History of the List

I've been meaning to make this post for a while now. I did a couple interviews over the past few years where I discussed the history of the blog, how I coined the term "dungeon synth," and how things evolved since that point. I'm upset with myself that I neglected to discuss my old list however, because that is the primary way in which I developed my concept of what is and isn't dungeon synth, where I drew lines in the sand to illustrate the idea. Now that I've watched the recent, thoroughly well-researched and engaging video essay Dungeon Synth, A Long Introduction, I feel it is even more important that I fill in this gap in the story. I don't blame the creator of the video at all for not covering this, and I'm glad he referenced my post about the 90's canon because I think there is value in highlighting the small number of works that were the most widely known and influential, but the real list where parameters were established was deleted in 2013 and was essentially lost for anyone who might've wanted to research this. So hopefully I can clear that up with this post. I apologize if this comes across as too navel-gazey, but I do think it's an important part of the story and was really a communal effort and not just a work of myself.

I started the list at the very beginning of the blog. It was the fourth post I made. I'm very happy to see that the Wayback Machine caught a snapshot of the list in its early incarnation (fourth post down).  Here it was as of May 2011 (the asterisks are meant to highlight albums I thought were great and representative of the genre):

Aeons - As Twilight Deeps...
Ars Poetica - Theatre
Burzum - Dauði Baldrs
Burzum - Hliðskjálf
Cernunnos Woods - Awaken the Empire of the Dark Wood
Cernunnos Woods - Tears of the Weeping Willow
Cintecele Diavolui - The Devil's Songs
Darkstroll - At the Silent Halls
Darkstroll - Frozen Forest
December's Fire - Across the Sorrowfields of the Baltic
December's Fire - Deszcz Ma Łzą, Piorun Mym Krzykiem
Depressive Silence - The Darkened Empire
Depressive Silence - Demo III 1996
*Fata Morgana - Fata Morgana
*Forgotten Pathways - Shrouded in Mystery
*Gothmog - Medival Journeys
Grabesmond - In Schwindendem Licht
Hate Forest - Temple Forest
Ildjarn-Nidhogg - Hardangervidda
Ildjarn-Nidhogg - Hardangervidda Part 2
Infamis - Malum Necessarium
Lamentation - Fullmoon Over Faerhaaven
*Lord Wind - Atlantean Monument
Lord Wind - Forgotten Songs
Lord Wind - Heralds of Flight
Lord Wind - Rites of the Valkyries
Lugburz - Behind the Gates of Black Abyss
Lugburz - Songs from the Forgotten Land
Mittwinter - Vinterdrom
Mistigo Varggoth Darkestra - Insatiable Moon
*Mistigo Varggoth Darkestra - Midnight Fullmoon
*Mortiis - Ånden som gjorde opprør
Mortiis - Blood and Thunder
*Mortiis - Crypt of the Wizard
*Mortiis - Født til å herske
*Mortiis - Keiser av en dimensjon ukjent
Mortiis - The Stargate
*Mortiis - The Song of a Long Forgotten Ghost
Munruthel - Jav, Nav & Prav
Neptunell - Empires
Nihilum - Dead and Forgotten
Pazuzu - And All Was Silent...
Pazuzu - Awaken the Dragon
Pazuzu - III: The End Of Ages
Piorun - Goreja Wici Wojenne
Olgerd - Dagor Nuin Giliath
Saltvind - Eternal Whisper of the Celestial North Chamber
Skullthrone/Minas Morgul - Battles in the Snow Forest
Summoning - Lost Tales
Temnojar - Hyperborean Dylogy
Thy Castle - Stormshadows in Thy Castle of Solitude
Valscharuhn - Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
Viscol - Din timpuri vechi
Voices Of Winds - Demo 1994
Von Liebenfels - Herren Der Schwarzen Sonne
Von Liebenfels - Väter unser im Walhall
Vond - The Dark River
Vond - Håvard Vond
Vond - Selvmord
Wojnar - Jam synem orlim jest na wieki!...
*Wojnar - Kiedy Duch Wojny Nade Mna Powstanie
Wojnar - Zimowa Opowiesc
*Wongraven - Fjelltronen

You can already notice that many classic albums are missing, and already at this point it had been expanded a fair bit by correspondence with other people. One person I'd like to credit for getting in touch at this early stage and letting me know of a number of albums I had missed is an Encyclopaedia Metallum user named grauer_mausling, who I chatted with extensively in this early period and surely motivated me to keep working on the blog as well as helping me discover lots of forgotten DS material.

And then at the end of 2013 I was getting very overwhelmed with having to listen to and make a determination about a flood of new DS being created and old material being discovered, and as the community was growing so extensively I was beginning to feel some serious imposter syndrome about being a sort of self-declared official arbiter of what does and does not qualify. So I decided to retire the list, which I discuss in this post.  I regret that I decided to delete the list entirely instead of just letting it go dormant. It was important to me at the time to completely burn that bridge, though the list was kindly preserved by a blog called BellerophonticSyca.  I actually thought the comments were completely lost until I went and visited that link just now, and now I see that he preserved them as well!  Maybe I knew that but just forgot...  Anyways, the assumed loss of that comment section was my biggest regret about deleting the post, because it was massive and that was where most suggestions were publicly made about what could be DS in those early days as the concept was being formed. That comment section is definitely worth a read for anyone who is interested in this history.  The person behind that blog deserves some serious credit for having the foresight to preserve that for posterity.

So, without further ado, here's the list as it was before being deleted:

Aardia – Embraced by Fear (1999)
Aardia – Tales from Beyond (2002)
Abandoned Places – Lost Paths Remembered in Dream (2011)
Abandoned Places – With the Dead, in the Language of the Dead (2012)
Abandoned Places – Return to the Palace of Mirrors (2012)
Abandoned Places – Ode to Kuranes (2013)
Abandoned Places – Elderhills (2013)
Aeons – As Twilight Deeps… (2009)
Arathgoth – The Season of Ashes (2012)
Arathgoth – Man with no fate (2013)
Arcanabyss – Darkothica Mansion (2012)
Arden – A Journey through Darkness (1997)
Ars Poetica – Theatre (1996)
Asgar – Battles of Silence (2001)
Askhem – Bjarki (2003)
Aura – Rain (2013)
Бранібор [Branibor] – Слово про князя і вічну меръ (2008)
Burzum – Dauði Baldrs (1997)
Burzum – Hliðskjálf (1999)
Caoranach – Damh Geal (2013)
Cernunnos Woods – Awaken the Empire of the Dark Wood (1994)
Cernunnos Woods – Lost Woods (1994)
Cernunnos Woods – Tears of the Weeping Willow (1996)
Cintecele Diavolui – The Devil’s Songs (1996)
Хладогорье [Cold Mountain] – Родных просторов вольный глас (2008)
Glenn Danzig – Black Aria (1992)
Dark Ages – Chronicle of the Plague (2006)
Dark Sanctuary – Bruises (1996)
Darkstroll – Frozen Forest (2005)
Darkstroll – At the Silent Halls (200?)
December’s Fire – Across the Sorrowfields of the Baltic (1995)
December’s Fire – Deszcz Ma Łzą, Piorun Mym Krzykiem (1995)
Depressive Silence – The Darkened Empire (1995)
Depressive Silence – Demo III (1996)
Der Ragnorak/In Forest – Дланью Рассвета За Горизонты (2009)
Dolch – Tiefes Firmament (1996)
Dolch – Yggdrasil…Nature…Anthems (1997)
Dungeon Lore Foundation – Chapter 1: ‘King in the Mountain’ (2013)
Elfen – To Eldamar from Minas Morgul (1999)
Elffor – Into the Dark Forest (1998)
Emglev – Unreleased Demo (1994)
Emglev – Noz-Veil (1996)
Endvra – Great God Pan (1997)
Equitant – The Circle of Agurak (1993)
Equitant – The Great Lands of Minas Ithil (City of Isildur) (1994)
Erang – Erang (2012)
*Erang – Tome II (2012)
*Erang – Tome III (2013)
Erang – Tome IV (2013)
*Erang – Another World, Another Time (2013)
Erevos – My Black Desires (1994)
Erdstall – Temple of Ancients (2012)
Evilnox – The End Of Old World (2012)
*Fata Morgana – Fata Morgana (1995)
Fjelltrone – Skogens Ande (1999)
Fjelltrone – Trollskog (2006)
Foglord – Through Mountain and Forest (2012)
Foglord – In a Darkened Age (2012)
Foglord – New Realms and Forgotten Lands (2013)
Forgotten Dreamscapes – This Place, Where Destiny is Made (2012)
Forgotten Land – A Forest Is Myne Home (2007)
Forgotten Gods – Forgotten Gods (2013)
Forgotten Pathways – Shrouded in Mystery (1998)
*Gothmog – Medival Journeys (1998)
Grabesmond – In Schwindendem Licht (1995)
Grim – Färd (1995)
Gvasdnahr – Gvasdnahr (2010)
Gvasdnahr – Skymning EP (2011)
Gvasdnahr – Through Mists and Ruins (2011)
Hate Forest – Temple Forest (2007)
Hoyland – Dance of the Twilight Stars (2010)
Эра Льда [Era of Ice] – Всепоглощающее Время (2001)
Эра Льда [Era of Ice] – Сварожья Ночь (2002)
Ilmarin – Ilmarin (1999)
Ilmarin – Return to Ilmarin (2011)
Infamis – Malum Necessarium (1996)
Jääportit – Halki Lumisen Metsän (1998)
Jääportit – Kauan koskematon (1999)
Kirst – Topsy-Turvy (2002)
Kriegerswald – Der Schwertgesang (2006)
Lamentation – Eine Symphonie der Nacht (1994)
Lamentation – Fullmoon Over Faerhaaven (1995)
Lamentation – As Shadowkingdom Comes To My Sight (1997)
Lone Wizard – Into the Old World we Go (2012)
Lord Gorgo – Queen of the Demons (2002)
Lord Lovidicus – Windbuchen (2009)
Lord Lovidicus – Quenta Silmarillion (2010)
Lord Lovidicus – Journey To Beleriand (2010)
Lord Lovidicus – The Forges Fire (2010)
*Lord Lovidicus – Trolldom (2010)
Lord Lovidicus – Daulu Bûrz-Ishi (2010)
Lord Lovidicus – Arcane (2010)
Lord Lovidicus – The Stars Reflect an Ancient Magic (2011)
Lord Lovidicus – When The Mountain Falls (2012)
Lord Lovidicus – Autumnal Winds and Times of Yore (2013)
*Lord Lovidicus – Forgotten Ruins (2013)
Lord Wind – Heralds of Flight (2000)
Lord Wind – Rites of the Valkyries (2001)
*Lord Wind – Atlantean Monument (2006)
Lord Wind – Ales Stenar (2012)
Lord Wolf – Darklands of Hate (1998)
Lugburz – Behind the Gates of Black Abyss(2005)
Lunar Womb – Planets (1996)
Lunar Womb – The Astral Grief (1997)
Maelifell – Demo 1996 (1996)
Minas Anor – Helm’s Deep (2010)
Mirkwood – Demo (1996)
Mitternacht – The Desolation of Blendenstein (2002)
Mitternacht – The Raise of Secret Cities (2004)
Mitternacht – 8 Visions of the Time Pilgrim (2007)
Mittwinter – Vinterdrom (2002)
*Mistigo Varggoth Darkestra – Midnight Fullmoon (1996)
Mistigo Varggoth Darkestra – Insatiable Moon (2000)
Mordraaneth – The Taverns in the Land of Ashes (2007)
Morketsvind – Ragnarok (2005)
Morketsvind – Dark Mountains (2007)
Mormoan – Sinister Gathering (2013)
*Mortiis – The Song of a Long Forgotten Ghost (1993)
*Mortiis – Født til å herske (1993)
*Mortiis – Ånden som gjorde opprør (1994)
*Mortiis – Keiser av en dimensjon ukjent (1995)
*Mortiis – Crypt of the Wizard (1996)
Mortiis – Blood and Thunder (1996)
Mortiis – The Stargate (1999)
Munruthel – Silentium
*Munruthel – Yav, Nav i Prav (1997)
Mystic Towers – Inner Kingdom (2012)
Myrrdin – Se Tanhlyta (2006)
*Myrrdin – Glomung Ofer Se Weald (2008)
Nebel Torvum – Echoes of Nature (2003)
Nebel Torvum – Fallen Leaves Forgotten (2004)
Neptunell – Empires (2003)
Nigrescent – Winds of Sorrow (2002)
Nigrescent – Austere II & III (2004)
Nihilum – Dead and Forgotten (2004)
Nihilum – The Faint Hour (2006)
Nirnaeth – Opus Nirnaeth (1995)
Olgerd – Olgerd (1998)
Olgerd – Dagor Nuin Giliath (1999)
Orc – Into the Heart of Tyranny (2002)
Орден Темных Времен [Order of Dark Times] – Эхо Темных Времен I (2011)
Pazuzu – And All Was Silent… (1994)
Pazuzu – Awaken the Dragon (1997)
Pazuzu – III: The End Of Ages (1999)
Piorun – Goreja Wici Wojenne (1999)
Pragnavit – Sljach Da Dnja Adnauliennja Stomlienaj Maci (1997)
Pragnavit – Viede… (1998)
Ranseur – Cracked Castle (2013)
Воронмрак [Ravendark] – Навьи Ветры Сибири (2005)
Воронмрак [Ravendark] – Предрассветные Сумерки (2005)
Воронмрак [Ravendark] – Темная Вежа (2008)
Rikket – Kvist Nord Og Ild (2003)
Sagenhaft – The Legend of the Forgotten Reign (1998)
Sagenhaft – Lapideus Liber (2001)
Sagenhaft – A long forgotten Legend (2012)
Saltvind – Eternal Whisper of the Celestial North Chamber (2009)
Shadowcaster – My Love Affair With Death And Melancholy (1994)
Shadowcaster -To Gather My Thoughts Among The Sleeping Summer Spirits(1994)
Shadowcaster – Abandonment (1996)
Dan J. Schulte – Medieval Fantasy I (2011)
Dan J. Schulte – Medieval Fantasy II (2011)
Sieg – Der Weg Zum Polarstern (2002)
Silentium – The Ancients’ Wisdom (1995)
Siliniez – Altar of Moss (2012)
Sinfonica Notte – Beyond the Frozen Gate of Winter (2001)
*Skarpseian – Skygge Slottet (2013)
Skullthrone/Minas Morgul – Battle in the Snow Forest (2008)
Soporific Sorcery – Cadaver Cacophony (2010)
Soporific Sorcery – Sarcophagus Symphony II (2010)
Soulside Eclipse – Forgotten Conquests (2010)
Spawn – For the Blood is the Life (199?)
Summoning – Lost Tales (2003)
Susurrus Inanis – The Shadowless Shining (1997)
Taur Nu Fuin – Ruler of the Forest (2003)
Taur Nu Fuin – The Mountain Path (2004)
Temnojar – Hyperborean Dylogy (2006)
Til Det Bergens Skyggene – Renhet I (2011)
Til Det Bergens Skyggene – Renhet II (2011)
Til Det Bergens Skyggene – Til det bergens skyggene (2011)
*Til Det Bergens Skyggene – Vandringen I (Skoglandskap) (2011)
Thy Castle – Stormshadows in Thy Castle of Solitude (199?)
Tornvakt – Tornvakt (2013)
Trencadis – Odelagt (2012)
Tristess – Funérailles Patriotiques (2011)
Trolltjern – Hymner fra Trolltjern (1995)
Ùlfur – Ásguðsreið (1999)
Ùlfur – Himinbjörg (2001)
Uroczysko – Zapomniane wieki slawskiej dumy (2002)
Valor – La lune noire (1996)
Valscharuhn – Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (2011)
Valscharuhn – Journeys Adrift (2013)
Vinterriket – Gjennom Tеkete Skogen (2001) [from a split with Lebzul]
Viscol – Din timpuri vechi (1999)
Voices Of Winds – Demo (1994)
Von Liebenfels – Väter unser im Walhall (2007)
Von Liebenfels – Herren Der Schwarzen Sonne (2008)
Vond – Håvard Vond (1993)
Vond – Selvmord (1994)
Vond – The Dark River (1996)
Vondskap – Hexerei des Alten Reiches (2003)
Vondskap – Das Reich der Finsternis (2004)
Vondskap – Mikrokosmos (2013)
Vornoff – Forledt (2003)
Walpurgisnacht – Die Biomechaniche Kriegmaschine (1997)
Warlord – The Forest Demos (2012)
Warlord – The Dark Path Promo (2012)
Wild Boar – Misty Valleys (200?)
Wild Boar – The Nightshadows of the Castle (200?)
Winterblood – Le Fedde Ali Dell’inverno (2008)
Wintergods – Seven Xul Curses (1994)
Wojnar – Zimowa Opowiesc (1998)
Wojnar – Jam synem orlim jest na wieki!… (1998)
*Wojnar – Kiedy Duch Wojny Nade Mna Powstanie (1999)
*Wongraven – Fjelltronen (1995)
Yayla – Fear Through Eternity (2012)
Yearner – Winternight (2013)

Again, lots missing that have since been discovered, for example Secret Stairways which was first brought to public attention by the excellent Dungeon Excavation blog, which is still doing the important work of uncovering lost relics, picking up the torch left by Asmodian Coven (which I always want to credit for exposing me to many obscure releases at the very beginning and giving me the idea to start my blog in the first place). But, as you can see the list was expanded greatly in those two years, and that was entirely from people emailing me as well as the comment section of that post. One significant person I'd like to credit is Eugene from the Russian VK community, who informed me about many releases that were uncovered in that group, which was established and thriving long before our English-speaking Facebook communities. But there were many others who got in touch and helped me fill in various missing pieces.

Also I'd like to mention a few artists that in hindsight I'm not sure I would consider as fitting neatly into DS. I think pretty much everyone reading this is largely in agreement about the canonical dungeon sound and aesthetic, and why dark ambient/drone for instance does not count, so I don't feel the need to expand on that here. However, I think one important element for how I always defined it, except in a few cases which I'm going to talk about, is the connection to black metal. I never thought that to be dungeon synth one has to also be in a black metal band, or even that one needs to be directly influenced by black metal, however I've always thought it was essential that some lineage could be traced. For example, if an artist today is influenced by a DS artist, who is influenced by another DS artist, who is influenced by Mortiis, who was influenced by black metal, that artist today can still be considered dungeon synth (if they also have the dungeon sound and aesthetic). As distant as it is that is still enough of a connection that one could consider it to be a branch from the same tree. So, Glenn Danzig – Black Aria (1992) would not qualify.  Even though the sound and aesthetic are pretty on-point, without that black metal connection it's hard to justify it belonging to the same movement. One can argue that Black Aria sounds even more DS than a lot of other things on the list, but one could say the same about countless old video game soundtracks, and if we were to consider those to be DS then I think the entire concept starts to lose its meaning. Another example would be those two Dan J. Schulte albums, which I think represent the same sort of outsider fantasy synth type stuff that is embodied in Jim Kirkwood (who I did not know about until much later with the appearance of the Dungeon Synth Archives), but still without the black metal connection at best one can only say it was just a parallel zeitgest type of thing, maybe drawing back to the shared influence of kosmische musik.

Of course nowadays there is little reason to be so rigid in the classification. The foundation was firmly established long ago, and that is pretty well understood and agreed upon. That's one of the reasons I felt like my efforts in developing the list were no longer necessary and why I gave it up. If anything to act as a gatekeeper strictly delineating what does and does not qualify would only work to hold the genre back from innovation. I'm not even too bothered when stuff I do not consider to be dungeon synth at all uses the tag, especially when no other tag really fits, because that's basically how dungeon synth used the tag of "dark ambient" for so many years when it was without a home.

Anyways, I think that's all the important info about the list and its history.  There are far better and more thorough lists out there nowadays, so I would say it's more interesting now as a historical artifact than as a useful reference.  The other details of the blog's history can be found in the Tape Wyrm interview I did last year, for anyone who isn't sick of my rambling at this point.