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‘It makes you feel like the hero of your own quest’: the dark, delightful magic of the dungeon synth scene
Amid dinosaurs, swords and leather armour, we visit the UK’s first festival for dungeon synth – a fast-growing black metal spinoff dedicated to fantasy and escape
Its mystical sound has aesthetics to match, channelling the atmosphere of JRR Tolkien books, the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons and a darkly quaint reimagining of the medieval era. Vikernes, a neo-Nazi who was convicted in 1994 for the murder of a former bandmate among other crimes, created two ambient albums while behind bars under the moniker Burzum (meaning darkness in The Lord of the Rings’ evil Black Speech language). At the festival, held at the New Cross Inn in south London, the German duo Depressive Silence – stalwarts of the 90s dungeon synth scene – wear dark cloaks while dramatically swinging metal incense burners to the imposing thump of drums.
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