Ringbearer – “Dark Side of the Mountain”

Ringbearer is the ambient project of Jaron Evil, the bass player of death metal band Archspire. Going by the alias Vultyrouts for this project, Ringbearer is about as far away from Jaron’s main band as you can get. Instead of blast beats and growled vocals, Ringbearer consists of beautiful soundscapes inspired things (and people) such as J.R.R. Tolkien.

With Dark Side of the Mountain there is no formal song structure (think verse, chorus, verse), so many who listen to this disc will just not get it. Instead, what the album offers are the soothing sounds of birds, wind, and keyboards which together almost form the soundtrack to a fantasy film. The songs are in fact majestic-sounding and like a good book, mentally can take one off to far away places. It’s an awesome experience, particularly when listened to over headphones.

Dark Side of the Mountain is available for digital download on Bandcamp and as a limited edition cassette from Acephale Winter Productions. The album itself is worth every penny and deserves a look if you want something relaxing to just chill out to.

Track Listing:

01. The Second Age
02. The Secret Stairs
03. Nine Riders
04. Kings of Old
05. The Dead Marshes
06. Nightfall in Mordor
07. Horse Lords of Rohan
08. Gollums Song

Run Time: 53:45
Release Date: June 11, 2013

Check out the song “Nine Riders”