baboonsandmoons
Storytelling is hard. Storytelling with music, without lyrical accompaniment, can be harder. Not in this case. Brilliant work.
Favorite track: Kingslayer II: Domain of the Ancient Ones.
Dave Aftandilian
Deeply immersive and emotive epic dark ambient vision of a tyrannical, obsessive king and the noble dragons who brought his reign to an end. Stellar side project from the artist behind Fogweaver.
Hayduke X
Quiet and contemplative, yet dark and ominous. The two tracks here continue a subtle but visceral majesty. Kingslayer is not to be rushed, but rather pondered and experienced.
Favorite track: Kingslayer II: Domain of the Ancient Ones.
knightd68
This really is quite something. Track 1 has a flavour of parts of Fields Of The Nephilim's masterpiece, Elizium. Track 2 moves into more traditional dungeon sythn for a while but the whole thing has a dark ambient feel to it. I just got the email notification of release and I was initially just checking it out - but I've listened to the whole thing, straight thru. Beautiful, moody and evocative.
It is told that long ago there was a King, not unlike any other King. Once, he was well revered, thought to be sent from the gods. But power corrupts. Soon he began to think of himself as a god. Over the years, this corruption festered and he became cold, harsh, and malicious—he sought naught but wealth and power. He grew fat upon the food grown by starved peasants and wealthy upon the backs of those he thought to be beneath him. Blight after blight fell upon his land but his people still toiled—worked to death by a King who thought them only fodder for his own riches. He sent his people to die in wars, for his people feared an even worse death if they did not heed his orders. Mutinies were plotted, but were always quelled with public executions. It was a time of hopelessness, of blight, of war.
Many years he ruled, expanding his tyrannic domain past the far reaches of the Northern mountains, the Southern marshes, and the Western deserts. But the King dared not to go East. For there, the tales told, the Ancient Ones dwelt. The dragons, older than the Kingdom, older than memory. The King feared little save for the Ancient Ones. It was said that the dragons had a might unlike any legion. They, however, kept to their own domain, rarely venturing beyond their keep in the Eastern Mountains. Many days, the people would look to the East and see the dragons perched upon the mountains, eyeing the Kingdom with deep hatred. Some feared these dragons, while some looked to them with hope. The dragons taunted the King, driving him mad. He believed them to be plotting against him. But never did the dragons attack, only watching from the skies.
Hopelessness grew in the Kingdom as the King, in his madness, continued to exploit his people. But the dragons, in greater and greater numbers, were seen in the Eastern skies. Hatred festered in the King’s heart, and was only worsened as talk of hope and the Ancient Ones began to sweep through the Kingdom. As he looked to the East and saw the dragons flying free, he was overcome with anger. He had nearly all he could ever want, but he was consumed with rage, for he had no power over the dragons. They flew free and, worst of all, gave his people hope.
Enraged, the King finally waged a war. He knew of the legends that told of the dragons’ might, so he sent as many of his people as he could, leaving only some of his knights to defend the great tower in which he sat upon his throne. Knight or not, the people were sent into the domain of the Ancient Ones—a hopeless plight, for the people knew that most would not return. They marched Eastward, wearily carrying weapons and watching the skies. As they gazed toward the Eastern mountains, the dragons could be seen once again perching upon the spires of rock—the border of their domain. As the people walked, talk spread once again of hope. If the dragons wanted them gone, they would have already had it done, some people said. Still, they marched onward, facing their own demise.
As soon as they got to the foot of the mountains, the people waited. The dragons still stood perched and staring West, past the armies at the border of their domain. All at once, the dragons rose from the spires, taking flight on the winds. Peoples’ cries echoed along the rock, and even the bravest of Knights stood frozen, anticipating their inevitable death. But the dragons set off Westward, toward the Kingdom. The dragons were too fast and the people had gone too far from the Kingdom. They watched, as the Ancient Ones set off to destroy all they had ever known.
As the King sat upon his throne, he heard the shouts of his guards. With haste, he took off, up his tower’s great staircase to the top of the tower to see what the commotion was about. He approached the top of the tower just in time to see the Ancient Ones hovering above, circling him. Without any of his guards in sight, the King cried out a furious, guttural cry. The dragons continued to circle and taunt him. “Fools”, he thought, as he could see the legion of his people off in the distance, littering the plains at the foot of the mountains.
The people stood transfixed, at the base of those Eastern mountains, staring at their Kingdom off in the distance—despairing for their homes. Yet, in awe, they watched as the Ancients Ones circled the King’s tower. That isolated tower looked pitiful from where they were, jutting up toward the Heavens yet looking like nothing more than a dagger against the skies of densely circling dragons. Just then, the dragons formed a line downward, some shooting toward the tower and crashing against its stone walls. The sound of crumbling rock echoed through the valley. Some people thought they could hear the anguished cries of the King amidst the sound of the destruction of the tower. Clouds of debris rose while the rumbling sounds continued to fill the air.
Just then, the dragons seemed to disperse, taking flight yet again and circling the skies above where that great tower once was. Whirling around in the sky, the Ancient Ones picked up speed and, one by one, soared back toward their domain beyond the Eastern Mountains. As the clouds of dust and debris settled, one dragon was seen trailing behind, seemingly carrying something in its talons. The people felt a mix of joy and confusion, as the dragons seemed to only send the King’s tower crumbling, yet left the rest of the Kingdom intact. Just as the dragons were overhead, the people saw that in the talons of the last dragon was the crumpled, pathetic body of their King. The dragons lined up along the mountains, staring down upon the people, as the final dragon continued onward into the domain of the Ancient Ones. Perched along the spine of the mountains, the dragons bowed to the people. People fell to their knees and cried out sounds of catharsis and joy. Hope sang aloud, for the first time, among the people.
The dragons were said to have taken the deceased body of that King to their domain where he was given no honorable burial. Years passed and he was forgotten—lost to time and nameless. That feeling of cathartic freedom rippled out for many generations among the Kingdom. The people continued to gaze out toward the East, remembering that fateful day. They honored the Ancient Ones above all and never again fell under the rule of a King. Those dragons could be seen for many ages, soaring free above their domain.
credits
released June 11, 2021
Kingslayer is a tale by Anarch, of the Ancient Ones
If nostalgia for an age where creatures of myth walked together with the children of men had a soundtrack, this album would be it. Also, a touching reminder that we can forego wealth and power for wilderness and freedom, if we so choose. emanuele127
I met Fogweaver through Vedurnan and, later, Magelight. This more energetic take on their music is wonderful and exciting, a compelling twist bearing their unique signature. emanuele127
One of my favorite dungeon synth albums, and I had only heard it a few days ago for the first time.
Perfect for drifting off to sleep, but also for driving under the canopy of trees. It is very soft, and pleasant, yet vast at times. The ambient forest sounds are extremely soothing. A wonderful work of art that feels as refreshing as diving into the deeps of a natural, cold spring in the eves of summer. Bjorn