Review Summary: A promising chiptune dungeon synth debut.
Chiptune or 8-bit music has existed since around the late ‘70s, and is usually summarized as electronic music originally made on vintage sound chips, especially used in computers and game consoles. This rather simple and characteristic sound-palette found its way into the realms of dungeon synth quite soon due to the obvious associations to arcade video game nostalgia. The Indonesian project, Nosy Arcade, builds on this retro vibe as well, perfectly recreating the atmosphere of a soundtrack taken from a short adventure game from the NES era. Certainly, this very
niche music sometimes may feel uneventful and repetitive or samey, but Nosy Arcade found a way to make it a little bit more interesting. Concretely: each track could invoke the impression of being a chapter in a grander story, even though it’s a rather short release and lacks lengthier, cathartic and dramatic tracks. But for example, “The True Black Armor” feels like the epic introduction taken from a fantasy tale, followed by the slightly ominous “Zero Death Sword”, like an emerging conflict of a story. I’ve found this way of “musical storytelling” quite special and interesting, especially since we are not speaking about a definite concept album. Additionally,
The Black Armor offers a noteworthy experience from other aspects as well. For example, this release is driven by unaccustomed drum patterns, namely: blast beats. (
Or should I call them “chip beats” in this case?) It was quite fascinating to hear this rather unusual influence of black metal from a chiptune dungeon synth release, and to be honest: I think it’s a quite refreshing and enjoyable thing. So, in my opinion, Nosy Arcade’s debut is a rather impressive record with some great and fresh ideas; oh and not to mention that delightful cover of “Hermoðr á Helferð” by Burzum, which was one of the highlights of this release. Curious what comes next!
