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Posted: |
May 10, 2022 - 1:38 PM
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By: |
losher22
(Member)
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Hey, back on DS-esque neofolk for a moment, if I could. Was reviewing my collection for other neofolk-styled albums besides the Hagathorn and Thurnin ones I recently obtained (and Thurnin, by the way, is effing awesome). It was then I realized I'd forgotten about Les Discrets from back in 2009/2010, pretty much the only period I was interested in them, and before I heard they went all country-shoegaze or whatever. Digging more into Les Discrets's catalog pointed me to this compilation album, which seems to have tons of dark neofolk-style artists on it. Have you heard it, and/or do you follow any of them? Curious to hear your thoughts, as I haven't listened to it yet!
https://prophecy-de.bandcamp.com/album/various-artists-whom-the-moon-a-nightsong-sings
And speaking of Hagathorn, they have a new album out for preorder, sounds just as wonderful as the first!
https://hagathorn.bandcamp.com/album/bj-rndansen-2
Thanks for the links! Regarding the compilation, I have the original album (on CD) that the Dornenreich track is taken from, and it's one of my faves from the genre. They first came to my attention via their black metal album Her von welken Nächten, but it's their folk album that earned a permanent place in my collection. Check it out here: https://dornenreich.bandcamp.com/album/in-luft-geritzt?msclkid=4b2a968ecfa711ecab4128180e4e838d
The only other artist from that comp that I'm familiar with is Ulver, but only through their first three albums (circa mid-'90s), the second of which is folk (the first and third black metal). That particular track isn't on the albums I own, however I highly recommended all three. Check out their second (folk) album here: https://ulverband.bandcamp.com/album/kveldssanger?msclkid=fa910825cfa711ecabb3cf02f8f4cc10
Man, that new Hagathorn track sounds amazing! Definitely bookmarking that. 
Thanks for the feedback! I sampled that Dornenreich album...didn't like it, to be honest. Might have been a mood thing, but it was much too...frenetic, I guess I'd say? Not chill enough, at least for the type of folk I've been getting into. I never really liked their black metal stuff either, but I can certainly appreciate their diversity.
And never truly got into Ulver. I wanted to, I really did, especially considering they're one of the progenitors of black metal and certainly black/folk metal that I've been into for a number of years. Their music just never fit with me, I suppose. I do really enjoy their instrumental work on Kveldssanger, though - never picked the album I think because I just didn't like the vocals. Another listen didn't change my mind this time around...but I WANT it to, you know?
There were three artists I enjoyed from that compilation album, though - two I hadn't heard before and one I haven't listened to in years. The first two, Vali and Musk Ox. Vali draws comparisons to Ulver's Kveldssanger, of course, as I found out after the fact with a chuckle, and Musk Ox really strikes as a mix between chamber music and acoustic folk. Interesting. The last of the three artists, October Falls, I used to LOVE back 10-15 years ago - I actually own four of their albums and one EP. I initially got into them because I loved the black metal / folk style, the former more than the latter. Now I'm digging their most recent one, "Syys," but because it's all acoustic folk, not black metal. Makes me realize how my interests have changed a bit over the years. Only a bit.
https://vali.bandcamp.com/album/forlatt
https://muskoxofficial.bandcamp.com/album/inheritance
https://octoberfalls.bandcamp.com/album/syys
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Posted: |
May 13, 2022 - 12:22 PM
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By: |
losher22
(Member)
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Thanks again for this great conversation! I put all the suggestions into a spreadsheet thus far to figure out the best starting place for this - quick stats, so far you've talked about 127 bands, and there are many more to discover
For me a lot of the music has been hit-and-miss but two really stood out to me:
MENESTROLL - Quêtes Secondaires
https://menestroll.bandcamp.com/releases
JIM KIRKWOOD - Tower of Darkness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sN7zONJfAQ
MENESTROLL's album has been the most coherent so far where it has a really nice structure and flow for the album itself. The music is great with sounds that harken back to SNES RPGs. Love it.
KIRKWOOD's album was surprisingly engaging, in large part because it sounded so much like Goblins or one of those early electronic bands. The opening song has a nice beat and great progression so it doesn't get stale. Maybe not the prototypical moody DS music but highly enjoyable.
My new discovery was CORVUS NEBLUS, which has a great song "Confronting Barovia" from their album "Chapter I - Strahd's Possession": https://youtu.be/X376t0B38hM?t=1093
Something about it felt very melancholic and melodic, almost like Twin Peaks - and I really like hearing the tape hiss.
I'll be seeking out more relaxed works now - I think the "Winter Ambient" sub-genre has some good ones, and CELESTIAL KINGDOM's Visions of Eternal Winter is playing in my queue now...
Hello my friend! Mad respect for spreadsheeting this stuff - I love it! I do the same thing, haha.
I like that you're enjoying Menestroll and Jim Kirkwood. I'm sure Josh can jump in and recommend others, but if you enjoy the DS foundation with a little Berlin school / old-school RPG sound thrown in, I strongly recommend you check out Quest Master most notably, but also Hole Dweller and maybe even Old Sorcery. They're not exactly the same, but have somewhat similar elements in places.
Thanks for the heads-up on CORVUS NEBLUS, will check them out. Haven't heard of them, which is great!
And ah...winter ambient/synth. Probably my absolute favorite musical niche-genre overall, so of course I took right away to DS varieties akin to it. I have lots of recommendations in this area if you like what you hear; in no particular order, in addition to Celestial Kingdom (which is the best I've heard in a while): Ornatorpet, Waeltaja, Aindulmedir, Isegrimm, and Forlorn Kingdom. Granted, these are all DS-tinged winter ambient/synth - I could list many more if you'd like a taste for those lacking dungeon synth completely. Keep us posted on your journey!
https://questmaster.bandcamp.com/album/the-twelve-temples
https://dungeonsdeeprecords.bandcamp.com/album/flies-the-coop
https://oldsorcery.bandcamp.com/album/strange-and-eternal
https://ornatorpet.bandcamp.com/album/fj-llets-gyllene-slott
https://waeltaja.bandcamp.com/album/the-frozen-kingdom
https://aindulmedir.bandcamp.com/album/the-lunar-lexicon
https://isegrimm.bandcamp.com/album/eislandsaga
https://forlornkingdom.bandcamp.com/album/alpine-black-magick
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Posted: |
May 18, 2022 - 7:42 AM
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By: |
Josh
(Member)
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I really enjoyed the Ornatorpet samples linked above. Thanks! Added to my wish list.
In other news, I've been spinning the new DS album "Wampyric Vampir" by Abysmal Specter (the guy behind a bunch of black metal/DS hybrid projects like Bloody Tower, Old Nick, Curta'n Wall, etc.), and it's a coffinload of fun.
No BM to be found on this one, just straight up synth, but not all DS, either; there's a fair amount of quirky, beat-laden synthwave, which in my opinion were well placed in this case since it helps spice things up a bit. Definitely recommended for those with an open ear who don't mind extra nutmeg in their eggnog.
https://grimestone.bandcamp.com/album/abysmal-specter-presents-wampyric-vampir
Here's another one I recently discovered that you guys might enjoy: "Forgotten Gods" by Nightmare Spirit. I haven't ordered the CD yet, but it's on my list. Very dark, murky and meditative DS with hints of Berlin school:
https://nightmarespirit.bandcamp.com/album/forgotten-gods
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Posted: |
May 18, 2022 - 9:18 PM
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By: |
losher22
(Member)
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I really enjoyed the Ornatorpet samples linked above. Thanks! Added to my wish list.
In other news, I've been spinning the new DS album "Wampyric Vampir" by Abysmal Specter (the guy behind a bunch of black metal/DS hybrid projects like Bloody Tower, Old Nick, Curta'n Wall, etc.), and it's a coffinload of fun.
No BM to be found on this one, just straight up synth, but not all DS, either; there's a fair amount of quirky, beat-laden synthwave, which in my opinion were well placed in this case since it helps spice things up a bit. Definitely recommended for those with an open ear who don't mind extra nutmeg in their eggnog.
https://grimestone.bandcamp.com/album/abysmal-specter-presents-wampyric-vampir
Here's another one I recently discovered that you guys might enjoy: "Forgotten Gods" by Nightmare Spirit. I haven't ordered the CD yet, but it's on my list. Very dark, murky and meditative DS with hints of Berlin school:
https://nightmarespirit.bandcamp.com/album/forgotten-gods
Thanks Josh! Yeah, I’d heard Abysmal Specter before if I recall, just not this one…and sounds just a teensy bit too whimsical for me. Nice find regardless! To be honest, Grime Stone is an interesting label. I find that I either really love their releases (Colossus, Romantyth…) or really dislike them (Old Nick and most of the proto-DS/BM projects sounding akin to them, and most of the comfy synth…just not my thing). After Colossus in particular, I subscribed to GSR’s Bandcamp for a few months, got a few digital releases, but nothing terribly interesting. So I unsubscribed, but still watch the label closely.
Nightmare Spirit, interesting! Thanks for the heads up on that one. Really digging the title track in particular!
I picked up the Sceptre of the Fading Dawn collection from Out of Season the other day…can’t wait to spin that later on this week upon receipt!
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Posted: |
May 19, 2022 - 7:12 AM
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By: |
Josh
(Member)
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Whoa, a new Serpent's Isle album was released yesterday! CD is limited to 25 copies. I just snagged one.
https://serpentsisle.bandcamp.com/album/herald-of-the-cyan-sea
EDIT: As of 8pm PST, only 3 copies remaining...
I saw the new album release, but not the disc! But wait…says it’s a mini-disc…?
Edit: Was only 1 left by the time I saw your post, Josh, and now sold out, so I guess I’m SOL on this one, even if it isn’t a mini-disc. Don’t even know how those work, haha. Maybe I’ll get lucky and Wizard-Discs will make some CDrs for this one…Serpent’s Isle is far and away my favorite of Myst’s projects!
Shoot. Oh well, I presume it'll turn up again on CD sooner or later. Mini-discs are 3" wide, but otherwise just like a regular CD except you can't play them in slot players (car stereos) or vertical-loading CD players (like those 200-disc changers), but they play fine on normal CD players with horizontal trays.
In fact, if you look at the tray on your CD player, it should have a 3" wide inner tray in the middle; the mini disc fits right in there! Pretty cool.
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Posted: |
May 19, 2022 - 7:36 AM
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By: |
Josh
(Member)
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I really enjoyed the Ornatorpet samples linked above. Thanks! Added to my wish list.
In other news, I've been spinning the new DS album "Wampyric Vampir" by Abysmal Specter (the guy behind a bunch of black metal/DS hybrid projects like Bloody Tower, Old Nick, Curta'n Wall, etc.), and it's a coffinload of fun.
No BM to be found on this one, just straight up synth, but not all DS, either; there's a fair amount of quirky, beat-laden synthwave, which in my opinion were well placed in this case since it helps spice things up a bit. Definitely recommended for those with an open ear who don't mind extra nutmeg in their eggnog.
https://grimestone.bandcamp.com/album/abysmal-specter-presents-wampyric-vampir
Here's another one I recently discovered that you guys might enjoy: "Forgotten Gods" by Nightmare Spirit. I haven't ordered the CD yet, but it's on my list. Very dark, murky and meditative DS with hints of Berlin school:
https://nightmarespirit.bandcamp.com/album/forgotten-gods
Thanks Josh! Yeah, I’d heard Abysmal Specter before if I recall, just not this one…and sounds just a teensy bit too whimsical for me. Nice find regardless! To be honest, Grime Stone is an interesting label. I find that I either really love their releases (Colossus, Romantyth…) or really dislike them (Old Nick and most of the proto-DS/BM projects sounding akin to them, and most of the comfy synth…just not my thing). After Colossus in particular, I subscribed to GSR’s Bandcamp for a few months, got a few digital releases, but nothing terribly interesting. So I unsubscribed, but still watch the label closely.
Nightmare Spirit, interesting! Thanks for the heads up on that one. Really digging the title track in particular!
I picked up the Sceptre of the Fading Dawn collection from Out of Season the other day…can’t wait to spin that later on this week upon receipt!
I do enjoy a lot of Old Nick et al.'s albums myself, but I definitely have to be in the right mood, otherwise they can be really annoying lol.
Last week I picked up OOS's "Friday the 13th bundle" that included both Sceptre and Putrid/Marsh, so I'm looking forward to that as well. Both projects are new to me.
Happy listening to us!
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