– , 2024
Louisville, Kentucky
Dark Castle Fest 2024 band confirmations have begun!
More info soon, please follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates.
Purchase Tickets
Dark Castle Fest is honored to be working with The HIVE, Inc this year!
Hailing from the marvelous realm of Bowling Green, Kentucky, these busy bees are all about community. Ultimately, that’s what a festival is all about, right? Sharing an experience, getting in the creative zone and celebrating life. The HIVE is very special to Art Sanctuary. More than just one nonprofit to another, these folks are family.
“The HIVE, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that creates opportunities for people with diverse abilities through family supports, local and state advocacy, and our Clubhouse programming. Our Clubhouse hosts daily learning experiences in the arts, independent living activities, science, mental health, and fun stuff like pool parties, cookouts, and inclusive community meetups. The HIVE was founded by the mother of a son with multiple disabilities and is rooted in the belief that every person is a multidimensional, complex, and valuable human being with gifts to share who deserves to feel valued. We love you for who you are, how you are, and where you are.”
For more information about The HIVE go to www.thehivebg.org, follow them on instagram or Facebook.
Thank you for joining us HIVE Clubhouse, we’re excited about you!
In astrology, your birth chart is divided into twelve sections called houses, and each house rules over different areas of life. The third house is called the House of Communication. Some astrologers may also refer to it as the House of Sharing. In this case, Third House Communications is teaming up with Dark Castle Fest this year to help us communicate and share a common love of music.
Third House Communications is a boutique record label from Louisville KY, with a heavy focus on the darker corners of the music world. “Doom, punk, hardcore, industrial, minimal noise, metal, it all falls into our interests. Digging up lost gems from Louisville’s past, and the freshest cuts from around the world, putting it on wax in small runs.” Knowing these cats like we do, just gonna say you’re gonna want to keep an eye on this record label because it’s just getting fired up. It’s in the stars. Great things happening.
For more information about Third House Communications check them out on Bandcamp, follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
Thank you for joining us Third House Communications, we’re excited about you!
Pale Moon Tattoo is shining some moon glow on Dark Castle Fest with sponsorship! We’re plum thrilled to have these incredible artists join us. If you need some ink, Pale Moon has a whole lot of talent. Heck, one of their guys did most of mine and it’s probably time to get some more.
Pale Moon Tattoo was founded by artists and husband and wife Ryan and Alexandra Rumsey. Seeing a need for a safe and inclusive environment for their then co-workers and now independent contractors they opened Pale Moon to the public May of 2020 in the height of the global pandemic.
Pale Moon has eight tattoo artists all specializing in different styles of tattooing and artwork. They frequently host tattoo flash specials, and have participated in several charitable tattoo events and art auctions. For more information on Pale Moon Tattoo go to www.palemoontattoo.com or you can also view artist portfolios and keep up with current events on Instagram or Facebook.
Thank you for joining us Pale Moon Tattoo, we’re excited about you!
This year, we have some exciting new sponsorship alliances to announce. We are pleased to have one of our creative and delightful neighbors join us for Dark Castle Fest 2024: Aurora Gallery and Boutique!
Aurora Gallery and Boutique was founded in 2022 by Lyndi Lou, Alexandra Rumsey and Mia Farrugia. The gallery is artist, woman and queer owned, located at 1264 S. Shelby Street in Louisville, KY. Aurora does monthly exhibitions highlighting the work of local and regional creatives, and hosts large open submission art shows multiple times a year with over 100 participating artists involved. Aurora’s boutique has over 100 artists represented as well, and showcases terrariums, bone art, jewelry art, ceramics, as well as enamel pins, stickers and much more. Aurora also hosts arts and craft classes and pop up art shows frequently.
You can view their current exhibitions as well as see some of the work they represent on their website, their Instagram or Facebook to keep up with current events.
Thank you for joining us Aurora Gallery and Boutique, we’re excited about you!
Very happy to announce that our old friend Ichabod will be trekking up for another joust with the decks at Dark Castle Fest!
Based in Nashville, TN, Ichabod is a DJ, promoter, event planner, and musician. He is both the founder and resident DJ of FASCINATION STREET, a monthly dance event and banner for concert promotion since 2013. Prior to that, he was a resident DJ for Salvation Gothic/Industral, The Asylum, and The Underground Nashville. He produces and hosts the monthly radio show/podcast “Out ov the Coffin” on Mixcloud, and serves as the Assistant Director of the Horror Track at Dragon Con, where he handles their Goth programming each year, as well as organizing and DJing the Open Casket Dance Party. He is also a songwriter and bass player involved in multiple music projects, the next face of which is forthcoming. Under all of that, he works a day job in multimedia, and in his spare time, tries to catch his breath.
You can check out some of Ichabod’s spell work on Mixcloud from his show @outovthecoffin and follow on Instagram for regular updates.
Some of our local hedge witches are coming out of the woods to join us in our shadowed corridors this year and we couldn’t be more excited to have them aboard. It is our pleasure to welcome Molly’s Midnight Villains to Dark Castle Fest 2024!
Molly’s Midnight Villains is a witchy alt-folk duo from Louisville - smoky vocals, lightning quick acoustic shred, and lyrics that will cast a spell on you. Their most recent album, The Witch Folk Codex, was released in October of 2023. It’s an esoteric collection of songs about magic, cryptids, and monsters. You can check out Molly’s Midnight Villains on Bandcamp or wherever you choose to listen to music. Plenty of great tunes available on all of the usual platforms. (Including our new Dark Castle Fest 2024 Spotify Playlist with all of the bands).
Welcome to Dark Castle Molly’s Midnight Villains, we’re excited about you!
What a joyous surprise it is to get to add Frenchy and the Punk to the Dark Castle Fest lineup this year! They cruised in on their steamboat just in the nick of time and we can’t wait to see them perform! You gotta come see this band because aside from being super talented, they are also a lot of fun.
Through their unmistakable blend of influences ranging from post-punk and dark folk to new wave and goth, Frenchy and the Punk have forged their own distinct path since 2005, touring across the US and Europe with their artful two-person powerhouse of sound.
Drawing inspiration from post-punk legends like The Cure, the upbeat energy and percussive textures of Adam and the Ants, the bewitching mystique of Siouxsie and the Banshees, and the quirky charm of The B-52’s, they have crafted a sound that is both nostalgic and refreshingly authentic delivered in an unorthodox way. The pair is proof positive that opposites really do attract. French-born singer/percussionist and former ballet dancer Samantha Stephenson, fronts the duo with her sultry yet powerful voice, often likened to iconic legends Siouxsie Sioux, Johnette Napolitano and Grace Slick. Coupled with the melodic electro/acoustic guitar stylings and looping mastery of her American-born partner and former hardcore punk bassist Scott Helland, the dynamic partnership is a force to be reckoned with. A real life love story against the backdrop of an unwavering dedication to the art of music and creativity as a lifestyle and personal journey.
You can check out Frenchy and the Punk on Bandcamp or wherever you choose to listen to music. Plenty of great tunes available on all of the usual platforms. (Including our new Dark Castle Fest 2024 Spotify Playlist with all of the bands). We are so glad you’re a part of Dark Castle Fest Frenchy and the Punk! You help make this event extra special!
Perhaps the most interesting thing about Dark Castle Fest that makes us a bit unique is that we are a ragtag band of lifelong struggling artists. We’re a weird, often uncomfortable and sometimes chaotic bunch of creative misfits. One thing we all love here though, is this strange land called Kentucky. It’s ancient, fossilized, sometimes backwards but more often than not beautiful. When we look beyond the flawed human elements, we see the natural wonder here and revere it.
One of our family mystics has turned his visionary wonders into wearable art and it is absolutely stunning. Last year he brought us our castle denizen “Babacastillo” (if you were there, you know). Babacastillo will return this year as well, more flamboyant than ever, and this time, she brings us her entire castle court to grace our halls with a full blown fashion show! This, you do not want to miss! I’ll end this long-winded elucidation here and let the artist speak for himself:
“Of Limestone, Chlorophyll, and Bone” is a wearable art experience that explores the ancient land we know as Kentucky. From the roaring waterways to its deep winding caverns. From the abundance of poisonous plants, to the vast network of fungus that is deeply rooted in its mineral rich soil. The inspiration is the land, the flora, and the fauna. In collaboration with various artists and models, “Of Limestone, Chlorophyll, and Bone” is designer Edwin Ramirez’s debut runway collection.
Dark Castle Fest is elated to welcome Iris Marlowe to the lineup for 2024. We know there is a dark music festival happening about every week somewhere at this point, but Dark Castle is still unique. We like banjos and mandolins and cellos and even some slide guitar if it gets that expressive emotion we’re looking for. Introducing Iris Marlowe, a Gothic Country band from Chicago, Illinois.
Iris Marlowe is an alternative-country singer songwriter that uses her love of classic country music to create cinematic songs that paint a southern gothic landscape. Her latest album ‘Where the Devil Bid the Owl Goodbye’ features songs driven by revenge, terror, and a yearning for the danger of the old west. Iris Marlowe creates country music for the eccentrics and folks that are looking for something a little creepier in the country music landscape.
We love this sound and hope you’re open to it, too. Nick Cave isn’t the only dark plunderer digging around in this rich history for that gem of deep expression that sometimes comes across strongest with an acoustic instrument.
You can check out Iris Marlowe on Bandcamp or wherever you choose to listen to music. Plenty of great tunes available on all of the usual platforms. (Including our new Dark Castle Fest 2024 Spotify Playlist with all of the bands). Welcome to Dark Castle Iris Marlowe, we’re excited about you!
This Goth Pop, Dark Wave band released their first couple of singles in June, 2022.
Aside from playing their hometown, they’ve done some show dates on the east coast and even once in Europe; but it looks like Dark Castle will be their first show south of the Ohio River. Lucky us that we get to be their first date on their way down Interstate 65. How should we welcome them to Kentucky? With bourbon, of course! Nothing goes better with sweet melodic hooks from a Moog Sub25 than some Old Forester 86! 86 + 25 = 111 and that sounds like some solid numerology right there. “Seeing the angel number 111 signifies confidence within yourself and motivates your own strength and decision-making when opportunities are sent your way.” Well, there you have it folks. It’s in the numbers!
You can check out clubdrugs on Bandcamp or wherever you choose to listen to music. They have music available on all of the usual platforms. (Including our new Dark Castle Fest 2024 Spotify Playlist with all of the bands). Welcome to Dark Castle clubdrugs, we’re excited about you!
Louisville local Sinister Senile will be joining us again in 2024! Every adventure needs a good Mage and when it comes to spell casting, there’s none more reliable than our brother Kensaku Nishizato.
Sinister Senile is an evolving experimental project with a dark electro-accoustc edge. Utilizing whatever each spell calls for, from tape loops to plinking and plunking away on a banjo used as a percussion instrument. The project was founded in 1997 by artist Kensaku Nishizato. It has involved live works with Pas Musique, along with contributions by Norman Westberg (Swans) and others. Since 1986, Kensaku has collaborated with Nurse With Wound, Val Denham, and more.
It’s almost hard to confine this music to “Dark” Ambient when this Dungeon Master weaves in so many gems, sparkles and fluorescent plastic dinosaurs. Why not take a ride with Kensaku and friends and you tell us! Is it Dark Ambient, Avant-Garde, Dungeon Synth, New Age?
Maybe it’s just fun and you should check it out on Bandcamp or wherever you choose to listen to music. You can discover this treasure on all of the usual platforms. Welcome back to Dark Castle Sinister Senile, we’re excited about you!
Dead Souls Gothic Lounge will be joining us again for Dark Castle 2024! Our gloriously gloomy kinfolk will make the short trek down I-65 to help keep the castle ballroom exciting.
Dead Souls Gothic Lounge is the creation of Indianapolis-based DJs Gomez and Naggaroth Wych. Originated in 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Dead Souls Gothic Lounge would differentiate itself from other nights by being all-ages; showcasing a wide variety of music under the goth umbrella including lesser-known artists from South America and eastern Europe, and featuring a clothing and book swap at every event.
Dead Souls would continue in North Carolina until the pandemic forced it to become online-only. In 2022, having relocated to Indianapolis, Naggaroth and Gomez resurrected Dead Souls live events at the music venue Healer. Today it continues to provide a unique and inclusive alternative music experience each month.
Check out Dead Souls Gothic Lounge on Twitch and give them a follow on Instagram for continuous set list posts and updates! Welcome back to Dark Castle Dead Souls Gothic Lounge, we’re excited about you!
The Kentucky Vampires will be returning for Dark Castle Fest 2024! Last year was so much fun, we couldn’t resist another round.
The Kentucky Vampires are a four member Gothic Rock band with roots in the city of Louisville, Kentucky. They deliver dramatic songs about ancient times, acts of sorcery and dark romance. Helping to spread the revival of Gothic Rock in its evolved contemporary form while remaining true to the origins of traditional Gothic Rock history. Soon after creating their first self titled album in 2018, they began work on their second album “Crimson Curse” released in 2020.
The band ended up on uncertain hiatus after the pandemic with members separating a bit to pursue other projects and personal endeavors but new material is in development with a future release not far away.
While live performances will remain rare for the time being, Dark Castle Fest began a new era for Louisville’s own original Gothic Rock torchbearers. Check out The Kentucky Vampires on Bandcamp or wherever you choose to listen to music. They can be found on all of the usual platforms.
Our dear Count has been lurking in the shadows of Louisville’s dark music scene since 2005.
After getting their start under the tutelage of Louisville Gothic’s founding members the Count has gone on to spread his abysmal vision via various dark dance nights and concerts across the city.
In addition to keeping the gothic and industrial scene festering in Louisville, Count Grozny spread his vile tendrils regionally, infecting Indianapolis, Bloomington, Nashville, Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus.
Count Grozny is currently a resident DJ and promoter associated with the Radio Arcane organization as well as being one of the founders of Dark Castle Fest. You can check out some previous sets and mixes by DJ Count Grozny at www.radio-arcane.com and follow him on Facebook and Instagram. Dark Castle loves DJ Count Grozny!
Welcome Blood Dance, coming to us all the way from Mexico City, Mexico!
We are overjoyed to be able to host this band and get the rare opportunity to see them perform live here in Louisville. CDMX has a thriving Gothic scene and we are super excited to get to bring some of that here to Art Sanctuary. Adding one more reason you don’t want to miss this festival.
Blood dance is a Gothic Rock, Dark Wave band formed in Mexico City in 2016. They have played with various international bands such as Hapax, Gitane Demone, Clan of Xymox, Spiritual Bat, Corpus Delicti, Plastique Noir, and many others. Since 2019 they have released a series of singles with the help of Barry Galvin (Mephisto Walz, Scarlet Remains, Christian Death). They have also had the privilege of collaborating with Fran Ka of Corpus Delicti for their most Recent Single “Blood Dance by Blood Dance”.
You can check them out on Bandcamp or wherever you choose to listen to music. They can be found on all of the usual platforms. Welcome to Dark Castle Blood Dance, we’re excited about you!
Creepy Crawly is owner, DJ and curator for Fermenteddarkness Radio out of the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. There’s not a more supportive DJ in the dark music community and we appreciate his all seeing eye.
Creepy Crawly’s beginnings go as far back as the early ‘90s as a club promoter in New York City. He later moved to Savannah, Georgia in 2003 where he created new goth nights and hosted some great bands such as The Last Dance and Crüxshadows. He has served as a guest DJ in North Carolina and Endless Night in New Orleans.
These days, he mostly just makes us bands happy by including us in his set lists like Hex Signs or delighting listeners with Echos Of Yesterday on Fermenteddarkness Radio. We’re looking forward to seeing Creepy Crawly in person and excited to have him spin for our castle ballroom. We’re gonna hang out and have a blast and you can too! Until then, you can check out Creepy Crawly’s Fermenteddarkness Radio shows on Mixcloud and follow his sets on Facebook and Instagram; where he never fails to list bands. Welcome to Dark Castle DJ Creepy Crawly, we’re excited about you!
Tokyo Teens are an 80’s inspired Darkpop band from Atlanta. Self described as “modern and dark with a slice of hope.” Featuring songwriter, multi instrumentalist, and vocalist Jimmi B. and vocals, guitar, keys, and production by Grammy winning producer Billy Hume. Their live performances also include the addition of a second guitarist and live keyboardist and we are looking forward to seeing and meeting them at Dark Castle Fest.
Tokyo Teens released their first two tastefully well crafted and produced singles in late 2022 and a third in 2023. Their songs have a feel good vibe and attractive melodies, even when moping in forlorn glumness. It’s a formula not unknown to bands like The Cure, New Order etc. who often made maudlin lyrics feel delightful.
We’re looking forward to them producing more and hopefully soon. In the meantime, you can check out Tokyo Teens on Bandcamp or wherever you choose to listen to music. They can be found on all of the usual platforms, so, keep an eye out for new releases. Welcome to Dark Castle Tokyo Teens, we’re excited about you!
We had so much fun together this past year, we wanted to do it all over again.
These guys are amazing and if you haven’t seen them live, you should. One of the absolute best bands touring today. Flawless musicians, the lot of them and excellently crafted songs to boot.
Astari Nite crosses an obscure mix between gothic rock and post-punk, exploring themes of death, love and the occult. We enjoy their company as well as their music because they love puppies, creativity and the esoteric arts just like we do and they have a fine understanding that love is the law.
One of the coolest things about Dark Castle is that we all hang out together and you can too!
Check out Astari Nite on Bandcamp or wherever you choose to listen to music. They can be found on all of the usual platforms. Welcome back to Dark Castle Astari Nite, we’re excited to see you again!
“If Ouija boards played music.” The Dead Speak is a Louisville, Kentucky-based horror cow-beret duo that invoke goth rockabilly energy. Jaime Muerte (she/her) and Wayne Robinson (he/him) fuse guttural, impassioned vocals with stories centering around themes of suicide, folklore and substance abuse. This band has built themselves a nice following and continues to grow and it seems wise to go ahead and let the dead speak for themselves. We wouldn’t want to interfere with this seance they have going.
“In The Dead Speak ‘universe,’ we like to say that Wayne and I are just conduits, or messengers, for the dead - and each song is someone else telling their story through us. Sometimes the songs are fun and pick on horror tropes, and sometimes they’re a lot more serious and personal. I think the common theme though is that we believe that as humans we need to get better at facing our fears. That through looking darkness in the eye and talking about it, we find the path to growth and light.” - Jamie Muerte
Check out The Dead Speak on Bandcamp or wherever you choose to listen to music. They can be found on all of the usual platforms. Welcome to Dark Castle The Dead Speak, we’re excited about you!
It’s been a goal to find ways to make Dark Castle Fest stand out as something unique within the dark music community. No better way than to add a bit more authentic Appalachian flavor to our local, American Gothic experience. Not in a typical way, though. We want a bit of Nick Cave with our Bill Monroe. A bit of folk magic and some Granny Witchcraft, instead of the standard traditions of gospel Bluegrass. Real Dark Folk.
Saddle is a four piece rock show, curated with traditional aspects of folk and country sounds. Bringing you a unique stage performance rooted in percussive upright bass and propelled by dynamic drum application. Fronted by brothers, Chase and Trent Williams who bring to the stage a variety of instruments including; Electric Guitar, Pedal Steel, dobro, mandolin, banjo and acoustic guitar. The brothers take turn in sharing stories, with twangy vocals from harsh to clean, seamlessly, while complimenting one another with natural “blood harmony.” These brothers aren’t faking anything, either. They are real farmers. They live off the land of Kentucky and they are genuine, good people with their own original recipe of farm fresh, dark country music.
Check them out on Bandcamp or wherever you choose to listen to music. They can be found on most of the usual platforms. Anyway, welcome to Dark Castle kinfolk, we’re excited about you!
It’s likely no surprise that some of us local dwellers of the Dark Castle grand hall are going to play the festival again. We’ve got some new names but also a couple of returning performers. Art Sanctuary is, after all, our home and Dark Castle is a local celebration as well as bringing in internationally known acts. We like to prove that Kentucky has its own unique voice in dark music and culture and a lot more creativity than we often get credit for. Louisville Gothic and Art Sanctuary have kept interesting things happening here for a couple of decades, now. Yes, we want to show it off a bit: our home and our art. So, let’s start with what’s basically our house band: Motuvius Rex. We pretty much live at Art Sanctuary anyway. From bartending to performing to just hanging out, Art Sanctuary is our clubhouse, we love it and we hope you will, too.
Motuvius Rex is a Gothic Folk band, for the most part. A bit of Psychedelic Rock, a dash of Appalachian music and mixed with a lot of influences from Boy George and the New Romantics to Genesis P-Orridge’s hippie cult music experiments. Throw in Merle Haggard, Christian Death, Current 93, Antônio Carlos Jobim etc, etc. All of this mixed with deep roots in Gothic Rock, New Wave and Neofolk music. Folk Noir? Not really. Gothic Rock? Probably some. Gothic Folk? That’s probably as close as it gets. Art School weirdness with a rural life experience that still keeps a firm hold within a Gothic framework. Basically, making Gothic Rock with a lot more acoustic instruments, which does include mandolins at times as well as antiquated electronics like a 1983 Casiotone Mt-65 and a 1988 Alesis HR-16 drum machine. All mixed with a full live band.
Based in Louisville, Kentucky, Motuvius Rex has performed and contributed bass for The Kentucky Vampires, as well as releasing music as Motuvius Rex. Currently signed with InClub Records in Lima, Peru. Motuvius Rex is also a founding member of the Dark Eclectic Music collective - Radio Arcane, also headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.
Check out Motuvius Rex on Bandcamp or wherever you choose to listen to music. Everything can be found on all the usual platforms.
We’re very excited to introduce this next confirmation because, quite honestly, it’s just refreshing to hear live cello in a Gothic framework right now. We know it’s not the first or only dark project to utilize classical instruments but it is sweet to hear them done well to a minimalist palette like in decades past. This music actually feels within the traditions of Gothic Expressionism, Post Industrial, Neofolk and Neoclassical music and it’s not been over polished or sterilized for a more commercial appeal; praise the gods. It was wonderful to hear and an instant attraction.
It’s not just the cello, either. The electronics meld tastefully to enhance the songs but never overpower them. There is also tremendous vocal ability that we can only assume has some classical training. A powerful voice and true understanding of harmony.
Silver Rein is an Ithaca, New York based composer, vocalist and cellist creating electric, dark folk. The sound has been described by listeners as “medieval Celtic” “atmospheric, Viking dungeon music” “cinematic” “good witch energy” and “a spiritual experience.”
Check this project out on Bandcamp or wherever you choose to listen to music.
Silver Rein is finishing a new album due out this Spring and current singles can be found on all the usual platforms. Anyway, welcome to Dark Castle Silver Rein, we’re excited about you!
The Neuro Farm will return to Dark Castle Fest in 2024! They were so great at Dark Castle in 2023 that we thought we needed more. Sometimes once just isn’t enough. You know? They just fit Dark Castle so well: the violin, the operatic vocals, the romantic flare of their atmosphere and style. They have theatrical appeal, a dark, moody romanticism and a neoclassical edge to their Gothic styled music. They just belong in our castle and we love them. Plus, we bonded over the sweetness of puppies, kittle cats and our mutual love of mixed nuts and Louisville Vegan Jerky. They have kind, gentle souls along with their mesmerizing audio projections and we just think everyone needs more.
The Neuro Farm is a darkwave, gothic rock band based in Washington DC. Combining vocal harmony with soaring violin melodies, driving rhythm guitar, and ethereal sonic textures, their music has been described as hauntingly beautiful.
Check them out on Bandcamp or wherever you choose to listen to music. They can be found on all the usual platforms. Anyway, welcome back to Dark Castle friends, we’re excited about you!
Are you into visually exciting, avant-garde performances with live saxophone, theremin, trombone, live percussion, live played synth sequences and fresh, interesting weirdness from creative humans that blow your mind with imagination? Because we are and Oakland, California’s haunted improv duo Bat Noise delivers!
Let’s welcome Bat Noise to Dark Castle! Our castle was made for bats and these fashionable flying puppies should fit right in.
They offer a live experience with urgency as ceremony, wear masks and give their all to their performance and musicianship.
Described as experimental, haunted and strange with industrial sequences that have a goth, deathrock, possessed channeling quality. They both sing, switching off lead vocals, and weaving spooky soundtracks with everything besides a few samples performed live.
Roxy Monoxide and LuLu Gammaray can also be found in their other projects Moira Scar and V.E.X.
V.E.X. was a Roxy and LuLu duo that is now called Bat Noise. Bat Noise is also where Moira Scar, V.E.X. and Bat Noise release music and put on underground events. Moira Scar/V.E.X. has played many hundreds of shows, including with Psychic T.V., 45 Grave, HIDE, Hante, Moor Mother, Gitane Demone, Acid Mothers Temple, Lydia Lunch, Skeletal Family, Spiritual Bat, Kommunity FK, Mephisto Walz, SRSQ, Blu Anxxiety, and many more.
Check them out on Bandcamp or wherever you choose to listen to music. They can be found on all the usual platforms, though, currently under the other names. They are due to release some new stuff as Bat Noise soon but we already know it will be fun. Anyway, welcome to Dark Castle Bat Noise, we’re excited about you!
Sombre Arcane is a theatrical Dungeon Synth / Fantasy Ambient band that mixes medieval folk instruments with synthesizer music. Bringing dungeon synth out of the basement and onto the stage since 2017.
If you’re looking for a soundtrack for your next Dungeons & Dragons campaign or Warhammer Fantasy Battle, look no further; Sombre Arcane has you covered! They don’t just stop with the music, either, they look the part. Prepare to be transported to dungeons deep and caverns old!
This band is gonna be a blast and what could be more fitting for Dark Castle? Do not miss this band!
Check them out on Bandcamp or wherever you choose to listen to music. They can be found on all the usual platforms. Anyway, welcome to Dark Castle Sombre Arcane, we’re excited about you!
Ghost Painted Sky has been around since 2014 and has released several EPs, singles, and one full-length album so far, with a second full-length scheduled for 2024. This was another band entry of immediate attraction. Their sound just fits Dark Castle perfectly. Atmospheric, melodic gloominess. Webbing guitars, well anchored bass, often with tribal drumming; two Yin and Yang vocalists, one dark baritone male and the other an angelic and beautiful female.
This band feels firmly rooted in a traditional Gothic framework and we love it. A+ One thing that stands out noticeably is how much their music seeps into your subconscious and grows on you in pleasant reflections. It gets catchier after a few listenings and you end up wanting more and digging in further.
Another band we highly recommend heading over to Bandcamp and buying a few things from but even if you’re not the buying kind, at least check them out wherever you choose to stream.
Anyway, welcome to Dark Castle Ghost Painted Sky, we’re excited about you!
Attic Eyes is an up and coming Dark Wave / Gothic project from Knoxville, Tennessee. They released their first single in June, 2022, a couple of others shortly afterwards and their first album this September, 2023. This self titled album has been a personal favorite on the old playlist ever since.
Believe us, this band has produced well crafted, very strong songs. With extremely powerful, emotive vocals reminiscent of (dare we say?) Pete Burns. Well, very early Pete Burns during the 7” Gothic era, before the fame. That’s a huge complement, in our opinions. Maybe even a dash of early Ian Astbury, which means powerful vocals as both Ian and Pete could wail. So can Attic Eyes vocalist Adam Deal.
The music is equally as solid with delicious guitar hooks by John Clercx and driving bass lines of the sort we crave by Travis Morgan. Morgan also handles the exceptionally tasteful electronics which accent and add to the songs rather than over powering their elegance.
This is no run of the mill dark project, this is old school talent across the board and we were instantly drawn to it and impressed. That’s why this band is first in. They rock and you should do yourself a favor and head on over to Bandcamp and buy this first album. It’s a gem.
Anyway, welcome to Dark Castle Attic Eyes, we’re excited about you!
