Sampling has remained a contentious topic in music for decades. Initially many in the music-listening public were against it, not for copyright or ethical or financial reasons, but quite frankly because they thought it was dumb and didn’t constitute “making music”. How could you call yourself a musician if you didn’t actually play your own […]
Month: January 2026
Skhemty – “Sunrise On The Old Kingdom” Cassette (2022)
Skhemty is a dungeon synth project of John Lordswood who, in addition to performing under perhaps a dozen different names, is also the man behind the Ancient King Records label. As dungeon synth has evolved a number of different styles have emerged, from the more standard dark ambient, pastoral, and sword-and-sorcery takes to things like […]
Mace – “Process Of Elimination” (1985) and “The Evil In Good” (1987)
Mace were a crossover thrash/hardcore band from about 30 minutes up the highway in Everett, Washington. Everett is a port city probably best known for its Navy base. It’s working class and sees itself very separate from it’s much larger neighbor to the south, Seattle. Mace played a ton locally, opening for larger acts like […]
Castle Zagyx – “Oath Of The Dark Chivalry” Cassette (2023)
One of the things I truly enjoy about dungeon synth is the extras some artists add to their releases. Cassettes, being much smaller than records, lend themselves to being packaged in boxes or pouches with all kinds of surprises. There are some in the scene, of course, who think this is dumb and gimmicky and […]
From The Vault – N.M.E. – “Unholy Death” (1986)
The below was posted on the original version of Life in the Vinyl Lane back on July 28, 2018. I made a few small edits and added a bit of content, specifically from an interview with N.M.E. vocalist Brian Llapitan that appeared in the 2020 book Rusted Metal: A Guide to Heavy Metal and Hard […]