DRUADAN FOREST – dismal spells part 2 – the night circus – CD

Ambient, Dungeon Synth – Werewolf Records

After the interstellar ambient of 2022’s Portals, DRUADAN FOREST returns to a medieval age with Dismal Spells Part 2 – The Night Circus. As spelled out by its title, Dismal Spells Part 2 – The Night Circus is a companion record to 2019’s Dismal Spells From the Dragonrealm, arguably V-Khaoz’s most massive work to date: four tracks across 73 minutes, a none-more-immersive journey that felt even vaster than its epic length suggested. While scaled back to 38 minutes and comprising eight component tracks, Part 2 is no less immersive; if anything, it portends more magick and daresay whimsy, further fleshing out DRUADAN FOREST’s pure dungeon synth worldview. The track titles give credence to this parallel shift – “Moonlight Sorcery,” “Summer Night Orgies,” and “Spells and Magic Potions,” for example – while others suggest specific locales, like “Wizard’s Hut,” “Witches Lake,” and “Black Towers of Kharanos,” altogether serving as a sonic canvas for RPGs in the flesh or within the shadow soul. For his part, V-Khaoz stays within the parameters of dungeon synth – and, indeed, that was the aim with Part 2 – but he’s never skimped on its sonic palette, always rendering his tones in rich, 3D sound and tastefully embellished songwriting; this is far from the pre-programmed, one-note garbage borne of Bandcamp trendiness. Almost deceptively soothing at times, the sometimes-sparse canvas of Part 2 nevertheless reveals shimmering expanses perhaps more on par with Portals than the first part of Dismal Spells Part 2 – The Night Circus.

But no matter where you meet DRUADAN FOREST, the man remains a master of mood, and he again offers infinite landscapes on which to roam. Dismal Spells Part 2 – The Night Circus is suitably completed by breathtakingly olde-world cover art courtesy of Misa Horkio.