Dreadwood Prophecies are a US duo that create cohesive music from the realms of Dungeon Synth. They answer as one and their latest release “Mixtape Shadows Realm’’ represents their sound that is influenced by the horror genre but also a more classical perspective.
’Yeah, we have a wide range of influences. We like metal, classical, lo-fi, ambient, electronic, etc., so dungeon synth alone might feel somewhat limiting for us, creatively.
’Although we’re definitely trying to sound spooky, we’re more influenced by composers such as James Horner, John Carpenter, Vangelis, and Clint Mansell. Boards of Canada and Nine Inch Nails too. We also just love giving everything that old-school tape vibe, which is maybe where the 80s aesthetic comes in.
‘’We actually met through Reddit. We'd both been doing lots of solo production & were looking to collaborate with other people, so we decided to make a single, which ended up being dungeon synth. We enjoyed working together and were both into the dungeon synth community and aesthetic, so we decided to form Dreadwood Prophecies as a long-term project.
‘’Genre labels are useful, but we’re not purists. We always want to be dungeon synth, but we also want to push the boundaries of what dungeon synth is. We’d rather be on the fringes of dungeon synth than in the centre. We also try to give ourselves freedom when we’re creating. We don’t like feeling too confined.
Should there always be serenity intermingled with darkness?
‘’It might be kind of cliché to say, but we both feel like there’s too much binary/light vs dark kind of thinking. Really interesting things happen in the grey and mysterious in-between, so that’s where we try to exist.
The exploration of mystical realms?
‘’We’re both just really fascinated with mystical things in general. We both have pretty mundane lifestyles, so the music gives us a chance to explore arcane and surreal worlds, regardless of whether they’re real or not.
Where does the synth style sit in the realm of extreme music?
‘’Although dungeon synth has been growing, we do hope to help make it bigger & help the genre get more exposure. We think there are lots of people out there that would love dungeon synth if only they were exposed to it.
The intangible nature of your music. Where do you get inspiration for such soundscapes?
‘’One of us has more of a metal background & is more inspired by film scores and video game soundtracks. The other has more of an electronic background & is more inspired by psychedelics, spirituality, and surrealism.
What is your foretelling or prophecy for the future?
Neither of us are getting any younger. I think we’re going to push for this to get as big as it can.
Future releases? is this something that can be replicated live? Or will it lurk in the shadows?
We hope to make lots more music and to continue to grow. We’re definitely planning on playing live at some point, when we have the opportunity!
Top 6 albums of all time
Boards of Canada – Tomorrow’s Harvest
Nine Inch Nails – Downward Spiral
Holy Other – Held
Aphex Twin – Selected Ambient Works vol 2.
Tool – 10,000 days
Clint Mansell – The Fountain soundtrack