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 […]
Tag: 2022
“Bound For Hell: On The Sunset Strip” Boxset (2022)
Hair metal… glam metal… butt rock… call it what you will, but I loved it in the 80s, and I still love it today. In 1983 I made yet another in a series of cross-country moves with my parents, experiencing the pure, unadulterated culture shock of going from Alaska to South Carolina. Another new city. […]
Patronian – “Stabbed With Steel” (2022 / 2025)
Smári Tarfur has been flying under the radar in my record collection for a decade or more. The multi-instrumentalist was formerly part of Quarashi and Hot Damn and Spitsign, all of who have albums and tracks on my shelves. And that doesn’t include his releases as Led By A Lion, Son Of The Wind, and […]
Bardic Wizard – “Baerdcyn” (2022 / 2024)
There has been much debate, hand-wringing, rending of garments, and general shit-posting in the dungeon synth community as of late, much of it centered around what is, and more importantly what is not, dungeon synth. The genre is experiencing growing pains as more and more people discover it. And to be clear, I don’t pretend […]
Amnesia Agenda – “Blood/Glass Osmosis” (2022)
When it comes to noise subgenres, I claim no expertise whatsoever. I don’t think I can clearly differentiate harsh noise (or even more specifically, harsh noise wall) from power electronics. And maybe it doesn’t matter, given how artists often feel about genre labels. Iceland’s Amnesia Agenda tag their 2022 release Blood/Glass Osmosis using both of […]