The Midwest will experience the third edition of rising dungeon synth festival Great Lakes Dungeon Siege in just a few months, finding itself at a new location with a combination of rare live performances and scene staples. At the heart of it all is a team of organizers dedicated to growing and providing for the niche scene.
“Last year’s crowd was a wonderful variety of people, ranging from traditional black metal dungeon synth fans to curious newcomers and fantasy gamers alike,” recalls organizer and former Decibel contributor Jon Rosenthal. “Everyone existed in harmony, and it was all incredibly fun as everyone folk danced to Fief’s ‘Deep Forest Dance,’ closing out the second night. We are very grateful for our supporters and are happy to maintain an inclusive, safe environment for people to enjoy music.”
Hot off of a sold-out 2025 edition, there was no delay in booking this year’s lineup, which features headlining sets from Tolkien-worshipper Thangorodrim and dreamy Seattle entity Malfet. Because the dungeon synth scene is so interconnected, Rosenthal says it was a relatively straightforward task to book a lineup that worked. Great Lakes Dungeon Siege has leaned up since its inaugural incarnation, slimming down from its initial three-day run in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Perhaps the most exciting performance this year comes from Thangorodrim, who will be taking the stage for only the second time in his decade-long career.
“We managed to book the elusive Thangorodrim for his second performance ever, following his debut at the sold out Distant Strongholds the month before,” Rosenthal say, “Thanks to the hard work of our own Ben Schnitz and his constant contact with Thangorodrim’s agent at Out of Season. There is simply no way this would have happened without Ben. We are excited to make this legendary artist’s music even more accessible to folks who might not be able to afford the trip to Portland, Maine, or completely missed out on Distant Stronghold tickets.”
Thangorodrim, whose music has been praised for its old-school sound following along the path of Era 1 Mortiis, has been active since 2016. His music evokes similar feelings to the emotional high points of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and this set will undoubtedly be remembered fondly. Night one headliner Malfet also deals in traditional-style dungeon synth, though his inclinations are more toward dark fantasy and less focused on Tolkien alone. The undercard provides plenty of variety, reflecting the broad spectrum of dungeon synth-adjacent synthesizer music, which has seen significant growth in the last decade.
“The isolation and increase in personal time during the pandemic led to a boom in the dungeon synth community,” Rosenthal points out. “More artists, more labels, more consumption and more streaming all contributed to dungeon synth’s popularity increase. That being said, it is important to highlight the hard work of people like Josh Pratt, Shane Hall and the recently-retired Tirith, who brought dungeon synth to life onstage and online through their efforts as the original Dungeon Siege in Worcester, Massachusetts. Without them, I highly doubt there would be as much of a live dungeon synth movement at all.”
Great Lakes Dungeon Siege is set for October 24 and 25 at Ghost Light in Hamtrack, Michigan. Tickets, both single day and weekend, are still available via the website.
