Listen/purchase: Ruminations Of A Hermit (Demo) by Secluded Alchemist

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Listen/purchase: Ruminations Of A Hermit (Demo) by Secluded Alchemist
Secluded Alchemist - Ruminations Of A Hermit
Review by MAUSOLEI
Opening with “The Forest is Foreboding…”, Secluded Alchemist sets the stage for a deep-dive into the depths of solitude. Very simple but effective notes carry the listener through a foreboding atmosphere wrought with uncertainty and a feeling of lingering dread. Crippled trees line the horizon and leaves of dried ochre crack underfoot as I lose myself in the macabre landscape. A genuinely cryptic opening track for a very powerful demo, this song really outperforms itself at setting the mood for the story yet to unfold.
The next track, “Seeking Solitude In This Desolate Cave…” walks the line between unparalleled beauty and sublime horror. One word comes to mind when I listen to this track: haunting. I can feel the ghosts of countless dead circling around as I wander between broken rocks and the murmur of an underground stream off in the distance. An otherworldly glow gets stronger the further I walk while the voices of dead ancestors imbue me with strength and guide me along. This track is unreal in both talent and execution and it’s an incredible example of how simple and elegant a song can be while still allowing you a glimpse into a dream you’ve never had, but feel like you’ve known all along. I can’t say enough about this track, this is what the genre was built for.
“Ripples From A Nearby Pond Offer The Utmost Tranquility…” gives the listener a chance to breathe and gives us a very beautiful transition between tracks 2 and 4, bridging the gaps between solitude and the unknown. The sounds chosen for this track are celestial and echo in the mind’s eye to create a very peaceful, nostalgic space. Near the end of the track, the tones shift ever so slightly to innuendo at a lingering threat outside of our vantage point. This serves to expertly lead us into the final track of the demo. As the last notes play out, it becomes clear that this artist has created something very powerful in these songs. Finally, “The Forest Is My Sole Companion…” circles back to similar emotions felt in the first track, but as the title suggests, a sacred bond has been formed with the environment. Some hidden power has been distilled from the Forest and we are catching our first glimpse of the potential. I feel genuine sadness listening to this song, as if some distant memory tugs at my mind but it’s too far gone to recollect; some specter from the past who yearns for acknowledgment that will never be realized. A very eloquent ending to an equally dynamic demo. I’d like to take a moment to mention that for what I assume to be the debut album of a new artist in the genre, this demo knocked my socks off. Many new artists become overwhelmed by the possibilities available to them and try to force as many sounds into a single track as possible. Secluded Alchemist has done an incredible job at very carefully choosing the sounds that only serve to enhance the narrative. There were no sections that I felt were out of place, no sound that didn’t belong, no melody that made me uncomfortable. The titles of each track are perfect descriptions for the realms that the songs create. It’s clear that the artist spent quality time and consideration when choosing these names. I can’t wait to hear what comes next from this artist, I am very pleased with the quality and craftsmanship established in “Ruminations Of A Hermit”. Favorite Track: “Seeking Solitude In This Desolate Cave…”
Listen/purchase: ANONYMITÄT by MAUSOLEI
MAUSOLEI - ANONYMITÄT
Review by Snarling Clearing
The cover of MAUSOLEI’s latest album, ANONYMITÄT, like those of some of his earlier covers, features an Escher-like architectural fantasy. We encounter in this structure a unique totality, a sort of Ouroboros in the center of this yellowed-old nothingness. This image is a fitting one for ANONYMITÄT, which is itself something of a totality. It is consistent all throughout in the sense that every track on the album is related in texture to any other given track—that warm tape’s hiss, that low and menacing synth which is here and there accompanied or altogether eclipsed by the ghostly high notes that ring and hover above and around it like will-o’-the-wisps over a dark swamp—and this textural unity produces a satisfying feeling of completeness by the end of it. It’s a much darker album than the previous one, LETZTE WORTE, which came out in June of last year and had a more sullen and bittersweet quality to it whereas this album has a more sinister edge to it. It’s a dark monolith of that unmistakably lo-fi dungeon sound coming from Phoenix, Arizona USA, called MAUSOLEI.
One should not mistake my description of the album as consistent with saying that every track on it sounds the same as the other. Though sonically related in texture to the others, each track has its own overall tone, evokes different things. And the opacity of the titles (in all caps they remain somewhat static and removed from the sound material) leaves the imagination to conjure up its own imagery. In its increasing familiarity the sound itself may seem to shape-shift in the mind’s eye throughout the duration of the album: That hiss that feels like walking through a dense fog surrounding the solemn and specter-like synths in VERRAT becomes the sound of a waterfall on a mountainside one scales in UNTERKÜHLUNG. In this way, the music is free of any constraint, free to evoke any image or feeling or memory in the listener as it washes over him or her.
Despite the range in tone—from the somber to the ominous—there is no awkward disparity in sound here, no disjointedness. Each track seems as if to grow out of the one before it, organically (not unlike the structures in the albums’ illustrations). This is not just some old bunch of songs thrown together and forced into connection, thematic or otherwise; here, they compose a signature sound with varying expressions. One can immediately recognize and differentiate a track by MAUSOLEI from those of other Dungeon Synth artists—his sound truly is his own—and this is no less true on ANONYMITÄT. And so, in my opinion, ANONYMITÄT deserves praise as one of the best new releases of the year so far and among the go-to records for lo-fi Dungeon Synth.
My favorite track would have to be UNTERKÜHLUNG. It’s one of the darker tracks on the album—second to SALPETER—and, given its spot in the middle of the record, I would describe it as something like the fulcrum of the album.
Listen/purchase: Tower (EP) by Snarling Clearing
Snarling Clearing - Tower (EP)
Review by Y. Crypt of Cryptic Dungeon
Snarling Clearing is a project that just started out composing their own Dungeon Synth music. His first release saw the light only a month ago as of writing this! Snarling Clearing has a pretty distinctive sound already, with really atmospheric soundscape-like synth spiced up with some epic moments. The music has an overall sense of minimalism, and it’s the simplicity that drags you down even further. This new EP, Tower, is no exception to that rule.
The new release starts with a really deeply atmospheric track. Old Burial Ground really fits the title well as a creeping and haunting feeling is present throughout the track. This track is minimalistic and quiet, while still delivering a great deal of ambiance. A solid way to start things off for sure.
Track number two also has this haunting minimalistic style to it, which I’m really starting to like at this point. It’s kind of becoming Snarling Clearing’s trademark style I believe, as I also heard this a lot in the previous release Dying King. In a Passing Glance Through Sulfurous Mist (Tower Revisited) is a piece that really plods along and intensifies, even though the music itself is rather calm. A really nice touch is the sound of what I believe to be waves of water throughout the track enhancing the minimalist style even more.
Next up is Torch and Starlight, which is a piece that in my opinion really stands out. At the base we again have that plodding along type of deep atmosphere, but on top of that we have a melodic layer of some kind of synth hit that is almost Eastern-sounding. I was pleasantly surprised by this and the addition of this layer made me like this release even more. A really good track once again.
The last one is Souls on the Horizon, and oh boy do things keep getting better on this release! This last track truly has that feeling of being a finale, an epic finale I might add. Where previous tracks were really quiet and plodding, this track is more on top of things in terms of inducing an epic feeling. The synth strings are really prominent in the mix this time around and this makes for a feeling of fantasy-tier epicness. Think fantasy movies and game soundtracks here. For some reason I kept seeing images of my playthroughs of Oblivion in my head while listening to this track.
To conclude this review: Snarling Clearing’s new EP Tower is one of my favorite albums from a new artist this year. To quote the artist: ‘’I'm not a skilled musician or anything, so go easy on me. With your help, I plan on growing as a DS artist and releasing some more sprawling stuff in the future.’’ Well, there is no need to go easy on this piece of music, because it really is strong enough to stand on its own. The music on this EP is well crafted and doesn’t sound like an ‘’unskilled musician’’ at all. So you proved yourself wrong artist, I’m sorry, you are a skilled artist! I’m looking forward to hearing more of Snarling Clearing.
Listen/purchase: Forgotten Kingdoms by Cryptic Dungeon
Cryptic Dungeon - Forgotten Kingdoms
Review by Digre
I have been listening to Forgotten Kingdoms by Cryptic Dungeon. The artist tells us that he was experimenting with music and had dark ambient in mind when coming up with Cryptic Dungeon. It is supposed to combine dark ambient, some drone, industrial and medieval themes and imagery. This I know because I have read it on the artist facebook page. It is first now or just before writing this I did some research on the artist. I did not know anything about Cryptic Dungeon when I first sealed of my hearing with headphones and pressed play. For the first listen through I thought of it as very sober Dungeon Synth deliberately made bleak and scrawny by using meagre synth sounds bravely kept unclothed by warm reverbs like most ambient music nowadays and with compositions boldly left unfed by rich and highly realistic synthesized orchestral instruments. This way of production and mixing is very effectful and I guess it is hard to make it as genuine and confident as Cryptic Dungeon has done it with this release. The balance is just the right mixture of old styled synth sounds and more modern production. I have listened to his earlier tracks and they have not been as emaciated and undressed as these songs. There is reverb and echoes and all that but not drenched in it. Unusually true to style Dungeon Synth while most records tries to be unique this album seems to be forced not to stand out in a crowd of adventurous dungeon exploring records. It is made like this in a smart way. I love it and I have happily listened to this album over and over again many times for the last two or more weeks.
Aside from Cryptic Dungeon this Nederlander named Y. Crypt has also created and released a side project called Vagor that uses similar ideas as the main act when it comes to melodies and chord progression, the production is considerably rougher and turbulent like dungeon noise, but Vagor comes with something that Cryptic Dungeon does not: A descriptive article that recount in plain text the story that the music are telling us and the image it depicts. I have seen this concept many times since I started indulging myself with this new era of Dungeon Synth. I do like the idea of an artist creating an imaginary world and then composing music about the phenomenons and occurrences drawn from these self made lands of unknown. But then I like it even more when the description is vague and even non existing, letting the listener’s own imagination decrypt the dungeon tales told and this was the case for me when I started listening to this new bandcamp album called Forgotten Kingdoms. Not that there is no descriptions, there are, but because I had it downloaded to my mp3-player and I did not even once look at the display displaying the track titles as the machine was pocketed while I was strolling around or bicycling along the river flowing mighty and wide through this city where I live. And since I have been listening to these tracks while outside just as the spring overtook a winter that overstayed its welcome here in the northern Scandinavia I have pictured this music as a spring album lit by an eagerly rising sun forcing the infant spring leafs to burst out in a cascade of chock green flora accompanied by an ever lasting and impenetrable mist of stubborn pollen.
Especially Bloody March Of The Necromancer makes me think of late spring and early summer. This track is also available as a single track bandcamp album and I think Cryptic Dungeon singles it out as it constitute the overall intention of this act. The melodies builds up to something very weary that seems to wither of and almost die but is then carried up by a pretty primitive percussion that works like crutches to a stumbling tune barely standing by it own. In my mind it is like a soundtrack for something traveling through a weary lonesome summer landscape of deep and thick leaf forests, valleys and cold rivers unknowing about the horrors that await around the next corner.. something like the vignette to the Shining with that car snaking about towards its doom.
And then there is the track that makes me believe I am listening to the Ghostbusters theme song. The first seconds Secret Rites sounds very similar or even exactly the same as Ray Parker Juniors first few chords with just that type of synth sounds used. But this tracks takes another path completely and becomes something rather different. Something that I have very much enjoyed listening to. Most of the tracks have made me picture movie scenes like those of the last millennium now far gone. Not in a Hammer Film Productions way but rather something like Troma Entertainment horrors but without the goofiness. I do not know how to explain it but these tracks have a way of depicting annihilation, inevitable dismay, very somber horror and demise. And then there is the last track, Dawn Of Rebirth, that happily emerges and rises aloft proudly declaring victory, survival and success. Once frozen and dead now green and alive again. Great tunes.
And then I have been listening to this while alone indoors reading song descriptions and looking at cover art. This is not Summer Horror music after all. It is all about a long forgotten kingdoms, real historical battles, like that of Assandun, and also, I dare guess, imaginary ones about necromancers and such. It makes sense when reading the titles but it does not burst the bubble of the imaginary world of Spring Time Terror that I have conjured up. It is just another way of listening to this. The music is gloomy and unlit just as the landscapes, rich of mountains and castles seen on the cover art are.
The album starts of with the track Majestic Call To Arms I - Battle Of Ancients on which the composing is very majestic but with a sound font that resemble that of 90's Sierra Adventure Games like Kings Quest V. I am not sure if this is made with physical and probably expensive Yamaha keyboard synthesizers with multiple pre-established instruments or with a early version of Cubase with built in midi sounds and a sound card from the 90's. The organ playing on Of Fallen Heroes And Mead sounds a bit like drunk and ignorant cheerful while a creepy unrest permeates the entire track. Nothing is really merry or optimistic on this tracklist.
The third track Forgotten Kingdoms starts of as any chill out ambient music but soon one can hear the dungeon synth influences. I am not sure that this is the case or if my mind is playing tricks on me but I can hear weak bright voices talking to each other as if pixies where arguing to each other. This is probably not actually there but somewhere in the sparsely reverbed ambiance I can still hear it.
Echoing Chasms sounds like Ocean Synth and pitched down pan flute with echoes. This track could easily be 10 times longer without me complaining. Secret Rites is still Ghostbusters at first but then goes of like a little goblin sneaking about in a old and murky cellar. I do not think he is supposed to witness that rite, mentioned in the song title, taking place down there in the dull blackness.
I really do hope that Cryptic Dungeon keeps doing music like this and I will come back to this very sorrowful and well made Dungeon Synth album or, as I prefer to categorize it, a splendid and majestic Spring Time Terror album.
Listen/purchase: The Way of a Pilgrim by Digre
Digre - The Way of a Pilgrim
Review by Chaucerian Myth
The advent of 8-bit Dungeon Synth has, in a way, been taking the scene by storm as of late. It seems a natural progression, as the aesthetics of the two styles often intertwine in the classic dungeons found in the NES, Commodore, and Sega Genesis games which invoke a sense of immediate and immense nostalgia.
In this regard, Digre works with the 8-bit element in a much smarter way than with pure nostalgia and retro aesthetic alone. Indeed, on The Way of a Pilgrim, the artist uses the 8-bit style to make listeners comfortable and immersed right from the beginning, without having to appeal to the explicit aesthetics and trappings of Famicom dungeons.
Rather, Digre tells a story inspired by the journeys of a religious traveler, something that clearly appeals to my own literary sensibilities. The first track, “The Anaphora for the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great” invokes an atmosphere of welcoming, but also of contemplative wanderlust, and acts as a perfect track for one on the precipice of a great pilgrimage. It is a more than fitting start to the journey, and the 8-bit aesthetic is somehow warm and exciting, comforting and anxious.
The second track follows the direction left by the first: to “pray without ceasing,” and so the second track begins, tense and pensive, in deep thought. However, the atmosphere is not forlorn, and the description (found on the album’s Bandcamp page) alludes to a “blissful state.” Certainly, the tense note which begins the track ebbs and flows throughout the duration, and, while not feeling exactly cheery, the tone turns to one of relative bliss, as suggested. This is a complicated piece emotionally, and it is pulled off very well by the artist.
Digre’s strong opening statements continue on the third track, regaling the listeners with an officer’s tale about resisting against passionate drunkenness. It is somber in tone, but not entirely or overwhelmingly. The melodies and harmonies build on each other, winding and weaving as the officer’s tale progresses. This is a very dynamic track, and the elements of a good story are present here, translated into song with an 8-bit palette which draws one in even more so.
The description of the fourth track is quite a bit more vague than the others, and so one is forced to draw their own conclusions from the song alone. This is not a bad thing, and the track certainly stands for itself on all accounts. The harmony and bass here are more gritty than the previous tracks, and there is buzzing present throughout the song, sometimes very subtle, sometimes very obvious. It feels as if the pilgrimage is definitely in full swing as of now, and the trekking has certainly commenced. Relatively long moments pass without the statement of a strong melody, but this only emphasizes the melodies when they do appear, and they are worth waiting for while the droning harmony invites stirring contemplation.
Track five: “Feast of Annunciation,” is, perhaps, my favorite on the album. It begins with bursts of noise that don’t completely let up throughout the track while bright, chimey melodies dance above, staying blissful and hopeful as the noise interrupts their song. This track details a journey through a rainstorm at night. It seems as if the droning noise would represent the rain, and the harsh noise bursts illustrate thunder. The effect works tremendously well, in my opinion, particularly in conjunction with the other elements of the song, which are catchy, tonally interesting, and structurally engaging.
On the sixth track, the pilgrim departs the church after the Feast of Annunciation. The song’s atmosphere is one of piety and austerity as the journey resumes, a perfect and fitting way to resume the pilgrimage. At times, the middle-ranged harmony drops out, leaving the bass and the main melody to interact with one another, welcoming meditations on heaven and hell before the Earth comes back into the picture.
“Candid Narratives of a Pilgrim to His Spiritual Father.” Thus begins the final track on the album, which is also the album’s longest. The song sounds, in every way, nostalgic, perhaps even wistful, as the pilgrim details their narratives. It is not entirely this way, however, there is also a joy in the melodies, a meditative and thankful nature present in the chords and drawn-out passages which blend together most interestingly, and sometimes harshly, due to the 8-bit timbre of the synths. The bass here is smooth, and the melodies are achingly heartfelt and spiritual. The track is definitely deserving of its length which has clearly not been needlessly inflated by maddening repetition - a common pitfall for artists in this genre. As such, the track passes by quickly, as if the listener is being told an engaging and pleasant story. It ends with the recitation of a prayer by what seems to be a child.
Indeed, the whole album is this way. Even at its most tense, The Way of a Pilgrim is pleasant and engaging. While not relying solely on nostalgia, there are certainly nostalgic feelings. The atmosphere is divided in many ways - and it grapples with many complicated emotional tones, doing so with subtlety and finesse. Never is the album heavy-handed, and never does it overstay its welcome. The result is something that is short and sweet, a short display of spiritual reflection that is as engaging as it is introspective and, at times, brooding. A powerful release.
Listen/purchase: Troilus and Criseyde by Chaucerian Myth
Chaucerian Myth - Troilus and Criseyde
Review by Valscharuhn
The sun rises languidly over green hills on a stale morning. The smell of fresh flowers covers the stench of a rotting swamp in the distance. One initially drifts in the gentle currents of the living moment, but swiftly those currents start to shift, and one is swept into an overpowering rush of rapids. Swimming to shore is futile and one is carried far into the unknown, to wherever the river decides to wander. One is at the mercy of the natural momentum for as long as it deems to carry. It has little concern for the fate of its passengers, knowing only the forward path into new representations of itself as a substantiated form.
Troilus and Criseyde often sounds like an old DOS RPG soundtrack, like Daggerfall. I've never played it much, but I've listened to the Daggerfall soundtrack quite a number of times since someone recommended it to me some years ago, and Chaucerian Myth sounds similar in a lot of ways. Of course part of this is that Chaucerian Myth has a textural palette that seems based on the classic GM soundcard arrangement, but also the composition is similar as well, being not nearly as limited and minimal as most DS, like there's a wide variety of scales being employed. In any case, it's clear that the composition is the primary focus, and it seems the texture is intentionally left bare to keep that focus.
I think Chaucerian Myth has a solid foot in neoclassical territory rather than being pure dungeon synth (depending on how one defines it), for example I think it has much more in common with Thou Shalt Suffer's Somnium than any of the Mortiis Era1 stuff. The jazz elements are interesting and unique, but do challenge the dungeon atmosphere a bit. I've heard Chaucerian Myth described as "idyllic" by some, and while he's certainly one of the few to use major scales extensively, I don't consider it to be an example of comforting DS; while there is a much greater use of major scales, there's also a much greater use of atonality, which of creates a severe tension; even though traditional dungeon synth uses a lot of minor scales, I'd say even in doing so it presents a sort of comforting gloom, a darkness in which one does not usually feel much discord. Here we are brought back and forth from the highest peaks and the lowest depths frequently, which is great and creates a sense of excitement, but the intense contrasting of moods is not what I would consider to be "idyllic." It's clear Chaucerian Myth has studied and performed music to a relatively high academic level. I think the subject matter for albums like this is good because it does feel like an academic study of some sort. It's not something to listen to when you want to relax, but rather something to listen to when you're alert and want to engage with a challenging series of emotions and ideas, much like studying medieval literature.
And I hate to say it, but I'm also reminded of Hekaloth albums (Xynfonica, Shevalreq, etc.). Obviously this is far more accessible and pleasant of a listen than those albums, but hearing such diverse, jazzy, whimsical, and often atonal moods at such a rapid pace with a very similar soundset forces me to make the comparison. I will say though, while I find Hekaloth stuff fascinatingly unlistenable, Chaucerian Myth on the other hand is quite enjoyable. It's almost like an attempt to present the Hekaloth vision in a way that can be digested by mere mortals.
While this is not exactly my cup of tea, I tend to prefer music that is more background atmosphere rather than dynamic narrative in the foreground of one's attention, I'm finding that this album (and Chaucerian Myth in general) is one that rewards repeated listens. It's a powerfully original vision, and the beauty is immediately apparent even though it might not be accessible on the first encounter. This album deserves absolute respect and admiration. Though Troilus and Criseyde might not be intuitively accessible to me, I think that is largely due to my own personal lack of academic musical literacy, and perhaps it was not meant to be intuitively accessible at all. It's emotionally unmoored. This is an impressive achievement of complex musical beauty, but might not provide the meditative comfort one would generally expect from DS.
Valscharuhn - Ykcowrebbaj
Review by Lusitano
I'm not familiar with any Valscharuhn release and I'm going blind into this album. Ykcowrebbaj is a very strange album and the name will surely grab your attention right away, Ykcowrebbaj... What could it mean? It doesn't take a genius to notice that it's the word Jabberwocky reversed. Jabberwocky is a nonsense poem written by Lewis Carroll about killing a creature named "Jabberwock". It's considered one of the greatest English nonsense poems, and if you ever have the pleasure of reading it, you'll certainly understand why it's called nonsense. I believe the name Ykcowrebbaj was used quite smartly to give the idea of gibberish and drivel, in the sense that the structure of the album is but a string of melodies and chords with no destiny or home. Ykcowrebbaj was created to house those loose ideas, and segments and it does an amazing job at doing so.
"Nonsense albums" will always be dependent on the strength of melodies and how everything is stitched together, and that's where Valscharuhn does such a phenomenal job. Not only is the material consistently solid, it's also extremely well-paced and arranged in a way that it never gets boring. This is the sound of the classical dungeon synth with an atypical and experimental nature, and I'll be damned if the improvisational tone and mistakes don't add to the darkened charm of the album. However, the big surprise here, the one that makes me love this album so much, is the gritty dungeon melodies! To consider that this is an improvisational album made with leftover ideas, one can only wonder how the "more serious" albums sound like.
Personally, I've always found some of that early dungeon synth to be excessively repetitive and monotonous, and I've always gravitated towards dungeon synth that loses some of that tiresome repetition in favor of variety and experimental ideas. In Ykcowrebbaj, Valscharuhn is not afraid to create an album that takes you on an unpredictable journey, on a musical voyage that doesn't make much sense. Like I said, individual ideas stitched together. However, Valscharuhn does it in a way that ensures the music never grows stale. When you think the melody is going to settle, a twist happens, a beat enters, dynamics kick in, moods shift, and so on. That's how this song runs, twists at any moment that will actually surprise you, and even when something is repeating a bit too much, it will soon start to distort as the artist begins to tinker with the properties of the synth, giving it new life.
Ykcowrebbaj is a very refreshing surprise to me and it represents the ideal nature of dungeon synth, dark and mysterious, unpredictable and brave, never getting stuck in monotonous chord loops, never afraid to try something else. If you're looking for dungeon synth that stays true to its roots, but also does something different, look no further than Valscharuhn's Ykcowrebbaj.
Listen/purchase: Where Spirits Wander by Lusitano
Lusitano - Where Spirits Wander
Review by Nahadoth
Overall: Very interesting to check out Lusitano. The logo is of course a reference to the flag of the artist’s native country, Portugal. Previously I was only familiar with the artist’s contribution to the first Dungeon Synth Compilation, Keepers of the Shadow Realm, and the text accompanying Where Spirits Wander indicates that this release is a shift from the artist’s previous work, to something compositionally simpler and more repetitive. The track featured on the compilation is harmonically ambitious - not quite avant-garde, but features several melodic elements over a low and textured drone. I’m fond of the track although it does feel a bit unfocused at times. In the present release, Where Spirits Wander, we hear a greater sense of focus in the composition overall, even if we don’t immediately hear the searching qualities sometimes present in the compilation track.
I hear a really strong sense of patience in this music - the melodies are simple but not boring, and the primary focus in the composition seems to be chord progressions - in a way reminiscent of Erang. This can definitely be a productive approach for composition, as it allows for the kind of hypnotic repetition that we hear in a lot of early DS, as long as it is not overcomplicated with too many layers. Most of these songs are anchored with simple 2-, 4-, or 8- chord progressions, and in most cases the addition and subtraction of layers works very nicely, without many more than 5 or 6 layers happening at once, including bass and/or percussion.
The opening track, Funeral for a Fallen King, is a nice processional atmosphere, primarily a deep synth string sound with a winding harmony with some slight harmonic variations. The string sound hints at the regal feel of the subject matter indicated by the title - but the sense of melancholy and mourning is the most prominent atmosphere here, and the balance works nicely.
In the Tombs of the Haunted Cathedral - The longest track on this release, and I think the best. Evidence that Lusitano should experiment with longer tracks in the future, as well - a perfect balance of an inspirational build with a bleak atmosphere. While it uses the same basic musical idea throughout it’s 8 ½ minute length, the subtle changes in instrumentation - the introduction of a brief synth melody at nearly the 5 minute mark, or some lower buzzing synth counter-lines around this time, for example - maintain the interest. The introduction of a simple, reverb-heavy drum for the final minute ½ of the track is a nice touch.
The Soul Lives On - perhaps one of my favorite tracks on this release - minimal bass notes, one or two percussion sounds, low piano, strings/choir pads and an aching harp melody over a very simple chord progression. This track maintains the same idea for nearly 4 minutes before introducing another idea in the final chapter that pivots off of the bed established. It’s a subtle change but given the focus of the previous 4 minutes, feels monumental. A good study in contrast.
Empty Grasp that Pulls You In - by all accounts nearly progressive rock compared to the doomy minimalism of the previous three tracks. There’s a nice use of church organ sounds, low piano, and some very subtle synth arpeggiator elements that give a sense of pulse and urgency - some major key turns in the composition are nice artistic choices, although I think somewhat undercut the urgency suggested by the title.
The final track, Where Spirits Wander, is a simple, pure melody, where the backdrop shifts subtly around this simple melody. Something about this piece is VERY nostalgic, reminding me of 80s/early 90s synth compositions, reminding me a bit of the synth ‘orchestral’ elements of the Twin Peaks OST in the use of various electric piano and pure synth tones.
I thoroughly enjoyed this release. I was curious by the liner notes, so soon after listening to this release, I went to Lusitano’s debut demo, The Wizard’s Tower, which is quite minimal, but with less overall repetition. Each of the 4 tracks contains a lot of melodic ideas, but seemingly with a maximum of 3 instrument tracks with each - in this way, none of them seem to quite develop. So Where Spirits Wander feels distinctly like a refinement of Lusitano’s composition style, there is a similar searching/mysterious feeling present in the earlier tracks that the current album doesn’t have quite as much. But there is a nice strong epic atmosphere through the synth strings, and a hefty sense of melancholy and nostalgia, so perhaps this release called for those things more than the mystery of the Wizard’s tower? One way or another, I am curious to hear the development of this artist.
Listen/purchase: Just Above My Own Body by Nahadoth