Entry 1014 - Alkilith - HIdden Beneath the Veil of Stars

Style: Dungeon synth, ambient

Primary Emotions/Themes: A collection of shanty's as we sail across the vast oceans, rivers and seas

Thoughts: Dungeon synth is a weird genre. I can almost tell instantly when a piece of music is within said genre, however the amount of variety and creativity found within this singular genre is immense. On one end you'll have an album about sitting down for cookies with grandma, another will be speaking about the demons that live at the depths of the earth. Yet another will have songs dedicated to dinosaurs... and then you have Hidden Beneath the Veil of Stars... a dungeon synth album about faring on the open sea.

The irony of a genre called dungeon synth writing music about seafaring is not lost on me. Dungeon implies solitude and being left to rot... seafaring is anything but. It is freedom from the land, it is exploring the great oceans and the hidden dangers they bring. It is about the beauty of the night sky on a still lake. It is so many things, but being in a dark dungeon is not one of them.

Alkilith has created a unique album within the genre. I'm sure that there are other albums about faring on the open sea, but I'm not aware of them as of this writing - so my statement stays. The music itself is as simple as you would expect from dungeon synth. It has a slow progression of notes not too unlike the waves batting against the side of a boat as it traverses the water.

Where the album truly differentiates itself though is the sound design. The melodies are rather typical for dungeon synth, but the instruments are not. They have this phased effect to them that gives the music a ripple feeling, like its coming towards and away from us at the same time. This is present in all of the instruments, and it leans heavily into the nautical theme of the album. 

Hidden Beneath the Veil of Stars is a hidden gem. I see this album on sale at a lot of distro's but it's never out of stock. For a pressing of 100 units that's a damn shame. This album deserves more attention, and I hope this small entry can help give Alkilith the attention they deserve.