Name: Wizards of Aldur
Album: Enchanter’s Endgame
Released: 21 October 2024
One of the things I really enjoy doing, because it helps me unwind, is searching for new music online. When that happens, something I consider inevitable, since as the years go by the need for repetition grows, it does so for several reasons. I want to remind myself of what once moved me and to see whether it still does, I want to track the passage of time more clearly, and, above all, because the act itself matters. With that in mind, it is very easy to get lost in the past and fail to devote proper attention to the present, which is not particularly healthy. You might ask what is right and what is wrong, and I would not disagree, but in my view it is important to strike a balance in order to preserve variety, avoiding both nostalgia for its own sake and the relentless chase to keep up with everything new. Things will happen gradually anyway, and if they do not, nothing terrible occurs. Why all this pursuit? Anxiety even in enjoyment is not especially good for one’s health.
While rummaging around, like an uncle of mine in America who walks along beaches with a metal detector finding lost objects in the sand, I came across the album I am writing about today. Reading the track titles, I realized it was most likely connected to The Belgariad series by David Eddings, which I have not read and probably will not, for reasons that always sadden me when they prevent me from investing time in a work of art. Unfortunately, there are times when I cannot separate the work from its creator, and this is one of them. Had I read the books first and learned about the author afterward, it would not have been the same. If I had enjoyed them and formed an attachment while being unaware of the artist’s character, the work would have taken on a different place within me and remained there, unaffected. The facts would still have been distressing, but at least I would have had a relationship with the work to hold on to. When the opposite is true, however, it becomes very difficult, if not impossible, especially in cases such as that of Eddings and his wife. In any case, let us return to Enchanter’s Endgame.
Wizards of Aldur is a one-person project and falls squarely within dungeon synth, which makes it ideal to let play while sitting comfortably, lying down with a book, doing something, or doing nothing at all. The music is sufficient on its own, even if most listeners tend to pair it with another activity. This album, like many within the genre, works perfectly as a companion to reading, and I am certain it would suit Eddings’ famous series as well as many other fantasy works. For me, it has accompanied yet another revisit to The Two Towers by Tolkien over the past few days, and once I finish that I plan to move on to the fourth book of The Stormlight Archive, Rhythm of War by Sanderson, unless I give in to the highly addictive pull of Ashes of the Imperium, which has been sitting in my possession for just a few hours.
We are past the middle of December and heading toward the end of 2025, so if you are in the mood for fantasy literature and looking for something to keep you company on a cold night, morning, or any other moment, give Enchanter’s Endgame from Australia a chance.
If you truly love music, do not rely solely on streaming.
Whenever your finances allow it, offer your support and purchase an album.
It matters.
Favorite Song: The Child of Light and the Eternal Man
https://wizardsofaldur.bandcamp.com/album/enchanters-endgame
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