Daemonyx: Curse of the Daimon
Original music by Matt Cardin
Daemonyx is my one-man musical project, an expression of the same imaginative impulse that drives my fiction and essays. Its sole album, Curse of the Daimon, brings together rock, metal, electronica, and orchestral textures in a musical exploration of horror, sadness, beauty, and spirituality.
Scroll to the bottom for information about purchasing a physical copy of the album (CD) or downloading a digital one.
About the album
I composed, recorded, and produced Daemonyx: Curse of the Daimon between 2005 and 2008. First released in 2009, it crosses paths at multiple points with my book Dark Awakenings, much of which emerged from the same period of creative activity. More broadly, it intersects with the themes in my later book of complete collection fiction, To Rouse Leviathan, as well as my nonfiction books A Course in Demonic Creativity and Writing at the Wellspring. Writing and music have both been ways for me to hear and follow an inner creative impulse and find out what it wants to say and become.
The complete album and accompanying booklet are available below as a free download for subscribers to MattCardin.com. A free subscription is all you need. If you already subscribe, sign in using your subscriber email address to access the files.
Track listing
- The Gates of Deep Darkness — 2:51
- Daimonica — 4:24
- The Face of the Deep (1) — 4:22
- Blood and Milk, movement 1 — 2:28
- Blood and Milk, movement 2 — 1:04
- Blood and Milk, movement 3 — 0:56
- Blood and Milk, movement 4 — 1:55
- The Dreamlands — 1:59
- The Streets of Vastarien — 3:56
- Road to Olduvai — 9:56
- Dystopian Dreams — 2:49
- My Own Death Poems — 6:35
- The Face of the Deep (2) — 4:04
Original music composed, performed, recorded, and produced by Matt Cardin.
Mastered at Direct Resonance Studios, Waco, Texas.
Cover art and design, and also the name Daemonyx: Jason Van Hollander.
About the music
Think of Curse of the Daimon as a dark film soundtrack composed in several musical forms and genres.
Much of it interacts with literature and cinema. “The Streets of Vastarien” explores the dream city of Thomas Ligotti’s classic story "Vastarien." “My Own Death Poems” answers the invitation implicit in Ligotti's book Death Poems. "The Dreamlands" evokes the beauty and horror of the alternate dreamworld found in Lovecraft's and Dunsany's fictions. “Daimonica” weaves sampled film dialogue into a musical tapestry of creative exhilaration, terror, and daimonic domination.
The accompanying PDF booklet includes the original cover, credits, instruments and recording equipment, notes on individual compositions, musical influences, film sources, and the complete dialogue montage from “Daimonica.”
Read the story behind Daemonyx.
“Like a soundtrack to a fever dream, the music of Daemonyx plumbs an ever-changing world of mystery, mood, and melodic apparitions. Listen with the lights out and your imagination on.” — Brian Hodge
“Daemonyx’s compositions conjure up images of eerie strangeness and awesomely alien worlds that nothing can evoke better than music.” — Ramsey Campbell
"There are many haunting and beautiful compositions that complement or completely make horror films—you know the ones—as well as appeal to listeners who are sensitive to the mystery and dread of life. In its debut album Curse of the Daimon, Daemonyx has offered us thirteen works of such quality." — Thomas Ligotti
Own the physical album
I have a limited number of physical CDs available from my remaining stock, with cover art and design by Jason Van Hollander, who also suggested the name Daemonyx.
Download the album
The digital album and booklet are my gift to subscribers. To access them, subscribe for free or sign in to your existing account below.