Dryads - Of Arcane Fires
According to Greek mythology, Dryads are tree nymphs. Shy creatures being on good terms with the goddess Artemis. Nymphs (in General terms) are female nature deities associated with a specific location or landform, and in this case, it is trees. If one would look at the album title and the titles for the tracks, then we could guess that we (more or less) are in ancient pagan/druidic territory.
So you probably imagine that this act hails from some isolated village in England or Ireland (for that matter). But no, it actually hails all the way from Mexico City!. Yes, one of the most polluted big cities on the planet (I Think!). Probably not the nicest place for a Dryad to live, or is it?... In any case, the acts describe themselves like this:
´Dryads is a multidisciplinary project that mixes neoclassical, dungeon synth and ambient music with visual arts and literature that, as a whole, casts a spell of total immersion.´
So are we dealing with a traditional dungeon synth release, hell no!. VERY interesting and ritualistic, almost traditional chamber music meets up with classic Dungeon & Dragons soundtrack music. We´re not deep in the dungeons with dwarves and goblins, but deep into mysterious and forgotten forests. And if you are not careful, you´ll probably be lured/seduced away deep into the forest by the Dryads... Never too be seen again.
Still in doubt? Then take a listen to A Veil That Breathes Our Spirit!. There are also tribal/new-age sounding ambient-electro in the mix, which takes me back to Morthound´s classic Spindrift from 1992. Whoever did that album, is a master (with a good imagination) and a decent synth. Neo-classical epic tunes with martial drama-drums and metallic percussion can be heard (and felt!) on the evocative Beneath the Shadow. A Spell of Rebirth is a beautiful and also a truly grim treatment of utter despair, doom and hopelessness. It all ends well with the breathtaking To Nail Swans At Dawn (interesting title eh?). Again a nice fusion mix between neo-classic/martial and dungeon synth. Actually (for some reason) the track almost had that sound of early Cold Meat Industry (label) neo-classical acts, Puissance - Arcana - Morthhond (just to name a few). An extra piece of info regarding this release is that it was produced by none-other than Attrition main-man Martin Bowes (A band/artist worth the chk up if you ask me)
A worthy investment for a broad expanse of listeners. For the dungeon synth fans, neoclassical/martial fans, and ambient fans. A LOT of work has been put down on this one album, so what are you waiting for?! And the cassette is a true beauty as well. Limited to 50 copies via the excellent label Ancient Meadow Records.
