Gnoll is the Heimat der Katastrophe project I most often hear folks professing their love for. It is a little less bloopy than Kobold, a little spookier, a little more blackened. This is their second album, Music for Dungeons, which is just two 20-minute tracks full of chanting, airy spaces, menacing drums and plenty of atmosphere. It gets pretty epic towards the end, building to a climax that would work in a surprisingly well made mid-80s cult horror film, I think. Or for the end of your D&D campaign.

It doesn’t seem like a good fit when you think about it – synths as background music for fantasy roleplaying – but when you listen to it, you can hear it working. Something about the 80s nostalgia-ness melding together.

I love Peter Pagano’s art, too, really fits the dark, but slightly cartoony mood.

You can check out Gnoll and the other HDK releases on their Bandcamp page.