Encounters on The Journey
New RPG-core dice-ambient darkness from Australia's favourite undead magic user, Undead Magic User. Although their previous three releases (And On That Terrible Throne, Handbook of Realms, and The Robe of Shadowlore) focused on layers of randomly-generated orchestral sounds moving in and out of synch and tonality, this new release focuses more on the cold dungeon-synth vibes of the very first album (Master of Dungeons) an album that was described by Resounding Footsteps as evoking "the most dreadful atmosphere ... giving the listener the feeling that the world they are in is
vast beyond comparison but so dark at the same time that they can’t see
two inches from their face").
However, although heavy in dungeon-synth vibes, Encounters on the Journey is not as staggeringly anti-life as the first release, instead exploring different textures, including regret (The Dark Halfling's Lament), anticipation (Preparing for the Great Journey), and the experience of being a crystal minotaur (Crystal Minotaur).
It's specifically EQd for gaming over, it's as free as you want it to be, and it's available here.
More praise from Resounding Footsteps:
"The listener travels down in the dark, but to what point and purpose? Do they succeed? Do they succumb to the madness and terror that dwells hungrily in the dark? If the track titles are any indication, I don’t think the listeners are meant to make it out alive in this one. It’s a depressing tale of glory seeking fools who rush into the abyss without realizing the abyss has been waiting for them. I love dark fantasy and that’s exactly what this tale is. No matter what the listener-protagonist tries to do, they fail. Death is not even an option down here (because of, you know, undead magic users). Soon enough all of us will falter from the path and end up lost and alone, surrounded by living shadows and monsters so terrible that the light itself hides from them. The music is very clear throughout the entire album: we are at the mercy of the dungeon."
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