The late 1980’s and early 1990’s saw the emergence of the Dark Ambient subgenre, Dungeon Synth. Taking the primitive, ethereal, and medieval aesthetics of Black Metal and applying them to the dark, gloomy, and atmospheric sounds of Ambient music. Early acts were typically side projects of heavier Black Metal bands. Utilizing the equipment often used in the early composition of video game soundtracks, Dungeon Synth composers and artists began recreating the sound of medieval instruments with synthesizers, creating what the genre is today.
San Francisco solo project Haunted Realm has taken clear influence from early acts, such as Mortiis and Mournlord, for the release of “Kingdom of Ages Past”. The project’s second release was made available January 9th, and has an array of ups and downs that flow with the story it tells.
The aptly titled opener “Darkness Stirs” ties in extremely well with the cover art and gives a feeling of being on a cold, dim, densely wooded mountain top. The long droning synth adds an overall sense of dread. The following track, “The Sellsword” starts with a relatively simple acoustic guitar melody that is beautifully joined by piano and building drums. But all of the build is quickly cut, as if tragedy has struck the hero of the story for “The Dryad’s Kiss”. About three-fourths of the way through the song, a slightly uplifting melody and rhythm returns, giving hope once again. “The Knight and the Maiden” is soft and loving. The incredibly arranged piano and acoustic guitar combination is back and brings an unexpected flute melody that demands attention. But as before, the happiness is cut off with heavy drum filled dread as the somewhat synth fueled, spacey feeling of “The Sorceress” tells that the story being told has faced tragedy once again. For a closer, and finale to our story, “Light Breaks Through” is bright and uplifting, polar opposite to the dark and dismal opener “Darkness Stirs”, as its name clearly implies.
For a genre boasting dark, gloomy, ethereal, and medieval as descriptive properties, Haunted Realm has checked every box. A story, whether intentional or not, is played out in the listener’s mind. “Kingdom of Ages Past” is not to be skipped through, and needs to be played in its entire, roughly 30 minute, run time, so as not to miss any of the details. Haunted Realm’s two releases can be found on Bandcamp and are available now.