Blazing a path of more than just through a realm, Haxan Dreams has created a soundtrack that could accompany any adventure, whether it be through an enchanted forest, an icy cold winter storm, or the grim hollowness of a desolate mountain trail. The music on ‘Path Through The Realm’ is simply stunning and is more or less a cinematic dungeon synth masterpiece. However, this album is so much more than that. As I listen to these arrangements over and over again, I’m quickly reminded of a time when these musical preparations greatly existed as intros, outros, and the occasional filler tune on many black metal albums from the late 80’s and early 90’s.
Album opener, “The Realm” has some great dungeon synth keyboard parts that are accented by low-pitched (and barely audible) spoke word narrations. “Mountain Passage” has a very old-school vibe to it as well as some nice classical arrangements embedded within. The backing ambient track would also be amazing to listen to on its own. “Forest Of Idran” is the first song on the album that has that classic black metal intro vibe to it. The arrangements of the instrumentation is so compelling and dark, as if the composer is writing of a journey to be met with demise. Continuing on with the elements of black metal misery type intro’s, “Love And The Abyss” starts off melancholic but counters that emotion in the end with uplifting keyboard melodies. “Battle Of Twin Mountains” is an ideal spiritual piece that includes some tribal beats and bells. Just as the title suggests, this track seems as if there is an engagement in battle that takes place in the mountainside. “Dance Of The Coven” contains some tribal vocal elements that work well with the crescendo of the music. It’s almost as if a tribe of mountaineers have claimed victory in battle and are then displaying their ritual dance to claim praise to their high lord. Album closer, “To Dwell In Darkness” is an eleven minute long opus that shows a return to the elements of true old school dungeon synth and provides the final gateway to cross into the realm as set forth at the beginning of the album.
Haxan Dreams has created a very mature dungeon synth recording that mixes several elements of other musical genres and ventures into tribal beats with narrations and chanting patterns. Of all of the great DS albums that have been released this year, ‘Path Through The Realm’ is turning out to be one of my favorites so far. Support this wonderful album that is out now on Dungeon Deep Records by clicking the link below.
Link:
https://dungeonsdeeprecords.bandcamp.com/album/path-through-the-realm
Dungeon Synth & Dark Ambient Reviews!! 