TONEwood's Top 10 Non-Metal Albums of 2018

On a personal level 2018 has been one of the more stressful ones in recent memory for me, with the birth of my first child ranking as probably the biggest change in my life. The way your priorities change has definitely made it harder to find the time to delve into new music. Even so, I've managed to listen to hundreds of new tracks in 2018 - though my year-end list does definitely lean heavily toward bands and groups I was already acquainted with, and albums that released before I became a parent.

From Dungeons Deep - Out September 3rd 2018

Dungeon Synth Compilation Out Soon!
For the uninitiated dungeon synth may seem like just another arbitrary micro genre, but this brand of dark dungeon music is so much more. Taking cues from everything from classic 90s black metal over obscure 8- and 16-bit video games to fantasy roleplaying games and literature, dungeon synth came from humble origins and has since blossomed into a large community, spanning a great deal of influences, styles and sounds.

Dual Cassette Attack - Out July 16th!

New tapes out soon on TONEwood!

On July 16th TONEwood is releasing TT8-1 and TT9-1. The first of those will be Hiemal's 2017 one-track 40 minute album Vespéral, and the latter is Monarch's 2010 EP Netherthrone.

Fedrespor: "Tid"

Through experimentation, Tid leaps into uncertainty with great success

With norse-themed folk I've come to except the likes of Wardruna, who seem obsessed - at least from a laymans point of view - with quote unquote authenticity and historical accuracy in their instrumentation. With the popularity of the soundtrack of the Vikings series, that style has in its own niche become almost commonplace, altough precious few do it well.

Galdur: "Age of Legends"

Un-cheesy dungeon music masterpiece

Though at first glance micro-genres like dungeon synth can sound rather restrictive and samey across numerous artists, there are several roads you can take as an artist. Some opt for a folk-inspired approach with many classical, real life instruments, while others emulate the midi-soundtracks of old fantasy RPGs for a more synthetic feel. Others still resort to a more true-to-life orchestral feel. You can count Galdur's 2016 opus Age of Legends among the latter.

Triple Dungeon Synth Feature: Thangorodrim, Deorc Weg, Old Tower

TONEwood's Top 10 Non-Metal Albums of 2017

They say variety is the spice of life. For years heavy metal has been my go-to music style, and to this day it remains the style that I consume the most of. But even if heavy metal has numerous very different subgenres, there always manages to sneak a bunch of very un-metal albums into my consciousness. These are the Top 10 non-metal albums from 2017 according to the Gospel of TONE.

Nebulosa: "Crepuscular Battle in a Distant Woodland Town"

Naturalistic synths and unusual folk

Nebulosa welcomes you to an abstract fantasy universe with his latest offering. In this universe he calls upon a simple and bare-bone set of instruments to conjure up an image of this world with an instrumentation that feels desolate, windy and lonesome, yet strangely ominous, brooding and imposing

Wongraven: "Fjelltronen"

Let's return to the past to a simpler time

With Satyricon's newest album, Deep Calleth Upon Deep, being sort of boring, now is a good time to be remembering all the great things Satyr has made over the years. Of course he and Frost have a number of amazing Satyricon albums behind them, but Fjelltronen is an oft overlooked album by Satyr.

Apokrifna Realnost: "Na Rekah Vavilonskih"

Little regard for current trends in what could be an obscure gem's second wind

It's time to practice some musical archeology - Apokrifna Realnost's only release, Na Rekah Vavilonskih, was originally released in 1988 in a strictly limited run of cassettes in lavish packaging. Now it has been unearthed and re-released by AnnapurnA in 2017, ready for its resurrection and, perhaps, long-due recognition.

Journey to Ixtlan: "Journey to Ixtlan"

An organic sound blanket that falls gracefully on the ground, covering everything in its mesa colours

Clay Ruby is undoubtedly most well known for Burial Hex (or one of the countless other groups he has been involved with over the years), and given his involvement in such a staggering amount of groups, bands and projects, most are bound to overlook the massively leviathan album that is Journey to Ixtlan.

2016 Top 10 - Part II: The Non-Metal Part

Here is the second Top 10 for 2016 - The non-metal part. Again, there has been several worthy contenders, and some must be left out. After all, there's not much sense in the end of the year list if you're not forced to make some choices. And in 2016, these choices are as follows:

Silent Carrion: "Suprematism EP I: Iupiter"

The project strays from its path but makes a slight return

Silent Carrion has always been progressive and boundary pushing. It's the bread and butter, the heart and soul of the project. An amalgam of trip hop, electronica, dark ambient, prog and trace amounts of a myriad of other components. Established upon the first release, Ruins, in 2010 in Northern Italy, 2013 welcomed the beginning of an EP-based trilogy starting with IUPITER, the first Suprematism EP to carry the project further.

Somnam: "Melancholy's Masquerade"

Appealingly demented ventures into electronics and ambience

Somnam began some time back in 2005 in Finland, but the one-man project has miraculously endured the passing of time with bravour, having released a full length album as recently as 2015.

Trou Noir: "Echoes in Black Holes"

Uninspired voyage into deep space

With members from Russia and France, Trou Noir is a project made possible by the great invention of the internet. In mid 2011 the international collaboration released their debut, the demo tape Echoes in Black Holes through Eerie Torture. Between them, the three members have released dozens of demos, EPs, splits and albums through different outlets, so in that regard these fellows are seasoned in the dark arts of black metal.

The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation: "EGOR"

Unsettling armageddon jazz

The two incarnations - though both are now split-up - that the group centred around Jason Köhnen and Gideon Kiers represent slight variations of their concept and sound. The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble was the earliest one, centered around tenebrous jazz ambience, sometimes set to old silent films such as Nosferatu and Metropolis. The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation was meant to be a more boundary-pushing experience focused on deep and subtle drones and a more experimental atmosphere. As such the Corporation was often more of an improvisational live concert band.

Agamotto: "Agamotto"

Unfriendly music for dark thoughts and contemplation

Though perhaps lacking a bit of the first mover credibility of entities such as Brian Eno, Steve Reich, Lustmord or Throbbing Gristle, Agamotto borrows heavily from all those. Mixing industrial and ambient fluctuations in a current of deviating intensity and feel, the Italian being rests surely on groundwork lain by great predecessors.

Eudaimonia: "Hymn to the Dying World"

Ambiguous performance in black metal, atmospheres and moods

The Danish one-man effort Eudaimonia, while not entirely beyond categorization, is a project of highly diverse compositions. At a point you think you've gotten to know the band and its sound with all its facets of ambience, atmospheres and black metal-esque fluctuations, only to get thrown off by the addition of other foreign elements, forcing you to reevaluate you thoughts of Eudaimonia. As such it is a band that avoid pigeonholing.

Silent Carrion: "Andras"

Droning trips through industrial-religious rituals

The sunny slopes of Italy is what Scaia, the sole member of Silent Carrion, calls home. However, the feeling of a baking afternoon sun, the view over olive groves and terracotta rooftops and the scent of dry grass and red wine is far from what Silent Carrion invokes or calls upon for inspiration.

Anna von Hausswolff: "The Miraculous"

Apocalyptic, gothic beauty

Anna Michaela Ebba Electra von Hausswolff, shortened to Anna von Hausswolff with good reason, has achieved quite the following with her music. The Swedish singer and songwriter has far exceeded her heritage as daughter of noted sound artist Carl Michael von Hausswolff, and her outings have seen her tour with acts like Lykke Li, Tindersticks and earned her well deserved comparisons to legends such as Kate Bush.