How Ysbryd of Wales adapts black metal to his platonic ideal of the genre is summarized in the title of his latest album, Welsh Mythical Darkness. Released under his Ysbrydnos moniker, it’s a séance with the nocturnal and folkloric forces underscoring his Welsh heritage. It’s also his sixth release since 2022 as Ysbrydnos, and that’s not counting the splits, live recordings, EPs, and compilations he’s put out under his dungeon synth alias, Altar of Moss, and his other mantles.
Frustratingly, building a lore around Ysbryd and his label, Nocturnal Curse, through which he releases most of his music, comes off as fanfiction. It’s a desperate search for narrative cohesion. It ceases to apply to an artist as nonchalant about composing as Ysbryd, whose approach is as follows: “With every band I establish parameters for the sound and instruments I want to use before I begin. So that once I have my footing I can improvise within these boundaries and feel creative freedom.”
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Regardless of those parameters, Ysbryd’s works are all abrasive and unassuming. Fuzz and discoloration are instruments in his hands, with the production acting as the barrier between our world and the spirit world in which he works. That’s what Ysbrydnos means, after all; a time of the night when the veil between realms is thin and permeable. It comes from Welsh folklore, and to Ysbryd, represents “a communion with Nature and spirit through meditation and study. I think the unfettered sound and pure creativity that emerges is the focus of the name now. Myself as Ysbryd taps into my internal world, and I feel I’m expressing my inner spirit as I write and create for this project more than any other.”
It then follows that Ysbrydnos is his most prolific project as of now, as it feels the closest to him. Other titles present as characters Ysbryd plays. These include: “Enshroud is raw vampiric black metal, so I use a lot of detuned synth sounds and sound FX to create the atmosphere of haunted forests, crumbling castles that hide vampires. Barrow Lord is a much more bombastic, war-like black metal sound, with more synths and a magisterial feeling that I knew Vass of Vassus would enhance with his oratory vocal style. Brechfa & Crisis Apparition are more DSBM-influenced.”
What distinguishes his work from similar ilk is quite glaring, occasionally. There are few instances of flute appearing in raw black metal, yet it marks nearly all of Ysbrydnos’ releases. Elsewhere, the differences are more fundamental and nuanced. Take Brechfa’s Hallucinations of Saturnalia, which Ysbryd deems “one of the best black metal albums I’ve written.” Whereas Ysbrydnos stitches Celtic folk music, dungeon synth, and black metal together, Brechfa practices black metal orthodoxy.
“With Brechfa, I was listening to a lot of Revenant Marquis and other bands from the ‘Pembrokeshire Black Circle,’ so they directly inspired the rougher sound, howling vocals, and more oppressive atmosphere I wanted to create. I also feel they’re some of my best riffs, and enjoyed making music darker than my usual output with Ysbrydnos.”
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Ysbrydnos has evolved quickly in the span of a few years. Compare the sharpness of their debut, The Forest Howls At Dusk, to the homespun Welsh Mythical Darkness. The development was circumstantial, in part, as Ysbryd faced line-up changes and reverted Ysbrydnos to a solo project. He assumed more responsibilities and grew tired of waiting for others to record and mix. He adopted a rawer production style and a songwriting ethos that played into it, since he was less accomplished than his former producer Saidan (yes, that Saidan).
Saidan’s production lifted Ysbrydnos’ first three releases above the mist and roughage. They’re lean and piercing, pronouncing the contrast between black metal and Agata Tutkaj’s flute. Tutkaj, Ysbrydnos’ former vocalist, influenced the project’s direction by adding flute arrangements to The Forests Howl at Dusk, and Ysbryd built off them with synths. It’s as if Tutkaj nudged Ysbryd closer to realizing his vision for the act, an un-Earthly entity communing through black metal and Celtic overtones. It would take some time for him to adapt after Tutkaj departed in 2024.
Ysbryd’s next release was Siant Derwyoddol EP, a showcase for his riffing and songwriting on the most basic fronts. It’s transitional, seeing as it was his first solo release under the Ysbrydnos mantle. It set the stage for Welsh Mythical Darkness, which confirmed that he could implant his ideals into the project without outside aid. He says, “I’ve been using sound font players and VST’s in Altar Of Moss for so many years that I was comfortable programming flute melodies to include on Welsh Mythical Darkness; and also used more strings and folk instruments alongside me doing live percussion.”
Permeating each Ysbrydnos release is the intersection of Welsh identity, class, and, of course, darkness. Cursory scans often pick up these convergence points instantly, as on tracks like “Spectral Hounds of Annwn” from The Forest Howls at Dusk. “Culturally I hope to represent the working class and downtrodden, the outsiders on the fringes of society and those fallen through the cracks of the system, and hopefully remind Welsh people of their history, how lucky we are to have these epic landscapes and stories, and that a hectic, modern life ruled by corporations can be met with quiet, personal resistance through connection with nature and choosing carefully where to place your attention,” Ysbryd says.
That statement is practically the mantra for dungeon synth as a whole. Ysbryd’s take on the genre, whether with Altar of Moss or used as interludes on his metal albums, is rustic and modest, tying it to an unhurried Welsh lifestyle. The mundanity that modern work breeds and our hyperonline ecosystem stifle imaginations and unsettle the mind. Ysbrdynos rediscovers those delights through nature and meditation; two key elements to black metal and dungeon synth.
“Communing with nature as a part of the religious experience of black metal is important to me. Meditation is just another way to access that spiritual dimension, perhaps when you can’t get to the woods or mountains, and attempting to remove your ego as the driving force behind creating or releasing your music seems more achievable through black metal or dungeon synth for me than any other genre.“
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Idealizing freedom from labour and fleeing the wage-driven market are working class aspirations. To be working class is to live to sell your time and energy, all moments extracted for others, leaving a dearth of individual expression hamstrung by lack of time, resources, and fuel. It’s a luxury to do nothing. It makes sense that Ysbryd carves meditative practice into his music. He points out that most Welsh people are, and remain, working class. “A Fallow Harvest” from Welsh Mythical Darkness speaks of “the downtrodden outlook of the working class at the hands of exploitative employers.”
Escapism isn’t the goal. All of his albums, but particularly Welsh Mythical Darkness, delve deeper into their worlds rather than fabricate lofty fantasies. Ysbryd finds his nation’s mythology magnetic for its superstitious elements. He ventures into Wales, musically speaking, to best represent it. Numerous Southern and Western Welsh locations receive mention, including Mynyddcerrig (“Full Moon Over Mynyddcerrig”), Carmarthen, where he wrote the first Ysbrydnos album and Phantasmal Bells EP, and Iron Age Hill Fort, where he roamed the fields and woods as a child.
“I never wanted to write from outside of my own culture or point of view – the ‘cosplay’ element of black metal is already enough of a pose without pretending to be something you’re not,” he says. “The use of mythology and historical landmarks is another way to connect the body of work to the landscapes that surround or have inspired me. Speaking of Wales’ past and attempted conquest is me reminding Welsh listeners what we’ve made it through as a nation; that our language still exists despite it being banned for generations of oppression; that Wales is more than hills and rugby – it’s a vibrant Celtic culture akin to Ireland or Scotland.”
Although Ysbryd claims Brechfa is his best black metal project, Welsh Mythical Darkness is arguably his strongest because it’s the most idyllic representation of the traits he wishes to present. He readily admits that black metal’s “purposeful removal of human personality from the musician and use of pseudonym and make up or obscuring of the features as a means to let the music take centre stage” strikes a chord with him, but Welsh Mythical Darkness fascinates because traces of the person behind the act fight to reveal themselves on it.
Black metal often distances itself from the individual to portray an idealized self; an aggrandized embodiment of a host of themes Metal Archives lists. One can dip into it or let it consume them, which is what Ysybrd does: “I find it’s a good outlet for my frustrations with modern life and a longing to return to ‘the old ways,’ which I’m fully aware not only don’t exist, but would be nothing like I’m imagining them. Nevertheless, I still find living in this world I’m creating through the music preferable to reality most of the time, so I spend as much time there as life allows.”
The endearment with Welsh Mythical Darkness’ titular concepts cloaks someone finding solace in their composite interests. Ysbryd slithers through the asthenosphere connecting regional history, mysticism, and class, with a hint of isolation that gives black metal its raison d’etre. Without attempting to be one, it’s an extremely close-to-the-heart record. Ysbryd agrees: “Making dungeon synth and black metal is the closest I’ve gotten to expressing how I feel internally through music, so I imagine I’ll continue until I die or can’t play anymore. “
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Welsh Mythical Darkness is available now.
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