaborations, can you tell us a little bit more about the musicians and musical projects that where a part of your new album?
Of course, “The Substance of Perception” features: (alphabetical order) Alexey Tegin from Phurpa, Flowers For Bodysnatchers, Infinexhuma, New Risen Throne, Northaunt, Taphephobia, Treha Sektori, Ugasanie, Xerxes The Dark.
The interesting part of the collaborations is that they were born in such a natural way; as I was almost done with the record, I asked these awesome people who I highly esteem to check it and to give me a feedback, suggestions and so on. Then it all happened. Musically speaking, no particular directions were given, not even regarding the theme of the record, I wanted all the people involved to feel free to express themselves.

6.The new album was also released on 'Cyclic Law', how did you get in contact with this label?
Right before finishing and mastering the album I started to look around label wise; the first-and-only label I sent an email to was Cyclic Law, I explained them what I was working on, they showed interest and asked me to let them listen to what I had so far, so I sent them the material, it was approved…and that’s pretty much it.

7.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your fans with the newer music?
I’ve been getting positive feedback from literally all around the world; I got messages and emails from people in Japan, Canada, Russia, South America, people I didn’t know and never spoken to before. Plus, I’ve received some really enthusiastic words from some of my favorite artists about, which is great.

8.What is going on with 'Alma Flua' these days?
We’re on hiatus, each one of us is working on personal projects. We’ll be back, hopefully, someday.

9.What are some of the bands or musical artists you are currently listening to nowadays?
Uhm, there are many. Some new music like: “Alive with Scars” by Flowers For Bodysnatchers, which is great; Bjärgö’s “Återstoden” ; “Exoplanetary” by Ruptured World, which is a phenomenal record with a very strong cinematic feel; “Ghosts on Broken Pavement” by Mount Shrine; “Diminution” by Leila Abdul-Rauf, a very diverse and evocative album; “Vulner” by The Nent, which is intriguing.
Of course I keep listening to what I consider some of the best Ambient/Dark Ambient (and related) records too (not strictly new works): “Ur Djupan Dal” by Atrium Carceri & Herbst9; “Black Corner Den” by Atrium Carceri & Cities Last Broadcast; “Endurance” and “Thirty” by Irezumi; “Opalescent” by Jon Hopkins; “Ava” and “Be Left to Oneself” by Keosz; “Beyond”, “Dark Matter” and “The Dark Places of the Earth” by Lustmord; “Human Stasis Habitat” by Phelios; “Nihtes Niht” by Troum & Aidan Baker; “Call of the North” and “Eye of Tunguska” by Ugasanie; plus Ulver, Ulver and some more Ulver.
Apart from the more Ambient/Electronic field, I’ve been listening to Death Cab For Cutie’s “Thank You for Today”, “Kintsugi”, “Codes and Keys”, “Narrow Stairs” and “Plans” for quite a lot.
Also, during the last week I’ve been spinning: Septicflesh’s “Sumerian Daemon”; “Spiritual Black Dimensions”, “Enthrone Darkness Triumphant” and “Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia” by Dimmu Borgir; Now In Colour’s self-titled album and a lot of Steven Wilson’s solo works.

10.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thanks for your time and your interest towards my music, much appreciated.
If you haven’t bought or listened to “The Substance of Perception” yet, you can find it at https://www.cycliclaw.com/releases/neraterr-the-substance-of-perception-cd-138th-cycle or https://neraterrae.bandcamp.com/releases

Forest Of Thorns/Dornwald Records/2019 Compilation Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  compilation  from  Dornwald  Records  called  "A  Forest Of  Thorns"  which  was  released in  2019  and  consists  of  dungeon  synth,  dark  ambient,  experimental,  drone  and  industrial  artists  and  we  will  review  the  tracks  one  by  one.

  L'Egarement  D'Esprit  brings  us  "That  Last  Summer"  which  starts  out  with  some  field  recordings  and  ambient  soundscapes  while  the  music  also  gets  very  experimental  at  times  as  well  as  adding  in  some  clean  vocals  along  with  some  drones,  1940's  music  samples  and  programmed  also  being  added  into  some  parts  of  the  song.

 The  Ummo  brings  us  "Hypnoza  Barneyho  Hilla"  which  starts  out  with  some  soundscapes  and  spoken  word  samples  before  adding in  some  dark  ambient  style  synths  and  after  awhile  programmed  beats  are  added  into  the  track  as  well  as  the  music  also  getting  more  experimental.

  nSanders  brings  us  "Drowning"  which  starts  out  with  some  industrial  style  beats  along  with  some  drum  programming  a  few  seconds  later  while  also  mixing  in  some  elements  of  dark  ambient.

  Humanfobia  brings  us  "The  Ghost  Of  Rebeca  Matte  (Sound  collage  Mix)"  which  starts  out  with  some  ritualistic  sounds  mixed  in  with  some  dark  ambient  elements  as  well  as  capturing  the  atmosphere  of  a  horror  movie  soundtrack  along  with  some  programmed  beats  and  atmospheric  drones  also  being  used  at  times,  at  touches  you  can  also  hear  a  touch  of  noise  and  industrial.

  com.sound.field  brings  us  "On  The  Entropy  Of  Sound"  which  starts  out  with  some  u.f.o  orientated  soundscapes  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  an  avant  garde  feeling  and  the  music  also  mixes  in  elements  of  experimental  noise.

 Giovanni  Leonardi  brings  us  "The  Breath  Of  The  Dying  Earth"  which  starts  out  with  some  field  recordings  while  the  song  is  also  long  and  epic  in  length  and  after  awhile  experimental  and  avant  garde  elements  are  added into  the  track. 

  Valerio  Orlandini  brings  us  "Modern  World  Understatement"  which  starts  out  with  some  programmed  beats  and  industrial  elements  while  also  adding  in  a  touch  of  martial  at  times  and  as  the  song  progresses  synths  are  added  into  the  music.

  Cameraoscura  brings  us  "Megiddo"  which  starts  out  with  some  atmospheric  sounding  drones  along  with  some  programmed  beats  a  few  seconds  later  as  well  as  some  voices  also  being  added  into  the  background  and  the  music  also  adds  in  ambient  style  synths.

  Pavor  Nocturnus  brings  us  "Bassoprofond0)))"  which  starts  out  with  some  atmospheric  sounding  drones  and  ritualistic  field  recordings  and  after  awhile  programmed  beats  are  also  added  into  the  music.

  Hermith  brings  us  "L'Autre  Monde"  which  starts  out  with  some  nature  sounds  and  clean  vocals  are  added  into  the  track  a  few  seconds  later  before  adding  in  ambient  style  synths  and  ritualistic  voices  as  well  as  some  programmed  beats  and  the  song  is  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  music  also  incorporates  elements  of  dungeon  synth.

  Citadel  Swamp  brings  us  "Beyond  Horizons  West"  which  starts  out  with  some  atmospheric  soundscapes  while  the  song  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  the  music  also  incorporating  elements  of  dark  ambient  as  well  as  some  programmed  beats.

  Northwind  brings  us  "Tunglsljosi"  with  some  programmed  beats  and  synths  which  bring  in  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys  and  also  mixes  in  elements  of dark  ambient  and  dungeon  synth  along  with  the  track  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Poetry  Of  Thorns  brings  us  "Foundations"  which  starts  out  with  some  atmospheric  sounding  drones  and  dark  ambient  style  synths  while  the  track  is  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  the  music  also  capturing  a  sci-fi  orientated  atmosphere  at  times.

  Anamnesis  brings  us  "Cold  Endless  Void"  which  starts  out  with  some  atmospheric  ambient  sounding  synths  while  the  track  is  also  long  an d epic  in  length  and  the  synths  also  bring  in  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys.

  CrAwE  brings  us  "EmotionalSupportPeacock"  which  starts  out  with  some  ambient  style  synths  while  the  track  is  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  the  song  also  getting  more  diverse  as  time  passes  on  by..

  Vision  Eternel  closes  the  compilation  with  Moments  Of  Absence"  with  some  atmospheric  synths  which  also  takes  the  music  into  more  of  a  dark  ambient  direction  along  with  the  track  being  very  long  an d epic  in  length  and  as  the  song  progresses  the  synths  also  bring  in  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys.

  In conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  compilation  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  dungeon  synth,  dark  ambient,  experimental,  drone  and  industrial.  8  out  of  10.

 https://dornwaldrec.bandcamp.com

 

  

Wyvernsnout/Voyages/2019 Full Length Review

  Wyvernsnout  are  a  musical  project  from  France  that  plays  dungeon  synth  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2019  album  "Voyages".

  Dark  sounding  synths  start  off  the  album  and  they  are  mostly  rooted  in  the  dungeon  synth  musical  style.  Voices  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  music  while  programmed  beats  are  also  utilized  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  short  in  length.

  All  of  the  tracks sound  very  different  from  each  other  while  the  synths  also  bring  in  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys  which  also  makes  the  music  more  diverse  sounding.  All  of  the  songs  are  instrumentals  as  well  as  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  dark  ambient  elements  and  as  the  album  progresses  some  of  the  tracks  also  start  getting  more  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  album  closes  with  some  Ulver,  Mortiis  and  Summoning  covers  which  also  shows  guitars  being  introduced  onto  the  recording.

  Wyvernsnout  plays  a  style  of  dungeon  synth  that  goes  back  to  the  90's  era  of  the  genre  while  also  showing  an  influence  of  black  metal  as  well  as  keeping  everything  instrumental  and  the  production  sounds  very  dark.

  In  my  opinion  Wyvernsnout  are  a  very  great  sounding  dungeon  synth  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "La  Chose  Cachee  dans  I'Ombre"  "La  Montagne  Noir" "Mariage  Tribal"and  "Land  Of  The  Dead".  8  out  of  10.

 https://wyvernsnout.bandcamp.com/album/voyages

Francis Roberts/Guardian Beast Sleeps/Akashic Envoy Records/2019 Full Length Review

  Francis  Roberts  is  a  solo  artist  from  San  Diego,  California  that  plays  a  mixture  of  dungeon  synth,  dark  ambient  and  neo-classical  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2019  album  'Guardian  Beast  Sleeps"  which  will  be  released  on  May  31st  by  Akashic  Envoy  Records.

  Synths  start  off  the  album  and  also  add  elements  of  dungeon  synth  onto  the  recording  that  go  back  to  the  early  90's Norwegian era.  Programmed  beats  are  also  used  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  along  with  some  bell  sounds  also  being  utilized  at  times  as  well  as  the  tracks  also  mixing  in  elements  of  dark  ambient.

  The  synths  also  bring  in  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys  which  also  gives  the  music  a  lot  more  diversity.  Touches  of  neo-classical  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  recording  while  also  being  mixed  in  with  a  more  modern  musical  style  along  with  all  of  the  songs  sounding  very  different  from  each  other  and  most  of  the  tracks  stick  to  an  instrumental  musical  direction  except  for  the  closing  track  that  adds  in  some  clean  vocals.

  Francis  Roberts  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  dungeon  synth,  dark  ambient  and  neo-classical  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own  while  also  keeping  most  of  the  music  instrumental  and  the  production  sounds  very  dark.

  In  my  opinion  Francis  Roberts  is  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  dungeon  synth,  dark  ambient  and  neo  classical  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Guardian  Beast  Sleeps"  "Time  Stops  Tomorrow"  "Waiting  For  Nothing"  and  "Luminous  Eyes".  8  out  of  10.

https://francisroberts.bandcamp.com

    

Kael Satan/Live At Dungeonfest/2019 EP Review

  Kael  Satan  are  a  solo  project  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  very  raw,  depressive  and  suicidal  form  of  dungeon  synth  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2019 ep  "Live  At  Dungeonfest".

  Synths  start  off  the  ep  and  are  done  in  more  of  an  old  school  dungeon  synth  style  while  you  can  also  hear  some  influences  of  black  metal  on  the recording.  Programmed  beats  are  also  utilized  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  along  with  most  of  the  tracks  being  short  in  length  and  being mostly  instrumental  as  well  as  each  song  being  different  from  each  other,  dsbm  vocals  can  also  be  heard  on  the  closing  track.

  Kael  Satan  plays  a  style  of  dungeon  synth  that  goes  back  to  the  early  days  of  the  genre  while  also  mixing  in  influences  from the  more  depressive  and  suicidal  side  of  black  metal  a  and  the  production  sounds  very  dark  along  with  all  of  the  songs  being  recorded  live.

  In  my  opinion  Kael  Satan  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw,  depressive  and  suicidal  dungeon  synth  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "A  Lament  For  the  Forgotten  Wilderness".  8  out  of  10.

https://kaelsatan666.bandcamp.com/releases

Trollkjerring/Whistle And I'll Come To You/Pacific Threnodies/2019 Full Length Review

  Trollkjerring  are  a  solo  project  from  California  that  plays  a  mixture  of  dungeon  synth,  drone  and  blackened  neo-classical  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2019  album  "Whistle  And  I'll  Come  To  You"  which  was  released  by  Pacific  Threnodies.

  Spoken  word  samples  start  off  the  album  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  poetic  feeling  along  with  some  atmospheric  sounding  drones  being  added  onto  the  recording  a  few  seconds  later.  After  the  intro  ambient  style  synths  are  added  into  the  music  and  takes  the  album  into  more  of  a  dungeon  synth  direction.

  At  times  the  music  also  captures  the  atmosphere  of  depressive  black  metal  without  using  any  extreme  vocals  and  heavy  musical  instruments.  All  of  the  tracks  sound  very  different  from  each  other  while  the  synths  also  add  in  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys  which  also  brings  elements  of  neo-classical  onto  the  recording as  well  as  most  of  the  tracks  being  instrumentsl.

  Trollkjerring  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  dungeon  synth,  dark  ambient,  drone  and  neo-classical  and  mixes  them  together  with  a  touch  of  depressive  black  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own  and  the  production  sounds  very  dark.

  In  my  opinion  Trollkjerring  is  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  dungeon  synth,  drone,  dark  ambient  and  neo-classical  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out t his  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "My  Enslavement  To  her  Green  Eyes"  and  "I  Feel  Locked  Out".  8  out  of  10.

https://pacificthrenodies.bandcamp.com/album/whistle-and-ill-come-to-you-under-the-weeping-cherry-tree    

Cameraoscura/Quod Est Infernus/Toten Schwan Records/2019 CD Review

  Cameraoscura  are  a  solo  project  from  Italy  that  plays  dark ambient  with  some  ritual  and  industrial  elements  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2019  album  "Quod  Est  Infernus"  which  was  released  by  Toten  Schwan  Records.

  Ritualistic  soundscapes  and  drones  start  off  the  album while  field  recordings  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  music.  A  couple  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length  while  spoken  word  parts  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  recording  and  also  enhance  the  occult  atmosphere  of  the  songs.

  Industrial  elements  and  programmed  beats  are  also  utilized  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording.  Synths  are  also  used  on  a  lot  of  the  songs  and  also  add  in  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys  as  well  as  taking  the  music  into  more  of  a  dark  ambient  direction,  all  of  the  tracks  sound  very  different  from  each  other  and  most  of  the  songs  are  instrumentals.

  Cameraoscura  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  dark  ambient,  ritual  and  industrial  and mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  while  the  song  themes  cover  Alchemy.

  In  my  opinion  Cameraoscura  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  dark  ambient,  ritual  and  industrial  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Atanor"  "V.I.T.R.I.O.L"  and  "Ultima  Necat".  8  out  of  10.

https://totenschwan.bandcamp.com/album/tsr-100-quod-est-inferius

Empty Chalice/Mother Destruction/Toten Schwan/2019 CD Review

  Empty  Chalice  are  a  musical  project  from  Italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  industrial    and  dark  ambient  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2019  album  "Mother  Destruction"  which  was  released  by  Toten  Schwan.

  Ambient  style  drones  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  ritualistic  sounding  percussion  a  few  seconds  later.  All  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  the  music  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  atmospheric  synths  which  also  use  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys.

  Field  recordings  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  music  while  all  of  the  tracks  sound  very  different  from  each  other.  Spoken  word  parts  are  also  brought  into  a  couple  of  the  songs  along  with  the  music  also  adding  in  some  harsh  noises  and  the  harshness  of  death  industrial  at  times  as  well  as  some  of  the  songs  being  instrumentals.

  Acoustic  guitars  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  grim  black  metal  screams  are  brought  into  the  music  as  well  as  a  small  amount  of  Gregorian  chants  which  also  enhance  the  occult  atmosphere  of  the  recording  and  the  production  sounds  very  dark.

  In  my  opinion  Empty  Chalice  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  death  industrial  and  dark  ambient  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  musical  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Treblinka's  Snow"  and  "Mother  Destruction".  8  out  of  10.

https://emptychalice.bandcamp.com/  

The Nent/Vulner/Cyclic Law/2019 CD Review

  The  Nent  are  a  solo  project  from  Berlin,  Germany  that  plays  a  mixture  of  dark  ambient  and  eerie  field  recordings  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2019  album  "Vulner"  which  was  released  by  Cyclic  Law.

  Atmospheric  ambient  sounding  synths  start  off  the  ep  while  all  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  The  music  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  field  recordings  to  capture  a  very  eerie  atmosphere  as  well  as  the  music  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  percussion style  musical  instruments.

  Programmed  beats  and  samples  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  music  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  diversity.  All  3  of  the  tracks  sound  very  different  from  each  other  as  well  as  all  of  the  music  being  instrumental.

  The  Nent  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  dark  ambient  and  eerie  filed  recordings  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own  as  well  as  keeping  everything  instrumental  and  the  production  sounds  very  dark.

  In  my  opinion  The  Nent  is  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  dark  ambient  and  eerie  field  recordings  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres, you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Vacuum".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRi1hlLrUeI

  

Conjecture/Mt Body, Your Temple/Amek Collective/Raumklang Music/2017 EP Review

  This  is  a  review  of  an  earlier  recording  from  Greece's  solo  project  Conjecture  which  showed  the  music  mixing  idm,  post  industrial  and  dark  ambient  together  and  the  ep  was  released  in  2017  as  a  joint  effort  between  Amek  Collective  and  Raumklang  Music  and  called  "My  Body,  Your  Temple".

  Dark  soundscapes  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  dark  ambient  style  synths  being  introduced  onto  the  recording  a  few  seconds  later.  Elements  of  industrial  and  idm  are  also  brought  into  a  great  portion  of  the  music  as  well  as  the  songs  also  utilizing  a  great  amount  of  programmed  beats.

  Elements  of  glitch  can  also  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  along  with  most  of  the  tracks  being  instrumentals.  All  of  the  songs  sound  very  different  from  each  other  which  also  gives  the  recording  more  diversity and  as  the  ep  progresses  drones  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  music.

  On  this  recording  Conjecture  mixed  idm,  post  industrial  and  dark  ambient  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  while  the  song  themes  revolve  around  believers  of  different  religions  that  show  love  to  their  gods  and  goddesses  by hurting,  mutilating  and  decomposing  their  bodies.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Conjecture  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  idm,  post  industrial  and  dark  ambient,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "B"  and  "E".  8  out  of  10. 

https://conjecture-project.bandcamp.com/