Soulside Eclipse is a dungeon synth project by Xisuma. Back in 2010, just before he began publishing on Youtube Minecraft videos, he's produced some interesting music. Forgotten Conquest is his only dungeon synth LP but is very cool to listen to nonetheless.

A Journey Begins features a heavy atmospheres. You can well imagine an army preparing for a long and perilous journey, and setting sail to the unknown. They are full of pride and courage, but it's still full of an apprehensive tension. The second tune is a bit lighter and a bit more mysterious, as the boats sail in the fog, not knowing what fate has prepared for them. And then, the expedition is attacked. In Drowning Tombs, the prince is the only survivor and we follow his adventures in the next songs. Unfortunately for him, his future does not look great. He is traumatized by the attack, and his conscience fades away while still being on a silent ship full of corpses. This track does real wonders in showing the state of mind the prince is, from being traumatized and lonely, to having his consciousness fade in a coma. Surprisingly, he wakes up in a cave. This part has a nice kind of warm and sparkly atmosphere which contrast with the rest of the album. He wanders in a cold world, in the Snow which absorb all sounds and give a cozy atmosphere, until he finally escape the cold lands. In the lush forest he is, he finally find his father's body. The king had succesfully survived the wreck, but died before he could see his son again. This discovery mark a turning point in Heroes End, as the melody becomes chilling again. The grieving prince finally decides to go back to the Ice as he has no wish to live anymore. The album ends on his last moments.

I haven't heard many dungeon synth album, but Soulside Eclipse was a nice and varied experience. The album is well crafted and delivers the story promised. If you want to see Xisuma's comment on his album five years after the release, you can find his review here. You may also want to see what he thinks ten years after the release in the first video of his music channel. I really enjoy following his musical discoveries. I do not share his taste on everything, but I've discovered some albums I would've unfortunately missed on his blog (and now on his music channel).

You can download the album (for free) here.