A Carroll County musician is making waves among fans of a music genre known as dungeon synth.
Dungeon synth sounds like new age music, but it spun out of ambient passages that increasingly appeared on black metal albums in the 1990s. And Foglord is one of the scene's heavyweights.
But while Foglord is known among dungeon synth fans around the world, the creative force behind it is from much closer to home: Darien Dabbs is from Woodlawn, Virginia.
Dabbs grew up immersed in music. His great great uncle is Sidna Myers, a clawhammer banjo player who was recorded by folklorists in the 20th century. Another of Dabbs' great-great uncles was known for playing and building dulcimers.
But Dabbs first got involved in music through another genre.
"Metal was my kickstarter for it all," Dabbs says. "In eighth grade I was in a metal band and did vocals."
Dabbs eventually got into black metal, particularly a band called Summoning that used synthesizers to create a medieval aesthetic. That in turn led Dabbs to dungeon synth. He found a project called Depressive Silence, and was so struck by it he got the cover to one of its tapes tattooed on his leg.
"It wasn't too long after I discovered it that I got into trying to experiment with making it," Dabbs says. "Back then I really didn't know anything. I just had an old MP3 player that could record, I laid it on an old Yamaha on the speaker. I recorded that and put the tracks into Windows movie maker."
Dabbs released those demos in 2011, at age 13. His first album came two years later, and was picked up by UK label Mithrim Records.
By 2015, others in the scene started taking note and writing about Foglord — particularly how it incorporated Appalachian music. Mason Solimini is one of the organizers of Appalachian Dungeon Fest, a dungeon synth festival in Kentucky that will feature Foglord as one of its headliners.
"Foglord's probably the most Appalachian sounding project that's going to be playing there," Solimini says. "Incorporating the banjo and a bunch of other Appalachian elements. His sound really ranges. It's anywhere from like ambient forest walk type music to melody driven classic dungeon synth music."
Dabbs has played multiple festivals on the East Coast. And it's more than just listening to a concert. Fans play "Magic: The Gathering" and sometimes make their own clothes or even chain mail for the occasion.
"Everybody's really supportive," Dabbs says. "A lot of people dress up in all kind of ways, a very fantasy-oriented style of dressing."
In a full-circle moment, Dabbs has picked up the clawhammer banjo and mountain dulcimer. He's seeking out older musicians to learn regional folk tunes and techniques. And, he's increasingly wrapping those influences into Foglord's music.
"I've incorporated mountain dulcimer into it and various other traditional folk instruments into it," Dabbs says. "A lot of it is very rooted in the natural feelings of these mountains. That's the biggest part of the album. That's always been something that's influence me with Foglord is this area we're in. The Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian Mountains in general."
Foglord's next album, "Lore of the Blue Mist," is due in June. Foglord will play Art Rat Studios in Roanoke on June 11, and Appalachian Dungeon Fest in Whitesburg, Kentucky, on June 13th and 14th.
