There are many times that I dip my toe back into the world of dungeon synth and just find myself not really impressed or moved to any real degree when it comes down to anything that really grasps my attention. A lot of the time the material in question just doesn’t have any real mass to it that I can really sink my teeth into and constantly come back for more and more. A three-way split is something that I haven’t seen for a while, and not at all from this style, but if anything it’s what made “Kingdoms Long Gone” interesting in the first place.

Seeing three bands come together in order to put together one cohesive listening experience is always a fun thing to witness simply because I like to see multiple bands try and create something that can flow into and from one another as each act try to do their own thing as well. Dungeon synth is not a particularly hard thing to pull off but to do it well is another thing altogether (much like all music), but bringing three acts of it together could very easily prove to be tricky, but it’s with “Kingdoms Long Gone” that Bannwald, Uruk-Hai, and Druadan Forest all prove to be incredibly knowledgable of their style. They all come together impressively well to make this whole work quite an interesting one as it definitely has a medieval feel to it that stays constant throughout all of the offerings from each band. Whether it’s Bannwald’s humble beginning, Uruk-Hai’s oddly gorgeous work that falls right in the middle, or Druadan Forest’s lengthy ending, each act compliment the other amazingly well such that they flow like water as one cohesive work to make for what’s probably the most interesting piece of dungeon synth that I’ve come across up to this point with so many strengths of the style being shown with tremendous craftsmanship at every possible turn here.

It could be hard enough for just one act to pull this off, but these three come forth to present us with “Kingdoms Long Gone” with such quality that it’s near impossible to turn away from if you’re any fan of the style. Each one of them involved here should be quite proud of what they’ve created, and I expect nothing but high-tier work from all of these guys in the future.

“Kingdoms Long Gone” releases on February 2nd via Antiq!

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