Album Rating: 4.5

This is a lot more jaunty though. I really like it! It manages to be adventurous fantasy ds without being saccharine or even cheesy. It’s still really grounded and authentically unpolished while delivering on the melodic synth-y whimsy side. A lot of the time, projects like this veer away from sounding like ds and end up feeling like generic artificial fantasy soundtracks.

Album Rating: 4.0

lol zac

Album Rating: 4.8 | Sound Off

> "Was listening to this while studying and I felt like the crow on the album cover."

Peak comment, hahaha!



> projects like this veer away from sounding like ds and end up feeling like generic artificial fantasy soundtracks

Absolutely. But Old Sorcery remained true its sound - just expanded it. I mean, the unique elements of Realms of Magickal Sorrow can be spotted in each album~

Album Rating: 4.0

"A lot of the time, projects like this veer away from sounding like ds and end up feeling like generic artificial fantasy soundtracks."



Even this one walks the edges of dungeon synth, especially once the tremolo picking starts on the closing track. It's a fairly kaleidoscopic album with regards to dungeon synth and its varieties. It seems to have flavors you'd associate with sword and sorcery films and tabletop D&D as well as more expansive instrumentation you'd hear on a video game soundtrack.

Album Rating: 3.0

"A lot of the time, projects like this veer away from sounding like ds and end up feeling like generic artificial fantasy soundtracks."



It is honestly difficult for me to pin-point what "DS" is even supposed to sound like... I mean sometimes the style is very fantasy and cheesy, but that's not even a bad thing. Synth-based stuff that feels more modern can feel refreshing like 'Sword & Circuitry' by Quest Master:



https://questmaster.bandcamp.com/album/sword-circuitry



I always thought The Canterbury Tales had a good mix of cheese:



https://chaucerianmyth.bandcamp.com/album/the-canterbury-tales





Both are great!

Album Rating: 4.5

Quest Master rules so hard.

Ya the cover art made me think top-tier D&D background music and now I have a burning urge to be in a campaign again.

Album Rating: 4.5

I loved Obscure Power too, awesome project



And yeah, not to say there isn’t a lot of latitude in regards to what a ds project sounds like these days, but just out of personal preference, I really like when even the more fantasy-esque albums have that more amateurish vibe, rather than being super polished and bright. There’s something different about the almost retro-futuristic clash of dated synths making medieval castle music, compared to some of the more modern-sounding, digitised ds bands out there. Not to say they’re inherently bad or less dungeon synth, I just appreciate that there are some projects retaining something of the lo-fi aesthetic.

Album Rating: 4.8 | Sound Off

> It is honestly difficult for me to pin-point what "DS" is even supposed to sound like...

Well, the "sound-spectra" is wider than ever. But I get this point. For example, the neo-classical/neo-folk/medieval projects sound very different from the style of the old-school classics. (Not to mention chiptune or other branches.)

Album Rating: 4.0

Great opportunity to plug Fief if you're into dungeon synth. Definitely on the easy-going side of DS. In fact, I'd describe it as medieval tavern music. Fief IV is a particular standout to me but the guy's whole discography is fantastic.

Album Rating: 4.5

Drink Deep is a real standout track here. I really like the Berliner Schuler-inspiration with all the space-y synth warbles. This whole thing is so awesome. Really diverse and yet exceptionally cohesive. Absolutely agreed that it’s an AOTY contender. Magical stuff.

Album Rating: 4.8 | Sound Off

AOTY.

Album Rating: 4.5

Fantastic album indeed.

Album Rating: 4.5

Actually a rly apt album summary, garas

Album Rating: 4.0

finally some good new dungeon synth

Album Rating: 4.0

I must be unfamiliar with their discography because they really just dropped a straight up black metal album and I was confused as fuck when it started.

Album Rating: 4.8 | Sound Off

Sorrowcrown was also a black metal record. I don't get why are any metal albums in this discography, though - because Juusu has a black metal project too (Warmoon Lord).

Album Rating: 3.0

In general a lot of DS has its roots in black metal so I feel like the two genres kinda overlap into each other

Album Rating: 4.8 | Sound Off

That is absolutely true. But as an artist, having separate DS and BM projects - I don't get what is the point of mixing the two? Other than bringing Old Sorcery too to the Metal Archives.

idk to me The Outsider feels distinct enough from the Warmoon Lord stuff, since the black metal serves more as an added texture, another part in the overall soundscape and not as the founding principle of the songs.
tbf I could also see how others might view the black metal integration as (for a lack of a better word) half-assed.