Dungeon synth is a genre of

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

that merges elements of

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

and

dark ambient Dark ambient (referred to as ambient industrial especially in the 1980s) is a genre of post-industrial musicReed, Alexander: ''Assimilate: A Critical History of Industrial Music'', Oxford University Press, 2013, , p. 190 that features an ominous, ...

. The style emerged in the early 1990s, predominantly among members of the

early Norwegian black metal scene The early Norwegian black metal scene of the 1990s is credited with shaping the modern black metal genre and producing some of the most acclaimed and influential artists in extreme metal. The scene had a distinct ethos, and its core members ref ...

. Dungeon synth usually evokes

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

themes.

Characteristics

The genre employs aesthetics and themes typically associated with

juxtaposed to the typical heavy tremolo-picking, blast-beats, and harsh, shrieked vocals of black metal by way of compositions of instrumental or ambient music commonly used as introductions, interludes, or "outros" in black metal,

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

, and heavy metal albums throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Though often paired with

and

motifs throughout the 1990s onward, some prominent contemporaries of dungeon synth reject the excessive prevalence of high-fantasy themes. Dungeon synth is contentiously likened to

video game music Video game music (VGM) is the soundtrack that accompanies video games. Early video game music was once limited to sounds of early sound chips, such as programmable sound generators (PSG) or FM synthesis chips. These limitations have led to t ...

, due to fantasy influences, the usage and layering of synths, and a focus on ambience; however, acts such as

Mortiis Mortiis is an Electronic music, electronic band from Notodden, Norway fronted by Håvard Ellefsen, who is also known as the namesake of the band. The name is a misspelling of the word "mortis", which is the pronunciation used by the band. Morti ...

have rejected the influence of video game soundtracks on dungeon synth.

History

Precursors

Dungeon synth is derived from

and

. Prior to the pioneering of dungeon synth, the influence of instrumental, electronic music had made its way into the

, with

Tangerine Dream Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup of the grou ...

and

Klaus Schulze Klaus Schulze (4 August 1947 – 26 April 2022) was a German electronic music pioneer, composer and musician. He also used the alias Richard Wahnfried and was a member of the Krautrock bands Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel, and the Cosmic Jokers ...

influencing

Mayhem Mayhem most commonly refers to: * Mayhem (crime), a type of crime Mayhem may also refer to: People * Monica Mayhem (born 1978), Australian pornographic actress * Jason "Mayhem" Miller, American mixed martial arts fighter * Mayhem Miller (dr ...

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

and Enslaved. Mayhem's debut EP ''

Deathcrush ''Deathcrush'' is the debut EP and overall first commercial release by Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. It was released in August 1987 by Posercorpse Music. Background Though influential to black metal, its lyrics and sound were largely infl ...

'' (1987) even opening with the

Conrad Schnitzler Conrad "Conny" Schnitzler (17 March 1937 – 4 August 2011) was a prolific German experimental musician associated with West Germany's 1970s krautrock movement. A co-founder of West Berlin's Zodiak Free Arts Lab, he was an early member of Tang ...

composition "Silvester Anfang".

Origins

The progenitors of dungeon synth are

and

Burzum Burzum (; ) is a Norwegian music project founded by former Mayhem member Varg Vikernes in 1991. Although Burzum never played live performances, it became a staple of the early Norwegian black metal scene and is considered one of the most infl ...

, who both originated from the

: Mortiis being formed by Håvard Ellefsen, the bassist of

; and Burzum originating as a black metal solo project by

Varg Vikernes Louis Cachet (born Kristian Vikernes; 11 February 1973), better known as Varg Vikernes (), is a Norwegian musician and author best known for his early black metal albums and later for his crimes. His first five records, released under the name Bu ...

Old Funeral Old Funeral was a Norwegian death metal band from Bergen. History Old Funeral was one of the first bands to form in the Norwegian extreme metal scene, formed in 1988. By 1992, the band had already dissolved. Since the breakup, many members (su ...

and

. Under starting Mortiis, Ellefsen embraced the influence of

Skinny Puppy Skinny Puppy was a Canadian electro-industrial band formed in Vancouver in 1982. The group was among the founders of the industrial rock and electro-industrial genres. Initially envisioned as an experimental side-project by cEvin Key (Kevin Crom ...

and

Enigma Enigma may refer to: *Riddle, someone or something that is mysterious or puzzling Biology *ENIGMA, a class of gene in the LIM domain Computing and technology * Enigma (company), a New York–based data-technology startup *Enigma machine, a famil ...

. Mortiis' first demo, clocking in at just under an hour in length, marked the first time a musician made use of black metal aesthetics on a release that contained entirely instrumental and non-traditional black metal instrumentation. The second iteration of this demo tape would be the first time Ellefsen would use the phrase "dark dungeon music" to refer to its style. Mortiis went on to be a major performer of this genre and the style is heavily prevalent in early releases such as '' Født til å Herske'' and later releases from the return to the "Era I" sound, chiefly ''

Spirit of Rebellion Mortiis is an electronic band from Notodden, Norway fronted by Håvard Ellefsen, who is also known as the namesake of the band. The name is a misspelling of the word "mortis", which is the pronunciation used by the band. Mortiis started as the ...

''. Other prominent contemporaries of the genre include Old Tower, Sombre Arcane, Thangorodrim, and Depressive Silence. Vikernes cited

Das Ich Das Ich is a German dark wave/ gothic- industrial band formed in 1989. The group, fronted by Stefan Ackermann and Bruno Kramm, were one of the prominent founders of and contributors to " Neue Deutsche Todeskunst" (''New German Death Art'') a mus ...

Dead Can Dance Dead Can Dance are a British-Australian band founded in Melbourne in 1981 by Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard, before relocating to London the following year. The Australian music historian Ian McFarlane described Dead Can Dance's style as "const ...

and

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popula ...

among influences on Burzum's ambient aspect. While, Finnish dungeon synth musician Tuomas M. Mäkelä of Jääportit has cited Dead Can Dance and Arcana among their influences. Robert Nusslein (founding member of Ritual) of Casket of Dreams has listed

Velvet Acid Christ Velvet Acid Christ (VAC) is an electro-industrial band based in Denver, Colorado. The band was formed in 1990 by its leader vocalist, musician, and producer Bryan Erickson (aka Disease Factory), and later featured various ex-members of Toxic Com ...

, Dead Can Dance, and

Death in June Death in June are a neofolk group led by English musician Douglas P. (Douglas Pearce). The band was originally formed in the United Kingdom in 1981 as a trio. However, after the other members left, in 1984 and 1985, to work on other projects, ...

among his influences. In 1993, Danish one-man synth project The Dark Funeral released a demo, which is occasionally invoked alongside Mortiis' earliest works as another example of nascent dungeon synth but the project quickly ended after releasing two demos. That same year, Jim Kirkwood published two works which would retroactively be touted as influencing early dungeon synth music: ''Through A Dark Glass'' and ''Tower of Darkness''. 1994 saw the publication Pazuzu's ''...And All Was Silent'', which is now a part of dungeon synth canon.

References

{{Ambient music