‘Inner Sanctum’ by Gelure
‘Inner Sanctum’ by Gelure
Gelure (a side project from the excellent black metal artist Fathomage) is on a quest to craft, per their Bandcamp page, “dungeon synth that creates soundscapes of a long, forgotten world.” Though Fathomage dabbles in dungeon synth here and there, Gelure allows the artist to fully embrace the genre and its conventions of wizards, mysticism, and wonder. Gelure’s most recent album, Inner Sanctum, leans into the more contemplative and meditative aspects of dungeon synth. It captures the sensation of studying difficult books of wisdom while experiencing embarrassing solitude to clear one's mind in prayer and contemplation. The artist shares that the album is “an offering at the altar of silence and contemplation. Created between 2021 and 2024.” The album is no small feat, landing just below an hour runtime, and the span of how long these songs were crafted shows, as each brings a distinctive moment.
“The Royal Lament” evokes a somber atmosphere, yet one filled with archaic intrigue. It’s as if one wanders through ruins to grasp the history and knowledge preserved there, while also sensing the gradual decline that led to these ruins. The second song, “Tales of Wizardry and Earthbound Lor,” continues the feeling of a steady march through plucking lutes and harps. Soft chorals of melancholic synth and faint hisses interrupt this march, as if a piece of ancient wisdom has just been revealed by candlelight beneath a starry sky. “A Whisper in the Night” continues this trend with a more twinkling effect to its synths, pushing the listener to dwell on higher things found in the cosmos, God, and our place within it and Him.
However, “Silent Tongue of an Ancient Wood” alters the album's direction. While many dungeon artists might concentrate solely on this cosmic theme, Gelure shifts our attention elsewhere. As the title implies, the synth produces new sounds reminiscent of an ancient forest, shrouded in mist and sparkling with dew. The transition to the more tangible and natural continues with “Northern Dunes of Gal-Salaathi,” featuring dancing lutes and strings combined with more dramatic drumming and crescendos to evoke images of sand shifting across a desert under the night sky as one marches toward a torchlit town. Gelure attributes the album's inspiration to God, J.R.R. Tolkien, Howard Shore, Jeremy Soule, J.S. Bach, and others - and this track encapsulates those influences. It may be the most narrative-driven piece that creates a world, though it aligns with themes of wonder and solitude.
“Chalice of Mana in the Soul Moonspire” and “Heart of the Forest” enhance the narrative transition to evoke the feeling that you seek solitude and reflection at your secluded destination. The pilgrimage is complete, for now. Whether it's within the walls of old books under dim light or at the center of a dense forest, the songs create an atmosphere that invites a return to a humbling process of contemplation beneath waves of swishing synths and rolling cymbals.
These worlds merge in the epic 11-minute track, “An Old and Ancient Sorcery, Conjured Within the Golden Birchwood,” which serves as the album’s closing piece. The song uses a full drum set alongside a return to the harps and twinkling synth at Inner Sanctum’s beginning. Even a distorted guitar and tremolo picking enter with harmonic synths to capture the full emotion one may feel in confronting themselves and their position in the world and beyond toward God.
It’s fitting how Inner Sanctum uses Joseph Noel Paton’s “Michelangelo’s Dream” as its artwork. The album captures the same concepts as the painting through its dense, well-orchestrated soundscapes. Though we can comb through ancient tomes of wisdom like the one lying next to Michelangelo, there must come a submission to something higher as we see Michelangelo in deep prayer or contemplation beneath the vast and mysterious night sky. All elements of the album are on display: studying within ancient ruins and walls, a view on the beauty and wonder of the natural world, and a turn to God high in the cosmos above. Inner Sanctum is an impressive dungeon synth album, and if Gelure continues to put as much intentionality and care into future releases, the artist will become one of the most exciting in the scene.
