Darksynth

Darksynth is a heavier, darker branch of synthwave that fuses retro synthesizer music with horror film scoring and metal. Where synthwave proper looks back to 1980s pop and cinema with nostalgia, darksynth pushes toward aggression: distorted bass sequences, pounding drums, minor-key arpeggios and textures drawn from *John Carpenter*-style horror soundtracks and industrial music. Developed in the early 2010s by French and international producers including *Perturbator* and *Carpenter Brut*, it is largely instrumental, built for momentum and menace, and scored like an action or slasher film that does not exist.