Hail, travelers!
To say I’ve been looking forward to this event is a big understatement. My experiences last year came to me as a big revelation. It was the moment when I realized Dungeon Synth really was a thing for me. Life-changing and the revelatory, I yearned for a return the moment I had left the festival in 2025. I knew I had to return, and so I did. If you want to know the general concept, I gladly refer to my report of 2025. It contains all the basics you need to know to get a clear picture.
I’m delighted I can share my experiences once again, but a warning is due; it’s going to be very long, but that’s only because there’s a lot to talk about. For this reason, I’m going to divide the report in two parts, one for Friday and one for Saturday. It's mostly to keep things manageable for the readers and to keep my sanity in check. Again, I have only included pictures which I think are OK enough to offer you a glimpse of what went on in the castle during the performances (even if most op my pictures are subpar). There are some acts of which I don’t have any suitable pictures. I do apologize if some of my pictures includes terrible lighting; it improved over the course of the weekend once I had found the correct setting on my phone (no prizes for those who can tell me which act marked the switch 😉 ). Additionally, not only do I not publish any pictures of people in the audience without their consent if they are recognizable, but I also believe the festival needs to retain a sense of mystery for newcomers to be able to enjoy it to their fullest. My advice to you, dear readers, is to make the journey yourself, if you can.
A big difference this time around was that I didn’t go alone. I had two longtime friends with me who were interested enough to tag along. They went more or less blind in the whole Dungeon Synth thing, but I presumed they would be open-minded and escapist enough to at least enjoy the experience. They are unsure whether they will accompany me next year, but they both stated they had a good time. That's right, there will be a fifth edition next year!
This was the line-up for this year in chronological order:
Friday
LA TOUR SOMBRE
HERMITH
LONE SENTINEL
VALE MINSTREL
OLD SORCERY
Saturday
ACTIAS LUNA
LICHENTHROPE
FORGE OF NOVA
FAYDARK
DESCORT
FORLORN CITADEL
KYVON
TALES UNDER THE OAK
SMRTAN
GOTHMOG
Not only were there more acts when compared to 2025, but the line-up also contained bigger names in the genre, most notably Old Sorcery, Tales under the Oak, and Gothmog. Athelas was originally scheduled to perform as well, but was forced to cancel, prompting the organization to invite Actias Luna to play a set. The only act I missed completely was Lichenthrope because I had to save up my strength, so I won’t be able to write anything related to this new project. Sorry, T. Feilla!
I will leave my suggestions for the second part of this report, but I’ll start with addressing the improvements when compared to last year. One of the things I immediately noticed is that the event is getting bigger. The stage had grown significantly, allowing for a more professional approach. The selection of drinks has more or less doubled since last time (although I have one suggestion I’ll be getting into in the second part of the report). I’m also pretty sure the event can’t grow much larger, because it is limited to the confines of the castle. It’s bound to remain somewhat exclusive. Slightly bigger and exclusive does mean the price for food and drinks have increased a little bit since last time, but it remains affordable if you don’t go overboard. Water from the tap at the bar is free (and quite good) and the bartenders offer it spontaneously when asked, so there’s little pressure to overspend when it comes to drinks. Speaking of which, the food was already good, but now it was (in my opinion) excellent. The selection remains somewhat limited, but you get good bang for your buck if you have a soft spot for stews like me. I couldn’t have been happier as far as food is concerned. I was also glad the organization announced the line-up well in advance, which was a criticism I had last time.
Time to dive into the performances of the stars of the festival.
La Tour Sombre (FR)
John Lordswood is a man of many talents. Not only is he the man behind esteemed label Ancient King Records, but he is also at least partially involved with several Dungeon Synth projects. The most well-known of these are Weress and Skhemty (which incidentally had a one-time live set in 2025), but he opted for one of his new projects for the occasion of opening the festival, which was still unknown at the time of the act’s announcement for the festival.
La Tour Sombre has a dramatic sound with slow, grandiose compositions which hint at dark fantasy and overcoming personal strife. I think it’s one of John’s best projects, so I had listened to it a great deal before going to the festival. It’s not easy to kick off a festival, but he really was the right man for the job. His performance was moving and slightly theatrical in an almost Shakespearan way. The combination of slow deliberate moves, the presentation of important items, the beautiful drone images of mountains projected on the backdrop (even though the smoke occasionally obscured the visuals), and excellent musicianship combined with a wonderful sound quality left the audience entranced. There was an emotional layer tied to the symbolism of the items (chains, keys, putting on a full helmet and brandishing an impressive sword) which can’t be overlooked. I highly recommend checking out the written story on the Bandcamp page as you listen to the music. Translate it if you must; it adds a whole new dimension on what I have just described.
It was an impressive performance with a professionalism reserved for the greatest of performers, but the highlight came near the end of the show when he lifted his sword triumphantly, eliciting a powerful response from the audience. The mood was set; Dark Dungeon Festival could not have wished for a better opening act. It would prove to be my personal highlight of the first day.
Hermith (FR)
Hermith is a lesser-known veteran of the ambient genre, having started all the way back in the mid-nineties. He always had had a fascination for themes related to death and the dark side of religion, so for the occasion of DDF IV he decided he would perform an act he had dubbed Nekro Ritual. Hermith wore a chasuble with a priestly dignity, which went brilliantly well with the concept. The visuals on the backdrop showed a slow walk through a forest in first person, which I presume was an attempt to invoke a sense of inevitable doom and foreboding. Musically speaking, there was a heavy emphasis on brass instruments during the first quarter of the set, in which brass instruments conjured up inspiring marching tunes. I could also discern pre-recorded throat-singing, which in turn resulted in a sound which was very much trance-inducing. The middle section of the performance was a little bit too laden with ambient music for my personal taste, which slowed down the pace in favor of trying to create a wall of sound and static not so dissimilar to acts such as Putrid Marsh. That “marshy” sound does help creating the deathly atmosphere, so I totally understand why Hermith chose to go this route.
Unfortunately, there were some technical issues with the sound, most notably when the sound died abruptly early in the set. This pause was thankfully brief, allowing us to return to the confines of his dark universe. Another technical issue is that the volume of the microphone could not pierce the wall of sound, leaving his whisperings very difficult to hear, which resulted in me losing the finer details surrounding the aforementioned Nekro Ritual. Be that as it may, I could very well imagine myself in a land of the dead. As we came close to the end of the set, Hermith showed pierced hands as a reference to stigmata, which served as a poignant moment. I would have loved to hear a musical climax at this point in time, but I couldn’t discern one. All in all, despite the technical hiccups I’d say Hermith had a good performance.
Lone Sentinel (USA)
Even though Lone Sentinel has released a ton of music over the last couple of years, I must admit I had not delved into his works before. I went in blind, which in turn resulted in me being pleasantly surprised! He played a blend of old-school fantasy synth spiced up with elements of 80-‘s synthwave. There were also slight undertones of melancholy which made me regard Lone Sentinel as a great blend between Quest Master and Hermit Knight. The synthwave influences added a melodic structure to his compositions while the occasional drum beats and choir elements helped in retaining a sense of melancholy which I can appreciate greatly. There was a sense of innocence and authenticity tied to his music, even as he sporadically bellowed shrieks inspired by black metal. It was very inviting and infectious, turning him into a true example of a man who becomes an unlikely hero by playing Dungeon Synth as he conjures up images of fantastical adventure through music. His costume consisting a mail coif and a black face cover mask certainly helped with that image. Speaking of adventure, I do remember there was a particularly epic track with pounding drum sequences somewhere in the middle of the set, and I intend to find out which track it was.
It may not have been the best performance of the weekend for me, but I do regard Lone Sentinel as my favorite discovery this year. Good fun and a hero in his own right, the Lone Sentinel can look back at his first gig in Belgium with pride! He’s on my radar now, that’s for sure.
Vale Minstrel (USA)
Vale Minstrel’s cheerful fantasy synth with signature flute melodies is a breath of fresh air in the doom and gloom which tends to surround Dungeon Synth. His set began twenty minutes later than the schedule had intended. The reasons were unknown to the audience, but it created a sense of unease. Fortunately, that tension was lifted the moment he touched his keyboard. His cheerful, optimistic tunes are very much carried by a signature flute sound you would find in new age or celtic music. His music is perfectly fit for a travelling band of adventures in a medieval fantasy RPG setting, which I as a game master occasionally use this way. Subtle details such as the occasional twang of a vibraslap or the inclusion of prerecorded hand drums further enriched his sound. As a nice bonus, Vale Minstrel has the natural charisma of a plucky hero (despite his badass tattoos) which adds to the whole RPG-mood he was aiming for. People were having a blast.
One of my favorites tracks of Vale Minstrel, Warden of the Vale, arrived early in the set, but the true highlight of the set for me was the epic final track in which Descort joined the stage to play a chiming instrument I was unfamiliar with and which I still can’t identify even as I write this report. Dungeoneers, feel free to drop me a note if you know what it was. :D
The show was a bit short, but I had a great time seeing Vale Minstrel perform. It wouldn’t be the last time, because he would get a second round the next day as Faydark.
Old Sorcery (USA)
Old Sorcery stands as a titan in the Dungeon Synth scene. He has only recently ventured into the world of live performing, but you would be forgiven to think he’s done so on many occasions. Maybe he has (I don’t know if he has any other music projects or bands), but whatever the case, his show was by far the most professional of the entire evening. He had a customized table fashioned into a dark altar which served as a means to rest . Needless to say, the audience went wild with enthusiasm when they saw a man with a signature hat climbing onto the stage, myself included.
His ride across the realms of magic started with a classic: Sorcerer’s Dream is that perfect blend of meandering old-school atmospheres gradually coming together into an epic climax. It was a great choice. I was also delighted to learn that he had included Gem Hoarder Goblin to the setlist, which is my favorite of The Escapist album because of its slowed down Finnish Humppa influences (not a coincidence from his part, I’m sure). The performance was enchantingly beautiful at times, courtesy of wonderful tracks such as golden-oldie Vaikerruksen Portti, a heavily amplified version of Oglaz, Raven of Occult Knowledge and an epic rendition of Immortal Passion. The latter was easily the highlight of the performance for me, especially when the (prerecorded) guitar during its finale kicked in.
However, there were issues which held me back from enjoying the exprience to the fullest. First of all, his microphone was not attuned to the music, rendering his spoken word passages inaudible. I know some of his tracks include vague whispers on purpose to invoke that typical Dungeon atmosphere we have a soft spot for, but I can’t imagine it was his intention during a live performance to have been rendered almost completely silent. Other than that, I thought the sound quality was excellent. My second criticism is a much bigger issue for me personally, which was the heavy lightshow being simply too intense. This caused two issues, the first being people were actively trying not to look too long at the beautiful visuals on the backdrop. Worse was the effect it had on myself as part of the audience. It’s impossible for me to get completely immersed in the whole experience when there are bright yellow and white spotlights harassing my retinas. Instead, it induced a sense of unease and worry you would want to avoid during a concert. By the way, the lovely irony related to the terrible lighting on the pictures and the heavy spotlights during the concert does NOT elude me. :D
Despite these criticisms, I had a good time seeing Old Sorcery perform for the first time, and I hope to see him again someday.
Epilogue
Thus the first day reached its conclusion. It was time to tuck into bed, for another day filled with adventure was waiting just around the corner. It may take a great deal of time for me to write the second part, because no less than ten projects graced the stage with their presence that day. A day involving great live acts, unadulterated joy found in escapism, and one unfortunate case of artistic tragedy.
To be continued… Until next time!
#dungeonsynth #festivalreport #livedungeonsynth #livemusic #music #darkdungeonfestival
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