Note: Lists presented alphabetically
Dave Loveless (The Dungeons Deep In Space)
2024 was another fantastic year for Dungeon Synth. I was excited to hear amazing releases by some of my favorite artists and it was great to find some new favorites that have ventured outside the keep. Looking back, I realize that I didn’t purchase as many cassettes as I normally do but I was still able to grab some favorites. Another thing that was exciting for me was the continuation and growth of Dark Ambient artists that have started venturing into the realm of Dungeon Synth. They seem to add a huge atmospheric presence to their releases and the perfect combination of Dark Ambient and Dungeon Synth is what’s right up my alley! Looking forward to hear what 2025 has to offer and I’m hoping some of my old favorites release some new tunes this year!
‘The First King’ is another mesmerizing Dungeon Synth album from the ever-so-refreshing Arbadax discography. With a pensive sound that exudes a calming nature, these tracks represent a more simplistic time buried deep within the typically dark and chaotic Medieval period. A few standout tracks include “Eastward Voyage” and “Blood Chaos”, the latter being my favorite from the album. With a mix of acoustic instrumentation and simplistic synth leads, ‘The First King’ is a comforting experience that will sure to appease Dungeon Synth and New Age fans alike.
‘The Realm Of Opulence’ is a stunning dose of visionary Dungeon Synth that isn’t afraid to cross the lines into other territories. Sonic soundscapes from a retrospective future provides the backdrop for this offering while maintaining a stronghold in Dungeon Synth aesthetics. “The Chaos Blade” and “Onward Through The Marshes” are a few shining examples of the mesmerizing tone that is generated throughout this album that will quickly captivate its audience. On the other hand, “Crystal Watchtower” is a melancholic piano track that loops a disturbingly beautiful melody then fades into a grainy ambient outro. Art Tusk is an extremely talented project that capitalizes on an array of synth effects to produce alluring music and ‘The Realm Of Opulence’ is a fantastic place to start if listening to something new and noteworthy is in your list of things to do.
‘Troglodyte’ by Cave Spellcaster might have been one of my most-played Dungeon Synth cassettes of 2024. I easily found myself immersed in a world of damp forest floors with creatures aimlessly wondering about. The music is wonderfully produced with a dream-like sound and each tune presents a slightly creepy, yet infectious grove that quickly catches your attention and keeps you coming back for more. This amazing side project of Tales Under The Oak presents moments of flattery, mischief, and primal happenings while captivating those Dungeon Synth moments we all love. Excellent debut album that demands repeated listens.
We can always count on Erang to deliver the goods and ‘The Kingdom Is Ours’ is no exception. Assembling an all-star cast of Dungeon Synth & electronic musicians, this album is full of magical moments and melancholic intonations. Ranging from light-hearted gems such as “The Kingdom Is Ours (with Fief)” to epic atmospheric endeavors like “A Season Of Fog (with Fogweaver)”, ‘The Kingdom Is Ours’ is packed with variety and Medieval substance. Couldn’t have a complete year end list without including this mystifying experience.
I always struggle to pick a favorite Erythrite Throne album each year, since this project’s discography is jam packed with consistently amazing releases. As one of the front runners of the Dungeon Synth genre, Erythrite Throne certainly knows how to deliver Medieval modulations that stand above the rest of the pack. That being said, ‘An Offering To The Night Serpent’ is my favorite Erythrite Throne album of 2024. From the beautiful orchestrated production to the epic battle-laced hymns, each song establishes a frigid atmosphere of darkness. “Torn Apart By The Poisonous Jaws Of Aversion” includes some sick vokills and somber synth leads, making it my favorite song on the album. In my book, this project is the pinnacle of Dark Dungeon Music and this album is a complete masterpiece.
I get excited every time a new Landsraad album comes out because it’s one of the only projects that truly exceeds my expectations with each release. ‘The Ambiguity Of Truth’ is a continuation of the Dune experience and is also a wonderful, sonic companion to your dream state. Although rooted in the Dungeon Synth community, musically it’s more of a synthwave journey through a retrospective time with grandiose synth leads and effervescent soundscapes that hold everything together. Every track is a sensual journey through a mystical world that is only further enhanced by our imagination. This is an impeccable album and I’m eagerly looking forward to future releases.
For me, ‘Twilight Of Ragnarök’ is sort of a back-to-basics Dungeon Synth offering and it output is so effective. This album sits comfortably between dark, Medieval anthems and remnants of fantasy synth intonations. “Return To The Forest” and “Hymn To Njordr” are my favorite tracks on the album and although they are sonically different, they contain a variety of movements that keep them alluring while being completely epic at the same time. I could listen to this one over and over again.
I wrote a long form review of this album back in September of last year and I was thoroughly impressed by the variety of musical tones contained within. Not to mention, each track showcases a collaboration with other Dungeon Synth/Electronic producers and the results are stunning. Each special guest artist provides their influence in a major way and the effort shows throughout. This is definitely one of my favorite Dungeon Synth releases of the year and the cassette version of this album gets a steady amount of playing time in my own dungeon!
Swordlender truly offers a Medieval musical experience. With a mesmerizing blend of classical guitar, flute and harps mixed with rain and stormy field recordings, ‘Struggles Of Kings’ sets a cozy scene of majestic castles, enchanting dance halls and festive camaraderie amongst the commonwealth. These tunes are dark, yet light at the same time and are grimly enticing as well. My favorite tracks include “Crossing The Moat” and “The Endless Wall”, while the rest of the album is equally entertaining. Don’t pass up this stunning offering that is out now on the Cryo Crypt label.
Tales Under The Oak has quickly become one of my favorite Dungeon Synth projects. Although it’s only been around since 2022, they’ve amassed a consistent discography of Forest Synth anthems, complete with compelling storylines that enhance the capabilities of this project. ‘And Yet Another Journey Begins’ is one of my favorite offerings due to its exhilarating dive into fantastical atmospherics and dreamy melodies. Standout tracks include “Fire In The Mountains” and “Council Of The Full Moon”, as they flow seamlessly through introspective modulations and quixotic soundscapes. Be on the lookout for great things from this amazing project.
Trollslottet, the bludgeoning Dungeon Synth project from Pär Boström (Cities Last Broadcast, Kammarheit) shines grimly on the projects second offering, ‘Evigheten’. Containing eight tracks of slightly distorted Dark Ambient soundscapes, this album perfectly summarizes the aftermath of bloody battles and haunting tribulations. Modulated drones are gratingly present on each track and sludge forward with a menacing and cold presence. This album is also supremely meditative and standout tracks include the “Frusna Sagor” trilogy. I can’t recommend this one enough.
‘Asleep In Twilight’s Coffin’ is a bleak Dungeon Synth album that calls upon ambient atmospherics and somber melodies, creating an audial journey that is retrospective in nature, yet modern sounding in delivery. Most of the tracks stretch beyond the six minute mark, allowing the space needed for dark Medieval journeys to persuade the listeners to travel these mystical realms without hesitation. “Behind The Amethyst Gate” is definitely a standout track that combines an assortment of dark dungeon soundscapes into a single, intricate track. Tomb Wizard laid it all on the line with this release and it has definitely paid off.
KAP (Synth Digest)
2024 marked a time when I feel dungeon synth had reached a peak in popularity among the greater culture. From TikTok memes to video essays, to multiday events, to world tours by famous artists, to photographers like Peter Beste documenting artists for an upcoming book and soon to be calendar, dungeon synth feels like it has long lived past its proposed death after that one bandcamp article came out and everyone got upset. I can feel the elderly laughing at that joke. For a style which was born in tape trading circles disconnected from any real community to later be talked about decades later on hyper specific forums, the notion of Mortiis performing live or other artists like Quest Master embarking on world tours feels like a punchline to an esoteric joke.
Dungeon synth has always had the ability to surprise and adapt and live far past what everyone thought it would be around. For something that intrigues people with its dorkiness, the longevity of this genre can be attributed to the musicians who pour craft and art into each release. Below are some of my favorites but in no way constitute everything I enjoyed. Dave and I made sure there was no overlap between our lists so we traded and swapped to make sure we covered as much as possible. I could do a list of 50 releases I would and in fact I did 13 instead of 12 since i couldn’t decide and this is my site so i can do whatever I want.
A surprise record from one of the luminaries of dungeon synth as if a ghost had been resurrected from the mid 2010’s. Faery Ring was from a time which felt eons ago and the return of the artist could have been marked by a forbidding record 2016’s A kingdom Beset By Despair but instead we were greeted by a cute album with a frog and mouse dressed up in medieval garb. The music is very much a testament times long ago with its bombastic bedroom escapism but somehow, like most Faery Ring albums, transformative into the “dungeon romance” that it promises to be.
Live from Woodhaven is a presentation from the Yellow Morel Orchestra, which was a band of woodland musicians both Fernmage and Moss Knight found one time wandering through the woods. Obviously this is a split between the two musicians but I appreciate a story behind the music. Outside of both artists being fantastic creators, the longer format allows each one of them to truly express what it would be like if a woodland fantasy band played for an audience of two.
It would be hard for a new Fief record, and the first since 2020, to do bad. It would also be near impossible for this record even under a different name not to be popular. It just isn’t scientifically possible. Fief, for years, has built a reputation as being most people’s introduction to dungeon synth and the artist they most follow. It is not hard to see why as the artist’s use of medieval ambient is what many have come to from this genre but also goes beyond expectations. VI is yet another chapter in a very long book of dungeon synth which seems to be spanning the length of its modern history.
What could have been just a jokey Runescape DS project has turned into a project that keeps exceeding expectations as if it’s a kid getting As in class and also having time to play their violin while others are taking a test. Stoned In Gielinor II is the second installment for this UK based artist and is what happens when you give life to a meme and it stops being just funny and kinda becomes amazing while still being funny. Heartfelt, irreverent, effortless, and glib are all adjectives you could probably throw at this record in any order and it would make sense.
If you ever need to know what Frostgard is doing, it most certainly has to do with the Tolkien universe.. and maybe its calendar system. 2024 for Frostgard saw two releases. One was the fantastic split with Arcana Liturgia, about the Heren Istarion (Order of Wizards) and the other was about the time system used by eleves. While both releases were great in their own respects, there was something about an entire album based on fantasy timekeeping that was pleasant and immersive. With both serene melodies and dreamlike atmospheres, Frostgard continues to make records from a far away castle somewhere beyond our time and space.
Over this year, I got to see Hedge Wizard perform twice, once at the Northeast Dungeon Siege and then at the Great Lakes Dungeon Siege. Both times I was amazed at the level of command the artist had when playing live. Neighborwoods is the followup (maybe) to a record which came out in 2014 and is funny since it sounded like it could have come out in 2015. This is perhaps easy for the artist as they constructed what modern dungeon synth sounded like for many years with their debut. Neighborwoods is not just a return for the art rather all of us checking in and seeing the world has just continued while we were looking the other way.
It is important to underline how much contemporary Ds has been warped by the release of Hole Dwellers Flies the Coop in 2019. Lofi naive synth married with a comfy aesthetic was something which perhaps appealed to people who were looking for a sense of surreal escapism and found it in this project. I remember hearing Flies the Coop II and it sounding like the soundtrack to a BBC drama from the 70’s that I just made up in my head. Flies the coop III continues this weird sort of escapism as Hole Dweller has the power to whisk people away to regions which are pleasant in weather and in company.
In June of 2024 I reviewed Schatten über dem Nordland by the German group Gilgareth. It was a delight if not off kilter combination of electronic music and fantasy aesthetic. Since then the duo have been crafting a followup which fully embraces the realms of new age, space synth, and the cosmic realms of hereafter. Though the cover still advertises some sort of medieval aesthetic, from the opening launch of “Aves’ Schwingen” you are along for a ride to a place you don’t even know you were going to but happy to be along for the ride.
I have talked at length about Ithildin and their ongoing project Arda’s Herbarium: A Musical Guide to the Mystical Garden of Middle-Earth and Stranger Places. This is not that but you should most certainly check out that project as well. Music For 18 Magicians: A Story Of Fairies And Bugs is another release by the artist which came out of nowhere and arrived without any warning. A 33 minute and 33 second long track of bubbling progressive electronic with 16 sections is certainly something to take sit down and absorb. If you are sitting in an enchanted garden at dusk illuminated by fireflies then even better.
Mors Vitaque comes from a duo who are at the center of the Great Lakes Dungeon Synth scene. In 2024 I got to see this act twice and both times it shaped my understanding of what this project is potentially about. Through slow moving projects of liminal architecture, Mors Vitaque’s minimalism sculpts mournful melodies that are without emotion. This cross between old school dungeon synth and darkwave is something that works exceptionally well with the project’s visual presence in both design and costume.
Since 2020’s The Sleeping Wizard, I have been entranced by Umbria. This fact is made even more salient by the knowledge that all of these records take place in the same growing universe. The Rime Pathways are apart of the tundra region of this world which has yet to be named (though I have heard potential names and I think the creator should run with it.) With a cover illustration by Irene Lazuen, each offering from Umbria is another adventure in this world made only more real by the immersive and lush fantasy ambient.
I feel whenever we get an Ulk album it is similar to previous years. Amazing artwork from Pierre Perichaud, proceeds going to rehabilitate turtles, and sold out tapes from Gondolin. Also a complete surprise release from this project which you were not expecting. There is a consistency in this project which supriasses others and I know the next record is going to be as amazing as this one. With a growing library of releases that look like scientific illustrations from the 19th century, Ulk continues to be an access point for many people into the world of dungeon synth with a penchant for kindness and respect.
I can still remember when Vaelastrasz smashed her keyboard at TXDS. It was something so funny and irreverent which smashed any ideal DS had at being serious and handed out its broken pieces to audience members.. Vaelastrasz exists as an uncertainty in the world of bedroom synth both as a champion of the looping minimal synth setup as well as the unpredictability that comes from someone who is having the time of her life. To Desire An Endless Dream possesses both the old school aesthetics of sound married with the graphic design of a sick leg tattoo. Expect nothing and receive everything.