Entry 1642 - Elyvilon - Drums in the Deepwood

Style: dungeon synth

Thoughts: There is an old wives tale that says trolls cannot view the day. If the sun light was to shine upon them they would turn to stone. Trolls for this very reason live under bridges and other shaded areas so that they only need venture out at night. It's these very trolls that Drums in the Deepwood chronicles.

I honestly don't know if Drums in the Deepwood has anything to do with Tolkien's or really anyone's intepretation of trolls. The cover does seem to imply this however, as do the song titles. So regardless of what Elyvilon intended, this is how I am interpreting it and will henceforth view this album.

Drums in the Deepwood is unquestioningly dungeon synth. The synths are steeped in the moss covered notes of the deep forest. The structures have not seen the light of day in decades as they reverberate throughout the caves. The melodies call to mind the creatures of the night, those who would have a hobbit stew for breakfast - the kind that would turn to stone because they spent too long debating how to process the hobbit meat.

Drums in the Deepwood is considerably more active than most dungeon synth. Opposed to drawn out ambient oriented melodies and structures, Elyvion gets straight to the point. The arrangements are also a bit more involved than those typically found in the genre. There's a lot of notes and multiple instruments going at any single point - a considerable difference from most of the genre.

The synth selection here is also on point. There is a mystery yet darkness to them that emulates the darkness of the deep forest. The parts where no human dare tread, where they are the hunted rather than the hunter. The melodies reflect this same emotion, and carry the songs deeper and deeper towards our doom.

Drums in the Deepwood is a great addition to my collection. It's another one of those albums I found randomly browsing genre tags and it happened to have a vinyl release. I was pleasantly surprised that it came out as good as it did. Yet another reason why dungeon synth continues to gain momentum towards becoming one of my favorite genres ever.