Synth EP Review: “Strange Dream’’ by Leifendeth

Leifendeth’s Strange Dream is weighted with fear and dark force. It takes us on a journey through one man’s experiences with a horrifying dream and a shadowed entity.

“Strange Dream (Night One)” starts off with rippling, insectile vibrations moving below serenely gliding, sinister notes. A discussion of the Balkan conflict moves in as thudding drums join the pumping rhythm and looming sounds rise with the shadows. Flashing chimes carry a spectral minor-key melody, shining with unhallowed light above the pulsating rhythm, creating a hypnotic flow.

Flatly tapping percussion intertwines with strings that leak uncomfortable energy while the swelling darkness below rises. Trembling strength heaves beneath the spinning string section, inducing a trance, before the percussive force is cut by ghostly Theremin and ground-shaking bass.

A fluting instrument takes up the main melody, filling me with trepidation, while the desolate low end is joined by fluttering drums. A voiceover speaks of whispering in an underground place full of high strangeness. The hollow background vibrates and static guides the music to its end.

Fiercely explosive drums batter and echo while a nervous sound cries out to open "Strange Dream (Night Two)". Chains rattle and hollow sounds tremble as mechanized tones move like precisely meshing gears. The nasal-sounding synth vibrates with a haunting feeling while digitized notes reverberate.

A minor key melody, tinged with portent, surges with distant danger while the spooky choir fills the background. Hammering metallic percussion creates an industrial propulsion while chiming notes glide like ghosts down empty hallways. The rhythm is driven by mechanized dynamism while an elevated, unevenly pulsing synth generates tense worry.

Blackness rises below meshing metal and the minor key melody repeats in circular lines. I am drawn to the unsettling shadows as the spectral choir cries and the battering drums move like strange mechanisms. The building threat permeates the music while the chanting in the distance rises to a crescendo with paranormal discomfort, like shadow figures towering in a sleep paralysis dream. As the track fades, the sound of indistinct voices dominates.

“Strange Dream (Night Three)” begins with a relentlessly ricocheting beat punctuated by a hard-hitting kick drum. The low end pulse rages while echoing notes cry out with mistily enigmatic sensations as the rhythm punches me in the gut.

The repeating melodic motif that runs across these pieces returns to evoke something possessed and deeply strange as the strings slide and hollow percussion shifts. The beat is shattering while eldritch notes swirl in hypnotic motion, and heavy sounds grumble with void-deep weight.

The melody becomes insistent as it sweeps through the music, full of intensifying threat. A menacing choir adds shadowy energy while the low end undulates and the kick drum smashes. The bass has a ferocious, growling quality as bells repeat with patterned dynamism. The string section is laden with dread and the percussion pounds on. As the track ends, twitching, discomforting sounds move and the bass growls roughly.

A synth seethes as percussion trembles to open “Dark Aura.” The vocals talk about demonic communication as the bass rises from the depths of the earth and a voice from the grave calls out. Chimes glimmer with a steady shadow pulse as someone tries to make contact with a spirit while the heavily writhing low end creeps.

Battering drums move with tensely glistening synth while the low end looms with deadly force. Terror is exuded by the piercing, raised notes while the rhythm is full of supernatural power. As the drums heave, elevated notes cry with fright, and the rhythm charges forward unrelentingly.

An abrasive synth carries a massive threat while the low end smashes home. As the raised notes add tension, voices full of spectral force move in the distance as the underpinnings snarl. While the sweeping notes move with the choir, another vocal clip speaks of trapped entities, full of evil. I enjoy the way in which pure menace radiates from the track as it moves on. Hugely volleying sounds move back and forth while the percussion slams and silence falls on desolate winds.