Article Image: Vale Minstrel
Josh: Northeast Dungeon Siege began in 2018 as a group of seven friends— most of whom hadn’t ever met—gathering in a basement to play dungeon synth live for each other. At its core, not much has changed since then, and that’s been very intentional. We wanted to preserve that feeling of intimate, vulnerable mystery and excitement. In 2019, it evolved into a festival completely by accident. I asked our Facebook group at the time if anyone would be interested in joining us if we opened it up to the public—and suddenly, we had a three-day festival on our hands. For many, it was their first time performing dungeon synth live (or performing live at all). It was also my first time organizing a show, let alone a full festival. On top of that, it became the first significant in-person gathering of the dungeon synth community. Once again, that sense of intimate and vulnerable mystery and excitement was present—just on a larger scale. The next year in 2020, due to the pandemic, we had to pivot last minute to a livestream format. It was our first time streaming anything, and for many artists, it was their first time performing in any capacity. But the community gathered on Twitch, and that same atmosphere came through in a new way, in a new space. That year, Tirith reached out to offer some helpful advice, and—as no good deed goes unpunished—she’s been a core part of our team ever since. Through the pandemic, I can say with confidence that the community we built together helped many of us get through with our sanity (more or less) intact. When we returned to The Raven after those years, we had to figure out how to blend the live and streaming components into one cohesive experience. That brought new challenges, but also brought that same feeling of magic we’ve had since the beginning. Every year brings new challenges and forces us to adapt, but our goal remains the same: to bring the community together, introduce new artists, and keep that same sense of wonder alive. That’s what makes this event so special to me. I’ve made some of my closest friends through this festival, and every year I get to see those friends—and new ones—have some of the best weekends of their lives. I can honestly say that this festival has changed my life and that of those closest to me—at times, even saved them. Seeing live dungeon synth spread its wings, with new festivals and shows popping up around the world, I feel that it’s the most meaningful thing I’ve ever been a part of, and I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built. I can’t wait to see what comes next—for this festival, and for all the others around the world.
Lueurs Nocturnes
I have always wanted to follow a scene of music and document its experience. There is something enchanting about not only making music but the community which forms around the creation process. One of my dreams was to be some sort of music journalist that would follow musicians on tour documenting their travels in candid pictures. I wanted to do what people like Jay Blakesberg did with Deadheads or Caroline Bonarde did with new goth bands just with artists in cloaks and chainmail who know more than an average amount of Tolkien locations. I always joked that I love photographing dungeon synth since the artists rarely move, the lights are always dimmed with probably some amount of fog, and everyone is in costume. Beyond the easy subjects however, my time with dungeon synth has come to a want to document a form in person music that was seemingly solitaire. Outside of dungeon synth being a bedroom fantasy ambient genre with roots in 90s black metal scene which hit an internet revival in the 2010s and became an international live music scene in the early 20’s, I really don’t know what dungeon synth is, where its going, or even why so many people beyond myself enjoy it. I think this is why I keep coming back to these events since the allure of not knowing feels like real life magic.
My time in Worcester has become a spring tradition in what feels like an ongoing saga of live dungeon synth. In 2023, my first time at a dungeon synth show, we were all just sort of amazed that this live dungeon synth was coming together seeing how we had just gotten out of a pandemic and even before that amazed how it moved from an internet genre to an in person event. In 2024 we had just learned everyone’s faces to names and now we’re amazed this thing kept going now coming to terms with the amount of high profile guests in attendance. In 2025 the mood was more relaxed seeing how we had already done this and it hadn’t been a dream. There was also a feeling of confidence which was not present in years past. Throughout my days at the festival, I talked to artists, labels, vendors, and regulars who all had new things to tell me about. There were international tours, vinyl orders, being interviewed for documentaries, and upcoming festivals in unreal places. I kept asking people the question, “that thing you just told me about, would you have ever thought that possible 5 years ago?” The resounding answer was “absolutely fucking not” but with a followup of “but fuck it lets keep going.” If this is some sort of fantasy synth bubble we are experiencing I can tell you everyone was enthralled with excitement.
The performances I photographed were immersive. I joked, mainly to myself, that whoever decided to fill the space with more fog than previous years should be given a raise since the additional atmosphere (which was caked onto my lens every night) allowed each artist to transport from a dive bar in Massachusetts to outer realm beyond time and space. Each artist’s visuals and costumes also presented themselves as a character in an ongoing drama. This was theater but the audience were also involved in the narrative. Throughout the days I was in attendance, there was a vibrant mix of energy both for creating and enjoying others creations. People handed out zines and tapes to passersby and the vendors in the back sold limited editions of weird things to fans. Labels had casual conferences comparing merch productions and taking mental notes on what to do for the next fest. There was a deep respect for people as entities and a need to discuss things and collaborate for future projects. There were few rules regarding dress code or how to act and the weekend provided a haven space to do whatever you wanted to do and be whoever you wanted to be. If that meant dressing like an elf or in corpse paint or in brightly colored shirts or even in knight armor made of Dr. Pepper cases, you were allowed to do so and probably everyone would want to take pictures. This all seemed so impossible had it not been for the multiple years of the same thing happening. This was also not the end of live dungeon synth for the year as looming festivals such as Texas Dungeon Siege (and its US tour after the fest) and Northwest Dungeon Siege were being promoted with many in the attendance saying their goodbyes such as “I’ll see you in ( a future location)”
At many times I talked to people I had seen at GLDS, TXDS, and previous NEDS events. Beyond the usual banter of music and games, I talked a lot about why we were still here. Perhaps still trying to understand what it is about this music which keeps bringing people back and unexpectedly bringing new people in. Over the weekend, I heard about VERMIS for the first time which is an artbook by Plastiboo featuring a non-existent CRPG dungeon crawl inspired by dungeon synth but has turned into a multimedia project with DS musician Radagast providing music for a recent tape. This feedback loop of things inspiring other things is fascinating since there seems to be no way to point out what inspires dungeon synth and what is inspired by dungeon synth. It certainly seems to be moving at a pace no one could imagine and where we end up is anyone’s guess. If I can say one thing for sure, there are going to be a lot of creative people excited to make things for each other when we get there.
Tirith: Northeast Dungeon Siege is a vital space for artists to define and get inspired by showcasing what live Dungeon Synth looks like as it is still breaking ground as a live genre. It serves as a gathering spot for artists and enthusiasts to celebrate the genre, especially after you’ve exhausted yourself trying to explain what Dungeon Synth is to friends and loved ones who just don’t get it. On a more personal level, it’s a place where I discover one or two incredible new artists every year, thanks to Josh’s picks. It’s a lot of work, but I recognize it’s still in its infancy, NEDS needs to be nurtured by many hands to allow it to grow and evolve alongside the genre. It’s hard work, but the rewards are clear, and it’s heartening to see it become such a special destination for so many artists and attendees alike over the past five years I’ve been with the fest. It’s truly an honor to be a part of live Dungeon Synths history through the lens of Northeast Dungeon Siege.
PS #1: This year was also my second time running a game on Saturday. The combination of games and dungeon synth seems like an easy fit seeing how so many people come into the genre through tabletop games. This year’s games were run by Arcane Sword Press and did a wonderful job of organizing the tables and making sure we actually had tables to play. Arcane Sword organized an interesting lineup of games including Mörk Borg, Basic Fantasy, Mutant Crawl Classics, Mausritter, and of course my game of Old-School Essentials. There was even a player who wandered in with Magic The Gathering Decks just hanging out. My time running games showed me a possible future where dungeon synth music would be played at night and games would be run throughout the day perhaps for an entire weekend.
PS #2: Thanks Emmanuel for reading over my articles as of late and catching all of the spelling and grammar mistakes you would have sent me otherwise. You make me sound way more competent than I have any right to be.
PS #3: I did not get to attend Sunday as this year real life limited my travel. If anyone wants to know my wife is a scientist for the federal government and we live in times of uncertainty. My apologies to anyone who I missed on Sunday. I will see you all in Texas.
