Title: Morketsvind I
Artist: Morketsvind
Rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Dungeon Synth
Year: 2013
Country: Russia
Label: På Gamle Stier
Many of my favorite albums remind me that minimalist music can be extremely powerful. When I first became interested in metal, Burzum captivated me with simple riffs consisting of just a few notes. Even though the music was not technical in any sense, I preferred listening to it over many bands that had complex and progressive arrangements.
Morketsvind is a Dungeon Synth project from Russia founded in the 90’s, and reminds me yet again of the power of minimalist music. The project relies heavily on synthesized brass sections, with some songs not featuring any strings at all, something not typical for a Dungeon Synth project of this nature. This release was my introduction to Morketsvind, and I was immediately impressed with the opening track, simply titled “I” (the six tracks are named only after their number in Roman numerals). The song begins with simple synth percussion, followed by a low-ranged brass ensemble. Timpani drums are played in a basic and extremely effective manner. The simple arrangement of brass synth and timpani gives the entire song a very cold, militant feeling, as if the looming shadow of an invading army is on the horizon.
The rest of the album continues in this manner, invoking feelings of nostalgia and medieval warfare. When strings are introduced in the third movement, the album develops an epic feeling, while still maintaining a militant atmosphere. Visions of battles and heroic death begin to flood my imagination as the album marches forward with conviction. It seems that Morketsvind found a formula for songwriting that really captured what the composer intended to express musically, and kept this theme from the first to the last song. While the six tracks of the album seem to blend together giving the sense that the songs almost compose one long movement, this is not a negative quality. The album consistently delivers quality songs from beginning to end, and while there are minor mood changes, the overall atmosphere never lets down. This is a highly impressive release, and while it isn’t necessarily groundbreaking, there is not another Dungeon Synth album in my collection that is quite like Morketsvind I. For those who are looking for a cold journey into medieval warfare rather than the vibrant, colorful fantasy worlds that some Dungeon Synth artists create, this release is definitely for you.
