Junk
The Numero Group
1997 2026 LP Was so happy to see this get repressed... too bad it's only repressed on vinyl!!! Rough day for compact disc enjoyers such as myself.
Jejune was a (not from the Midwest) Midwest emo band. A trio with both male and female vocals (dubbed "unintelligible vocals" and "girl vocals" by the band respectively). The band sounds iffy when playing faster, and some of the vocals/delivery are cringe. But when they slow it down with the alternating twinkly / crashing guitars the result is absolutely sublime. "Greyscale" is one of the best songs in the entire emo pantheon, right up there with "Angry Son" and "Less Than Nothing." That guitar tone...
Rating: 4/5
Reviewed: 02/10/26
North
Wolfspell Records
1995 2021 CD First and only proper demo from the Polish "one guy with guest musicians" black metal band Kataxu, whose discography has remained rather small across three decades. Can't quite decipher the aesthetic they were going for here, what with the misty artwork and one-word song titles like "Gothic" and "Child."
As per the tradition of Central and Eastern European black metal, there are a lot of synths on this. While the band would later embrace a more earnestly symphonic dungeon synth / BM hybrid vibe, the keys here are just noodling around with intro/outro stuff and tepid dark ambient. When they switch to true black metal, North becomes basically unlistenable, primarily for production reasons. This is certainly one of the more impenetrable demos I've heard in recent years, and it doesn't look like any remastering was attempted for this CD rerelease. Drums are the loudest thing in the mix... I think, sometimes they seem to fade out. Guitar and vocals are two piles of clashing fuzz. God help anyone who tries to decipher a bass line. Tip of the hat to "From Penetration" which is actually brilliantly composed; it just takes repeated listens to wade through the grime.
Rating: 2/5
Reviewed: 12/27/25
Roots Thunder
Wolfspell Records
2000 2024 CD Arriving some five years after North, Kataxu's Roots Thunder shows great maturity in composition and execution. An odd release, I recall it once being classified as a demo itself, though it's ostensibly an "album on cassette." The first CD version didn't arrive until 2017, though I own the later (2024) reissue.
Production is basically perfect for this type of music. Archaic, atavistic, just raw enough. The band remains committed to alternating the synth and metal parts. Of the five core tracks, only two contain guitars and vocals. All three instrumentals are ambitious. I'm especially partial to the intro (literally named "Intro"), which is icy and astral and (coincidentally?) reminiscent of "Crystal Japan" / "A Warm Place." Both proper metal tracks showcase some truly exceptional riffing, though I can't say I love these vocals. They're overly loud and frentic, simply too much. There's a very obtrusive sample of a baby crying in the second track too, for some reason.
Debatably works better as an instrumental release. Pretty damn good in any respect.
Rating: 4/5
Reviewed: 12/27/25
Hunger of Elements
Wolfspell Records
2005 2024 CD Somehow even more synthy with three(!!!) keyboard players, this feels like Kataxu's first attempt at a proper album, in the vein of compatriots Fanisk and Nokturnal Mortum. The result is something almost too symphonic. Swelling and saccharine, the band didn't quite have the chops for the le epic black metal they were going for. Most tracks are far too long and I find myself preferring certain segments and elements more than the full-fledged songs: the oddly danceable instrumental break in "In My Dungeon!," the thicc meaty synth chords in "NightSky," the blistering climax of "The Manifesto of the Unity." Still an absolute barrage of vocals here, though there are way more printed lyrics vs. what's actually said. Conceptually the album is (I think) about being reborn as a Hyperborean space Aryan (uhhh.... based?).
Some intriguing riffs and strange rhythms buried beneath the synths. Kind of a weird album overall. Tough to get a handle on, but pleasant ambiance.
Rating: 3/5
Reviewed: 12/28/25
Where Shadows Lie
Out of Season
1990 2024 CD Jim Kirkwood (who went by just "Kirkwood" initially, it sounds better) is one of the few artists to be retroactively added to the dungeon synth pantheon, despite having no connection to the second wave black metal scene. This is incidentally just some British dude playing fantasy-themed keyboard music in the early 90s.
As far as the man's debut goes, if I didn't own the album I'm honestly not sure if I'd make the Middle-earth connection. This sounds quite astral and spacey. It's surprisingly aggressive music too, with thundering percussion and thick meaty bass lines. Grounded only by the wind and flowing water samples that come creeping in here and there. I rather like this, but not for contemplative listening. Something to crank while engaging in something else.
Rereleased on a label from Portland, Maine. I approve.
Rating: 3.5/5
Reviewed: 01/15/26
King of the Golden Hall
Out of Season
1991 2024 CD What the hell... an incredible five Kirkwood albums ("albums") came out in 1991 apparently. And no one seems to really know what order these were originally released in. I'm going with RateYourMusic and calling this the first 1991 album, and second overall. Okay then.
I don't know if this is better than the debut, but it is different. Less spacey and more dungeony. Tracks are shorter and more focused. A series of vignettes tied together to craft a larger narrative. The strongest track here ("Théoden King") contains some truly magnificent guitar(!) work, with guitars so distorted they'd initially be mistaken for some sort of medieval synth tuning. A decent release, though it struggles to compete with the best of the black metal adjacent stuff.
Rating: 3.5/5
Reviewed: 01/20/26
Lacuna Coil
Century Media Records
1998 ???? CD First EP by these Italians. The genre they're playing here is a bit hard to pin down. I'd say it's (barely) Gothic metal with some strong alternative rock sensibilities. It's driving, catchy music, but not especially "heavy." Very smooth, very pretty.
The female vocalist, Cristina Scabbia, absolutely carries this. Just an absolutely clear, lovely voice. There's a male singer too, who's a bit more intrusive, and occasionally treads dangerously close to yarling. Good production on this, vocals are mixed perfectly. Some repetition among the songs, but at 28 minutes this wraps up quickly. The EP ends with a 5+ minute instrumental, which seems a bit odd given how prominent the vocals are throughout the rest of its duration.
(I own a repress, but there's no renewed copyright date printed -- it's a mystery!!!)
Rating: 3.5/5
Reviewed: 12/30/25
In a Reverie
Century Media Records
1999 2005 CD The band sounds more refined here, with obvious influences from The Gathering and Draconian Times era Paradise Lost. The big takeaway is that the vocals are much improved. Well, Cristina's are about the same, but the male vocalist (Andrea Ferro) is experimenting more with an "unclean" style that fits the music better. There's some great vocal interplay in parts: note "My Wings" for instance. Catchy as hell, and one of the band's earliest "big" songs (featured on one of CM's Identity samplers too). I do feel like this drags a big, even at only 42 minutes -- there's probably 30 minutes of really solid material here.
I've got the 2005 reissue, which has a barren landscape on the cover instead of naked people (wait... were those band members?). It's also an "enhanced CD" containing (what else) mf'ing WALLPAPERS. Here's one, I resized it a lil bit... Beautiful...
Rating: 3.5/5
Reviewed: 01/01/26
Unleashed Memories
Century Media Records
2001 CD Look at that shit. That has to be the most 2001 cover art ever conceived. Just astonishing.
Oh yeah, the album. Lacuna Coil is starting to sound formulaic at this point. That is, Unleashed Memories is actually good, but in the same way In a Reverie was good. You could muddy up the tracks between the two albums and I doubt I'd notice. Guitar tone is a bit meatier here, I'd say. There are some synths now too (played by the bassist), though it's all just subtle backing chords. Highlights include "1.19" (some nice soloing) and the Cristina-only "Cold Heritage." The male vocals seem to get sparser with each passing release.
Rating: 3.5/5
Reviewed: 01/09/26
The Power of Failing
Crank!
1996 1997 CD The cool thing about "Midwest emo" is that the best bands weren't actually from the Midwest. Consider Mineral, of Texas.
This is absolutely fantastic. One of the best things the genre has to offer; one of my favorite albums period. Mineral plays around with the twinkly guitars and big crescendos formula, but with a much cleaner and more legible sort of tuning. There are so many big beautiful guitar crashes on this, coupled with some of the most earnest vocals imaginable. There's a recognizable hooky catchiness to the music too, that's somewhat unexpected. Mineral didn't quite have a foot in the alternative rock realm like SDRE, but some of this comes pretty close. I cannot listen to "Five, Eight and Ten" without singing and air-guitaring horribly to the climax. Speaking of SDRE, check out these lyrics:
Tears stream down my cheeks
Only to meet their redeemer and be wiped away
And there is joy
Beautiful, and explicitly Christian. Emo isn't sad, it's redemptive and fervent!
(Fun fact: older pressings of the album use the comic sans font on the cover [based]; this was changed for later reissues.)
Rating: 5/5
Reviewed: 02/07/26
The Song of a Long Forgotten Ghost
Out of Season
1993 2025 CD First demo by the first bonafide unambiguous dungeon synth artist. Originally released on cassette, it's received several CD reissues with various types of cover art. This particular pressing is so new and rare I couldn't even find an accurate image of the cover online (the label website was as close as I could get, but it shows a literal photograph of the CD case on a table). So, I had to scan this myself, that's a first!
This is an ambitious one, an album consisting of but a single track that extends for nearly an hour. It's dungeony, it's woodsy, it's medieval, it's also way more bombastic than I expected. This is courtesy of the (synthesized) timpani and English horn used throughout. A hypnotic release, it's also incredibly repetitive and the musical transitions that do exist are clumsy as all hell. The synth tones themselves are excellent, especially the lo-fi wavery piano keys played throughout. There's a charming naivete here, and even literal mistakes (extra notes, timing issues) that work to make Ghost incredibly endearing. There are plenty of ignorable demos out there, but anyone interested in Mortiis or this genre should spin this mf'er.
Rating: 3.5/5
Reviewed: 01/27/26
Født til å herske
Dark Dungeon Music
1994 1997 CD The first dungeon synth full-length with widespread distribution. I remember seeing the CD in record stores in the late 90s. Speaking of which, I have the 1997 pressing, which has absolutely beautiful art. The original looks kind of silly in comparison.
This is basically the same length as the demo, though Født til å herske is split almost evenly into two very long songs. Interestingly, they sound completely different. The first is quite regal (Født til å herske apparently means "born to rule"), with a big swelling build-up concluding with a gorgeous astral dissipating synth cloud. Track two is incredibly pulpy in the Conan fashion complete with these huge cheesy choir synths, deep serious man voice narration, and thunderous timpani. Great stuff here.
Rating: 4/5
Reviewed: 01/30/26
Ånden som gjorde opprør
Out of Season
1995 2025 CD Two tracks again, but this time "only" around 40 minutes total. The songs are now faster, cleaner, and more varied. But this comes at an expense: the mesmerizing lo-fi haze of the earlier releases is all but lost. Ånden som gjorde opprør sounds more like a long-lost VHS era fantasy film soundtrack (or maybe a WRPG OST): one that's sufficient and satisfying but far from exemplary. Really wish there weren't vocals on this (they're bad). I've read several reviews by people stating this is background music they'd throw on during gaming or whatever, and yeah, I can see that.
Rating: 3/5
Reviewed: 01/31/26
Keiser av en dimension ukjent
Out of Season
1995 2024 CD Of the first four Mortiis releases (I'm counting the demo), three of them are right around 53 minutes. Coincidence?
This sounds a lot like Ånden som gjorde opprør. I mean, they were even released the same year! Keiser av en dimension ukjent is a touch worse though, on account of it being longer and running out of steam. Mortiis is going for an "epic" atmosphere here, by yoking a bunch of "epic" moments together. And it doesn't always work. Can be pleasant background music (again), but then the goofy narration detracts from that experience. Hard to get into, for me.
Rating: 2.5/5
Reviewed: 02/07/26
Crypt of the Wizard
Icarus Music
1996 2006 CD Mortiis had a strange run in 1996, releasing five two-song vinyl EPs, and then immediately compiling all the tracks onto a compilation CD. Since the original EPs are basically impossible to find this compilation can be considered a de facto album.
So, ten tracks on one disc obviously means every track is shorter. And this works out in everyone's favor. Gone is the listless Casio noodling that crept its way into the last two releases. These pieces are taut and distinct, and many quite entertaining. Despite the "dungeon synth" genre tag (which in fairness wasn't a term coined until much later), none of this sounds gray or oppressive. This is whimsical music, the music of gnomes (real) and fairies and the mischievous trolls that grace the booklet's pages. Worth checking out.
Rating: 3.5/5
Reviewed: 02/08/26
Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
Undecided Records
1998 2001 CD Early example of emo-influenced metalcore ("emotional metalcore" or "Livejournalcore"), which would explode in the early 2000s. An EP, this is only 26 minutes long, including the bonus tracks.
This is pretty straightforward music. Plenty of riffs and delicious chugs, smooth transitions, and a varied rhythm section. No attempts at mathcore zaniness or Swedish melodies. What stands out most about this particular strain of metalcore is that it's very much focused on vocals. There are actually two singers here (bringing the band up to six members like My Dying Bride or something lol), one clean and one unclean. The clean vocals are wispy and distant, somewhat androgynous. The screaming is downright nasty, snarly with semi-legible diction. It's great stuff; this wouldn't be half as good as it is with a different dude (or dudes) on the microphone.
There are some live tracks tossed on the back end and they... actually aren't as shitty as I expected. Still arguably filler though. My copy is a repressing. The original has a different cover, no bonus live tracks, and the word Only in the title.
Rating: 4/5
Reviewed: 10/26/25
The Opposite of December... A Season of Separation
Trustkill Records
1999 CD First (and best) full-length by these Floridians. This is a formulaic release. As in, they figured out a formula and execute it well. Every song is between 2.5 and four minutes. Half of that time is probably spent on breakdowns. The stupid simple chuggy ones that bring everyone out to the dance floor. The songwriting is much tighter here (compared to the EP) with some seriously sexy riffing, but I don't like the vocals as much. Both original singers are gone and this new guy sounds pretty standard. Hoarse yells plus the borderline whiny clean emo singing. I mean, it's fine, and it all meshes well with the music, but that eerie vibe from the EP is absent. Still giving them the same rating though, because I feel like it!!
Great cover art and I'm glad they managed to release this before the 90s wrapped up (in December, no less).
Rating: 4/5
Reviewed: 10/26/25
Mucous Secretion
Hammerheart Records
1988 2025 CD I basically avoided Pungent Stench back in the day because 1) they had (have) some truly disgusting album covers and 2) I was informed that they (eventually) played "death 'n' roll" (which is corny and bad). That said, I couldn't resist picking up these Hammerheart reissues when I stumbled upon them in real life and, well... this is a death metal demo from 1988. Odds are it sounds like butt cheeks and this one certainly does. It's quite noisy and punky; bass tone is great but vocals sound like they were recorded in another room. Songwriting is staightforward and the band surprisingly adheres to a verse/chorus framework. Not much else to say. I do appreciate that they retained the original demo cover instead of swapping it out for something that would have surely been worse.
Rating: 2/5
Reviewed: 12/29/25
Extreme Deformity
Hammerheart Records
1989 2025 CD I dunno man, this just sounds like painfully average primordial death metal to me. Lots of bluster but short on hooks. One neat oddity about this rerelease is that it contains a track from "Intestinal Infestation" -- apparently a one-day side project that had Pungent Stench joining forces with Napalm Death and Extreme Noise Terror. Frightening!!
I gotta say though, "Molecular Disembowelment" is pretty damn funny with the sequential guitar / bass / drum / vocal solos. Best track by far.
Rating: 2.5/5
Reviewed: 12/29/25
Pungent Stench
Hammerheart Records
2025 CD What's this? A self-titled Pungent Stench album released in 2025?? Nope, it's actually a self-titled compilation: all five tracks from the 1989 split with Disharmonic Orchestra, two tracks from an old V/A release on Nuclear Blast, and then a bunch of live tracks.
As far as the studio recordings go, they're better than the Mucous Secretion material (hard to believe you could improve on something called Mucous Secretion!). Tighter, more aggressive, vocals that are actually audible. Some memorable hooks here and there, though nothing extraordinary. The live tracks don't move the needle for me at all, and they bloat the runtime to an exhausting 67 minutes.
Rating: 3/5
Reviewed: 12/29/25