Dungeon synth is a genre of electronic music derived from black metal and dark ambient. The style emerged in the early 1990s, predominantly among members of the early Norwegian black metal scene. Dungeon synth usually evokes Middle Ages or fantasy themes.
Characteristics
The genre employs aesthetics and themes typically associated with
black metal juxtaposed to the typical heavy tremolo-picking,
Blast beat, and harsh, shrieked vocals of black metal by way of compositions of instrumental or ambient music commonly used as introductions, interludes, or "outros" in black metal,
, and heavy metal
albums throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Though often paired with
Middle Ages and
fantasy motifs throughout the 1990s onward, some prominent contemporaries of dungeon synth reject the excessive prevalence of high-fantasy themes.
Dungeon synth is contentiously likened to video game music, due to fantasy influences, the usage and layering of synths, and a focus on ambience; however, acts such as
Mortiis have rejected the influence of video game soundtracks on dungeon synth.
History
Precursors
Dungeon synth is derived from
black metal and
dark ambient.
Prior to the pioneering of dungeon synth, the influence of instrumental, electronic music had made its way into the early Norwegian black metal scene, with
Tangerine Dream and
Klaus Schulze influencing Mayhem, Emperor and Enslaved.
Mayhem's debut EP
Deathcrush (1987) even opened with the Conrad Schnitzler composition "Silvester Anfang".
Origins
The progenitors of dungeon synth are
Mortiis and
Burzum, who both originated from the early Norwegian black metal scene: Mortiis being formed by Håvard Ellefsen, the bassist of Emperor; and Burzum originating as a black metal solo project by
Varg Vikernes of
Old Funeral and Mayhem. Under starting Mortiis, Ellefsen embraced the influence of
Tangerine Dream,
Klaus Schulze,
and Enigma.
Mortiis' first demo, clocking in at just under an hour in length, marked the first time a musician made use of black metal aesthetics on a release that contained entirely instrumental and non-traditional black metal instrumentation.
The second iteration of this demo tape would be the first time Ellefsen would use the phrase "dark dungeon music" to refer to its style.
Mortiis went on to be a major performer of this genre and the style is heavily prevalent in early releases such as
Født til å Herske and later releases from the return to the "Era I" sound, chiefly
Spirit of Rebellion.
Other prominent contemporaries of the genre include Old Tower, Sombre Arcane, Thangorodrim, and Depressive Silence.
Vikernes cited Das ich, Dead Can Dance and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky among influences on Burzum's ambient aspect. Finnish dungeon synth musician Tuomas M. Mäkelä of Jääportit
In 1993, Danish one-man synth project The Dark Funeral released a demo, which is occasionally invoked alongside Mortiis' earliest works as another example of nascent dungeon synth but the project quickly ended after releasing two demos.
