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Post by nahadoth on Feb 26, 2018 14:39:36 GMT -5
I've been thinking about it recently and a few days ago released a project of Vampire - inspired DS. This thread is to discuss any of the works made in that style.
I would consider Whispers from Carmilla's Tomb by Lamentation to be probably the first major DS work in this style, and it definitely set the blueprint that is still being referred to today with projects like Catacombs Enshadowed. Piano, organ, strings, a bit of a horror vibe as well as some romantic (I.e. Classical) sounds. There are definitely a fair share of neoclassical and dark wave projects which draw from similar inspiration, so feel free to discuss that here. And recently, A Letter for Carmilla and The Castle of Otronto have diversified the style a bit.
Anyone like this style? Have any lesser known favorites? Individual tracks from projects not exclusively focused on Vampirism also ok (WKOA's Vampire in the Meadow of Dead Flowers, for example)
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Post by thekeeper on Feb 26, 2018 15:00:25 GMT -5
I certainly like this style a lot. I don't know if Whispers would be the first work in this style though, pretty sure it was the last thing they put out. Despite that, I do think it is probably the most influential of the tapes, Fullmoon being second. I'll have to look through my collection to find similar things other than what's already listed. What comes to mind initially is the last track of the Flamme Ancestrale tape by Oublieth. Here's an upload the track under the project's original title:
I don't think a vampiric atmosphere is directly intended, but you can certainly feel something lurking in the shadows down the alley. I definitely recommend this tape to anyone.
I posted a Nirnaeth video in your FB post, but I can't remember other tracks that sound like that one. Daudi Baldrs actually has some quite vampiric sounding tracks, especially the first one. I think grittiness boosts the atmosphere of stuff like this quite a bit. The polished flavors of DS don't work nearly as well in evoking a sanguine and mysteriously dark atmosphere.
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Tyrannus
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Post by Tyrannus on Feb 26, 2018 15:58:58 GMT -5
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Post by nahadoth on Feb 26, 2018 17:50:06 GMT -5
I certainly like this style a lot. I don't know if Whispers would be the first work in this style though, pretty sure it was the last thing they put out. Despite that, I do think it is probably the most influential of the tapes, Fullmoon being second. I guess I thought ShadowKingdom was released afterward, but I guess that's splitting hairs. I guess it's on my mind because so many projects have referenced that release specifically of late. But also, I feel as though musically it's the most mature of the Lamentation releases - but perhaps that's another conversation. That Nirnaeth sound is pretty brutal. I love having vocals that raw without any reverb, the sound is pretty direct and aggressive, even if you can hear the voice break a lot. and I think that's live violin on that as well? This Oublieth track is cool too. The metallic percussion gives it almost an industrial vibe. Definitely has the hypnotic repetition and atmosphere going for it, though. But OK, I guess my question here is, what are the sonic characteristics that make up Vampire DS? Is it just the presence of atmospheric samples, is it chanted vocals, is it 'gothic' instrumentation? Atmosphere seems super important to capturing this spirit, but I don't think that's enough.
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Post by Tyrannus on Feb 26, 2018 18:03:29 GMT -5
I certainly like this style a lot. I don't know if Whispers would be the first work in this style though, pretty sure it was the last thing they put out. Despite that, I do think it is probably the most influential of the tapes, Fullmoon being second. I guess I thought ShadowKingdom was released afterward, but I guess that's splitting hairs. I guess it's on my mind because so many projects have referenced that release specifically of late. But also, I feel as though musically it's the most mature of the Lamentation releases - but perhaps that's another conversation. That Nirnaeth sound is pretty brutal. I love having vocals that raw without any reverb, the sound is pretty direct and aggressive, even if you can hear the voice break a lot. and I think that's live violin on that as well? This Oublieth track is cool too. The metallic percussion gives it almost an industrial vibe. Definitely has the hypnotic repetition and atmosphere going for it, though. But OK, I guess my question here is, what are the sonic characteristics that make up Vampire DS? Is it just the presence of atmospheric samples, is it chanted vocals, is it 'gothic' instrumentation? Atmosphere seems super important to capturing this spirit, but I don't think that's enough. In addition to all the obvious instrumental choices and atmosphere you mentioned, I think certain compositional elements are important. One thing that always stood out to me was the use of lots of repetitive arpeggios and 2nd and 3rd species counterpoint. I hope I’m using these terms correctly. Grin of the Harvest Moon felt vampyric to me and I think it was that baroque structure in addition to the harpsichord sound
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Post by nahadoth on Feb 26, 2018 20:44:25 GMT -5
I think you've got the basic definition down but there are so many stupid and frustrating rules about counterpoint that I can never remember, but yeah basically it has to do with the rate at which melody is happening against the rate of a bass/ground note.
I get what you mean about GOTHM, but that's a trait I primarily identify with being neoclassical more than vampiric on its own. But yeah, broken chords, Alberti bass and all those kinds of left hand figures, maybe because of the origins in the classical period, is usually present as an element in vampiric stuff.
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Post by andrewwerdna on Feb 26, 2018 20:49:05 GMT -5
Don't forget about Cintecele Diavolui - The Devil's Songs. That one has an overt vampire theme and is just really great, although I don't know how much it shares a sound with the new vampire stuff since I haven't heard much of it yet. There's definitely a lot of organ though.
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Post by Tyrannus on Feb 26, 2018 21:13:39 GMT -5
This style feels really distinctly different from a lot of other DS to me in ways I’m not really sure I can articulate. Like it feels less whimsical and fantasy-oriented, though that’s perhaps untrue...but consider it like almost like the whole high fantasy vs low fantasy thing in which a lot of ds is like high fantasy and takes place in a world separate from our own. Meanwhile the vampyric stuff feels like it takes place in our world, just the dark realms of the night. In terms of mood it feels like there’s less world-building and more like a mood-building, almost like if it were literature it’d be less comparable to fantasy and more like something romantic or gothic, more character and mood oriented. All of that is really vague I guess but I feel like comparisons to the sort of literature they resemble is inevitable.
One other thing is that I think there’s a slight trend in the vampyric stuff having a slightly heavier emphasis on playing ability, where often there’s a focus on like a single piano layer, where technical proficiency stands out more. It seems like it usually is more roughly produced but often like harder to actually play (with exceptions of course)
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Post by Tyrannus on Feb 26, 2018 22:52:05 GMT -5
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Post by Tyrannus on Mar 2, 2018 17:36:04 GMT -5
I’ve been looking at some Ravenloft art and have concluded: D&D:Ravenloft::DS:Wampyr DS Which harkens back to the literature topic a bit, this fantasy adventure versus gothic horror. I dunno, just a dumb analogy that popped into my head
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Post by Witherer on Mar 3, 2018 1:39:09 GMT -5
I would consider Whispers from Carmilla's Tomb by Lamentation to be probably the first major DS work in this style, and it definitely set the blueprint that is still being referred to today I realized today that the youtube and mp3 versions of Whispers from Carmilla's Tomb are all about a minute faster than the version that the band has been dubbing on tapes and putting on their bandcamp. To me, it sounds obvious now that I know. Strange that so many people may have been profoundly influenced by an altered version.
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Post by nahadoth on Mar 3, 2018 10:14:41 GMT -5
I would consider Whispers from Carmilla's Tomb by Lamentation to be probably the first major DS work in this style, and it definitely set the blueprint that is still being referred to today I realized today that the youtube and mp3 versions of Whispers from Carmilla's Tomb are all about a minute faster than the version that the band has been dubbing on tapes and putting on their bandcamp. To me, it sounds obvious now that I know. Strange that so many people may have been profoundly influenced by an altered version. I noticed that too. Sometimes there's a slight speed difference when dubbing from Other formats to tape, but this seemed beyond what I normally hear.
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Post by nahadoth on Mar 3, 2018 10:16:19 GMT -5
I’ve been looking at some Ravenloft art and have concluded: D&D:Ravenloft::DS:Wampyr DS Which harkens back to the literature topic a bit, this fantasy adventure versus gothic horror. I dunno, just a dumb analogy that popped into my head I have still never played a non computerized D&D game, but when I was a kid Ravenloft was all I wanted to explore. Then I started reading licensed books from the Vampire:The Masquerade rpg and it all kinda solidified from there.
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Post by Tyrannus on Mar 3, 2018 10:17:42 GMT -5
I realized today that the youtube and mp3 versions of Whispers from Carmilla's Tomb are all about a minute faster than the version that the band has been dubbing on tapes and putting on their bandcamp. To me, it sounds obvious now that I know. Strange that so many people may have been profoundly influenced by an altered version. I noticed that too. Sometimes there's a slight speed difference when dubbing from Other formats to tape, but this seemed beyond what I normally hear. I’ve only heard the YouTube version...it’s supposed to be slower than that?
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Post by nahadoth on Mar 3, 2018 15:34:41 GMT -5
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