Dungeon synth

Dungeon synth is a genre of electronic music that merges elements of black metal^[5] and dark ambient.^[6][7] The style emerged in the early 1990s, predominantly among members of the second wave black metal scene.

The genre employs aesthetics and themes typically associated with black metal^[10] juxtaposed to the typical heavy tremolo-picking, blast-beats, and harsh, shrieked vocals of black metal by way of compositions of instrumental or ambient music commonly used as introductions, interludes, or "outros" in black metal,^[11] death metal, and heavy metal^[12] albums throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Though often paired with medieval and fantasy motifs throughout the 1990s onward, some prominent contemporaries of dungeon synth reject the excessive prevalence of high-fantasy themes.^[13] Dungeon synth is contentiously likened to video game music,^[18] due to fantasy influences, the usage and layering of synths, and a focus on ambience, but the Norwegian musician Mortiis (Håvard Ellefsen)^[19] and others^[20][21] have rejected the influence of video game soundtracks on dungeon synth.

Mortiis is a major performer of this genre and the style is heavily prevalent in early releases such as Født til å Herske^[22] and later releases from the return to the "Era I" sound, chiefly Spirit of Rebellion.^[23] Other prominent contemporaries of the genre include Old Tower, Sombre Arcane, Thangorodrim, and Depressive Silence; most of which have toured or regularly performed live^[24][25] on top of publishing music. Mortiis, alongside Burzum, is normally cited as the de facto progenitor of the genre proper, and each is regularly cited as having influenced later acts associated with dungeon synth.^[35]