In the Warhammer 40K universe a psychic hood is an arcane device, usually worn by space marine librarians, to both enhance their own psychic powers and protect them from the psychic attacks of others, including demons of the Warp that might attempt to use librarian’s body as a portal through which to enter our material universe. It is also the name of a dungeon synth project by an artist who performs under the nom-de-warhammer-40K “The Astropath”. An astropath is one with psychic abilities who has undergone the ritual process of soul binding with the Emperor of Mankind, allowing them to launch their thoughts as symbols into the Warp where they can be received by others of their kind in a form of faster-than-light communication.
Psychic Hood and The Astropath are also a guy named Adrian who lives in Vermont.
Psychic Hood first came to my attention on Instagram in late 2022 with the release if his debut cassette Demo 1. I was a relative newcomer to the dungeon synth scene at the time, and as a big fan of Warhammer 40K fiction I wanted to hear how this sci-fi-influenced genre offshoot sounded. Suitably impressed I kept tabs on Psychic hood and picked up both his 2023 cassette releases, The Astropath’s Journey in spring and the recently released Era Indomitus.
With Life in the Vinyl Lane back up and running and Era Indomitus on repeat play, I cast a request out into the Warp and asked Adrian if he’d submit himself to my own brand of Inquisitional interrogation. He graciously accepted. Ave Imperator.
Adrian, tell me a bit about yourself and your musical background.
“I grew up in a family of musicians. Some kids are forced into playing sports, while my Mom made me pick an instrument. My cousins, who I looked up to, were all drummers, so I picked up the sticks and started there.
“Growing up, I was never very dedicated to practicing, so I never became a phenomenal drummer, but I was capable enough, and played with some hardcore and metal bands through my high school years. My claim to fame was that I played drums for Elle King while we were in college together for her first few shows. Fast forward 10+ years and Psychic Hood has served as an outlet for dipping my toes back into the world of making music.”
What were your experiences with Warhammer 40K and dungeon synth? How did come to bring the two together?
“My first exposure to 40k was back when I was probably 10 years old or so. I walked into a comics/hobby store with my Dad and was immediately drawn to the 40k section. I walked out of the store with my first miniature, which was a Legion of the Damned Space Marine with a flamer (that I desperately wish I still had). To this day, I have no idea how my parents were able to support my 40k hobby since they didn’t make a lot of money. I figure they were probably just happy to have me home being a nerd instead of going out and getting into trouble. I collected, painted, and played 40k until my early teens, when I became much more interested in playing in bands and being a “cool” punk kid.
“Around 13 or 14, I sold most of my 40k stuff but still kept in touch with the lore. I spent most of my adult life telling myself that I’d get back into it at some point. My wife and I moved up here to Vermont a few years ago, and the neighboring town has a great gaming store. I poked my head in one day and finally committed to picking up the 9th edition box. I’ve been back into the hobby for a couple of years now, and finally feel like I’ve redeemed the teenage version of myself, half-heartedly listing my minis on eBay.
“About the same time I dove back into 40k, I discovered dungeon synth. I was on a big Summoning (the black metal band) kick and loved their synth-y parts. I kept seeing them lumped in with “dungeon synth” online, which is how I discovered the genre. Dungeon synth, to me, seemed like the perfect intersection of metal, fantasy, and gaming culture, which made it immediately appealing. Considering I was itching to make music again, and Dungeon Synth has a relatively low bar for entry when it comes to equipment and production, I decided to give it a go. 40k and DS came together with the simple thought ’40k dungeon synth would be cool…. Why don’t I make it?'”
You put out two albums this year, The Astropath’s Journey and most recently Era Indomitus. Do the albums tell specific stories?
“Primarily, the concept behind Psychic Hood has been to explore different parts of the 40k universe, on a song-by-song basis. From the twisting halls of lumbering space hulks to the meadows of Imperial Knight worlds, each song serves as an entry into the log of The Astropath, recording Their travels.
“In Era Indomitus, I definitely tried to capture the sense of battle in songs like ‘Devastation of Baal’, ‘Leviathan’, and ‘Escape the Blackstone Fortress’. However, to me, the appeal of the 40k extends well beyond the battlefields of ‘endless war.’ I like to explore the dark, forgotten corners of the galaxy, through songs like ‘Ratling in the Underhive’ and the relentless sense of foreboding in songs like ‘Hark! The Star Children are Coming’.”
Walk me through your songwriting process. How do you approach composition? What gear do you use for performing and recording?
“My songwriting process is fairly unsophisticated. Sometimes, I have a concept in my head that lends itself to a melody. Sometimes, it’s the other way around. From there, I build, and go where the energy of the melody takes me. I’m usually most successful with songwriting if I sit down after coming up with an initial melody, and the rest just flows out. If I can’t really find a way to make it work, or it feels uninspired, I know that it probably won’t make it to a finished song.
“Much like my songwriting process, my equipment setup isn’t very fancy either. I had been out of the music-making world for almost a decade and had never made electronic music before. My first 3 releases were all recorded with Logic Pro, VSTs, and a 25-key MIDI controller, which had been gathering dust in my closet for almost 2 years after picking it up on a whim. For my live performances, I made the big upgrade to get a 49-key Novation MIDI controller this past October, and am currently using it to create and record new material. For playing live, I put together my sets using MainStage, which is essentially just a live performance-focused Logic Pro.
“After learning about my synth pursuits, my Dad recently gifted me his old Moog Prodigy that he’s had probably since he was my age. I am looking forward to getting better with that and incorporating actual synths/keyboards into my arsenal.”
You’ve done some live shows this year. Many DS creators find it challenging to play their songs live. How has that experience been for you? Did you have your make any changes to your approach?
“In my opinion, dungeon synth offers so many different ways to perform live. For me, with the number of instruments that I incorporate into my arrangements, I need to rely on some sort of backing tracks to play along with. MainStage made that fairly easy, after having a crash course in learning it and building out my set two weeks before my first show.
“I was super nervous about my show with Jenn Taiga. She has an entire wall of synths she plays, going back and forth between them like a magician. I felt like a total poser, standing up there before her with my MacBook and MIDI controller. However, after I played, she offered the sweetest words of support. For any artists who might be hesitating to play live for one reason or another, just go for it. For me, I can’t wait to do more shows.”
What other artists in the DS scene do you listen to? Who else should we check out?
“There are so many fantastic artists out there right now, so it’s hard to narrow down. I’ll say that Quest Master, Fenwalker, Grim Father, Ghöest, and Putrid Marsh are always in steady rotation for me.”
In the Warhammer 40K timeline, the Era Indomitus is considered the “current” period, which takes place roughly 40,000 years in the future. The Imperium of Man has been in decline during the prior 10,000 years as a result of the galactic civil war called The Horus Heresy, a war that resulted in the quasi-immortal Emperor of Man being horribly wounded and interred in the Golden Throne, a device made of little-understood technology that allows his psychic essence to be channeled and transmitted into the galaxy. The Era Indomitus began with the resurrection of Primarch Raboute Guilliman, one of the Emperor’s twenty genetically created “sons”, whose body had remained in a stasis field for ten millennia after being poisoned by the blade of one of his rebel brothers. Upon seeing the desperate state of the Imperium, Guilliman launched a new crusade out into the stars to defeat the powers of the Warp and bring worlds back into the embrace of the Imperium.
Upon first listening to Era Indomitus I was taken in by its more epic passages, which fit the overall mythological sense of the period in the Warhammer 40K timeline. The album begins with “Devastation of Baal”, the opening horns presaging the dirge to follow, the contrasting bass drums and bells giving it a true orchestral quality, a funeral mass for the near total obliteration of the planet Baal. You can feel the sorrow of the track even if you don’t know the story of the Tyranid invasion and scouring of the Blood Angels’ Chapter home world. This sense of gloom and darkness permeates the album, creating a soundtrack to a series of tragedies that must be relentlessly overcome before a final victory is at last possible. Hope can be found, though, if one looks for it. The subtlety of “A Ratling in the Underhive” traces your quiet footsteps as you try your best to silently move past the danger using nothing but your wits, the ringing bowls tracing your progress as you sneak by. Yes, the universe is a dark and dangerous place, but you can still find your way by the Emperor’s light. It’s my favorite track on the album.
Psychic Hood takes an orchestral approach to Era Indomnitus, leveraging his MIDI to combine horns, rumbling bass drums, and strings to paint a mood. Flourishes are added via ringing bowls, the occasional touch of theremin, and, of course, synth keyboard. It’s those latter elements that inject a dose futurism without resorting to any clichéd and overt bleeps and bloops, nor any heavy industrial sounds that wouldn’t fit within the realm of dungeon synth. Creating something that conveys a subtle sense of being of the distant future is challenging, and something Psychic Hood pulls off beautifully.
You can listen to all of Psychic Hood’s work on Bandcamp HERE as well as on Spotify. As for the cassettes, those will be a bit harder to come by given their limited releases – Demo 1 was an edition of 20, The Astropath’s Journey only 25, and Era Indomitus in a hand-numbered edition of 50. But they’re worth the effort – I can’t recommend these albums enough. You don’t have to be a fan of Warhammer 40K, or even know anything about it, to enjoy Psychic Hood, so get out there and give it a try.