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Mad Dungeon Podcast – Epic Levels Music

“A wallop of both intense nostalgia and comedy for geek-minded lovers of music and gaming.” – V13

“They do so many excellent creative things… make very distinct maps. They’re all different, which I love. They are Epic. Enjoy their cool art.” – Dragon Talk podcast #390 (official D&D podcast of WoTC)

“A banger that recalls Deltron 3030, Open Mike Eagle, Mega Ran with hints of Fresh Prince, and shouts out to Castle Ravenloft, The Rolling Stones has a lyrical nod to Eazy-E, etc. This one will have you rollin’ those D20s.” – Ghettoblaster Magazine

“Transforms moody strings and echoing bells into an intricate soundscape. Off-kilter nerdcore hip-hop that revolves around their Dungeons & Dragons exploits… a vehicle for combining their love of old school hip-hop, fantasy, and comedy.” – Bleeding Cool News

Epic Levels The Mega Dungeon Men EP (out Apr. 12) – Mad Dungeon podcast

ATL fantasy rap outfit Epic Levels’ new album, The Mega Dungeon Men EP (out Apr. 12), is an intense dose of nostalgia and comedy for geek-minded connoisseurs of fun. This album comes on the heels of season two of their Mad Dungeon podcast where they interview members of the tabletop roleplaying game (TTRPG) community, then improvisationally build an adventuring location that’s then written up and illustrated.

Epic Levels is an alchemic fusion of media that transcends the physical realms of time and space, fronted by duel MCs Andrew Bellury (he/him) aka Tiger Wizard and Steve Albertson (he/him) aka Dragon Warrior, music produced by engineer Robin Bellury (they/she) aka Warlock Roc and podcast producer Zach Cowan (he/him) aka Bat Alchemist.

On one end of the spectrum, they’re an adventuring party of like-minded individuals filling the ears of this lowly realm’s denizens with bardic fantasy-flavored rap. On the other end is Mad Dungeon, a podcast that is all-parts tabletop gaming related, not only exploring their world of Epica in the upcoming third season, but also delving into the minds of game designers from around the globe through interviews and game accessory tie-ins.

Former podcast guests have included Dungeon & Dragons legends like Ed Greenwood, Erol Otus, Monte Cook and Luke Gygax to the new class of creators like Gavin Norman (Dolmanwood, Old School Essentials), Banana Chan (Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall), Johan Nohr & Pelle Nilsson (MÖRK BORG) and many more.

Following their debut album Armor Classy, a collection of stellar synth-laden party anthems and satirical D&D lyrical tropes, the group is now ready to debut The Mega Dungeon Men EP, featuring sword slapping beats by Mason Grant aka Inner Resting, mixing by Elleot Beenk (Janelle Monáe, Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Leo Nocentelli of The Meters) & Damon Moon (Bathe Alone, Curtis Harding), and mastered by Rob Klenier (Labrinth, Flo Rida, Sia).

“We were working with Inner Resting’s beats,” says Tiger Wizard, “to construct what the themes of these songs would be. We’d take a D&D or fantasy roleplaying reference, and then mesh it with something else based on what the beat reminded us of: monsters with Ric Flair swagger, switching out a hotdog for dynamite, or dying of old age in a mega dungeon. Normally whatever made us laugh the most.”

The Mega Dungeon Men EP begins with the old-school funk rap jaunt “More Than Meets the Eye.” This educational escapade highlights the dangers of dungeon delving—where traps, mimics, lurkers, ambushed backstabs and all types of Looney Tunes style death waits around every corner.

“I love referencing things that other people might be like, ‘I don’t know what that is. Let me look into it,’ ” says Albertson. “We pepper in a lot of musical references, but also lyrical homages to all the nerdy stuff we love. Andrew knew that he wanted to do a Dark Sun song and that’s how ‘Dark Sunglasses’ came into being.”

“Dark Sunglasses” is an electric jam that lyrically plays with desert settings, specifically Dungeons & Dragons’ Dark Sun campaign setting. The track is overflowing with sand-related properties like Frank Herbert’s Dune, Mad Max and of course Star Wars. This mesh between sun blistering lyrics, overlaid samples, and thirst quenching beats is sure to give anyone a hankering for the Spice.

“My favorite song on this album right now is ‘House on Haunted Hill Dwarf,’ ” says Albertson. “It’s a good place for the uninitiated to get started with our music. There’s a whole horror comedy storyline. It’s like a little play.”

The album takes a spooky turn with the nostalgia-driven “House on Haunted Hill Dwarf,” a song that’s sure to raise the dead with those deep and bubbling horns from a beloved film about a bio-exorcist. The lyrical narrative centers on would-be heroes Kilgrath (a fighter) and Squibley (a cleric) as they duck into a house to avoid the “battleaxe blizzard,” only to find the place haunted. The story unfolds with the two characters rhyming their fright before confronting the evil and blowing up the house.

“Bugbear Barber” is a jazzy change of pace which brings barbershop culture into the realm of fantasy. Hideous monsters are made dapper by the titular bugbear barber. Bugbears are classically oafish brutes. But here, they bring civility by trimming yeti beards, fixing a medusa’s bedhead, and styling the hair of twenty-two classic monsters that they mention in the song… including the elusive Ric Flair. Woooooo!

“We were having so much fun thinking about monsters with different haircuts,” says Tiger Wizard. “Hopefully you’ll have just as much fun listening. That’s the main thing for us.”

Wrapping up the album is the title-track “Mega Dungeon Men,” which feature nerd rappers Mega Ran, MC Frontalot, Denkles and Dizzy the Bard dropping verses alongside Dragon Warrior and Tiger Wizard. This adventurous 8-bit mega-ditty has leveled-up lyrical layers that’ll defeat any final boss. The song opens with lines from the satanic panic TV cult classic Mazes & Monsters before jumping down the pipe into a video game induced fever dream about how hard it is to make it through a mega dungeon without perishing. And how do you keep all that sweet, sweet loot you’ve acquired?

“We were definitely influenced by the nerdcore legends who came before us,” says Albertson. MC Frontalot and Mega Ran in particular. Mega Ran brought video game soundtrack beats to the rap game. We had this 8-bit mega beat, thought mega dungeon, and now we have Mega Ran and these folks adventuring alongside us on the song.”

In fantasy RPGs, a mega dungeon is a dungeon big enough to encapsulate an entire campaign inside, with multiple levels and its own ecology. The track’s powerful choruses follow each rapper’s pass through the mega dungeon with a declaration that they are in fact the “Mega Dungeon Men.” This refrain rings forth to the end of the album, leaving us longing for more ballads chronicling the exciting (and often ridiculous) exploits that are sure to come in the future adventures of Epic Levels.

The ordos of nerdom that makes up the members of Epic Levels are:

Dragon Warrior (he/him), aka Steve Albertson (SP’s, illiterates, SEX BBQ, Dr. Killbot) is at the forefront, slaying crowds with powerful phrases that unleash spells even the gods may very well fear. Albertson has been fronting bands for decades, focusing his love of all things gaming to the forefront of his lyrics. He’s a filmmaker, host of Total Movie Recall podcast, and co-creator & writer of the Image Comics mini-series Ghost Spy. He writes up the Mad Dungeon adventures

Tiger Wizard (he/him), aka Andrew Bellury (Lille, Mortal Komband, Spacewalker) utilizes his vocal and charismatic talents throughout the album. A wizard who wields a pen or brush instead of a wand, he illustrates most of the artwork for Epic Level’s physical RPG collectibles. Currently a game designer at Exalted Funeral, he has many upcoming projects in the works. Next is the upcoming rules-light and casual Dungeon Cats. He illustrates all of the adventures created in the Mad Dungeon podcast.

Warlock Roc (they/she), aka Robin Bellury (Lille, Little Horn, SEX BBQ), a sibling in arms to the Tiger Wizard, weaves spells in support of Epic Levels. Recording the lyrical content for the albums at their studio, Robin is the engineer/producer of The Mega Dungeon Men EP, mixing in vocals and samples and bringing in that final touch of dark magic making everything slaptastic.

Bat Alchemist (he/him), aka Zach Cowen, lurks in the shadowy veil behind the scenes. He oversees the smooth transitions of organic interviews and killer sound, transmuting them into digital assets that echo across the multiverse through Epic Level’s Mad Dungeon podcast. Cowen handles all the podcast needs of editing, mixing and will even be stepping out of the shadows to join them as a player character in this upcoming third season’ s actual play.

Epic Levels likes to keep busy. 2024 will find them releasing season three of the Mad Dungeon podcast, an actual-play in which four vat-spawned soldiers are pit between their undead dragon daddy in the Necropolis below, and the spider web of intrigue in the bustling city of Def Jamisus above. Both Tiger Wizard and Albertson are playtesting TTRPGs that they’ve written with the intention of having multiple releases this year. They’re already plotting their next batch of songs to follow up the release of The Mega Dungeon Men EP, and you can find them podcasting live, slinging swag and/or running games at multiple convention in 2024.

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“Maye’s prowess in the vocal and guitar-playing department help convey [her] experiences vividly, and the combined efforts of the Breiner[s] – Daniel on the drums, Eric on the guitars engineering and production – help to make this an impressively hard-hitting early release for the emerging artist.” – Atwood Magazine

“LGBTQ artists we love… captured our fancy.” – Dallas Voice

“An epic first-person confessional fit for a rock opera… a meditation on life’s fleeting relationships.” – Vanyaland

“Massive stadium-ready rockers that start or end with gentle contemplative pianos have been a monster-hit staple for decades: The Beatles’ “Hey Jude,” Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain,” and now Jordan Maye’s “Deranged” … Maye isn’t afraid to confront her darkest thoughts and openly share them with us. There’s a bravery here in her candidness… shows us a secret place that few people are allowed in… Maye’s song viscerally takes us to a specific time and place, as the best poets do.” – Rockdafuqout

“A stadium-rock ballad of love and loss marries emotive guitar reminiscent of ‘70s soft rock, with her luscious glam-rock vocals… lyrical honesty, depth and profound imagery.” – Vents Magazine

“The vocal timbre and hard rock production are reminiscent of hair metal that is a sick combination of MCR, Queen, and maybe some Dio? If the rest of the record is as explosive and emotive then it is sure to be a big success, definitely love someone who can make a piano rock this hard.” – Hot Lunch Music

“Remarkable… captivating.” – Nagamag

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Jordan Maye – Creation of Jordan Maye LP (out Aug. 23)

Boston via Atlanta rocker Jordan Maye isn’t afraid of big guitars and even bigger vocals on her debut album Creation of Jordan Maye (out Aug. 23). Her lyrical honesty, depth and profound imagery is a portal into what she’s lived through in her 21 short years: mental health challenges, being a full time student at Berklee College of Music, going through the process of transitioning, all the while navigating relationships with family, lovers and friends. Through all of this, she’s had a prolific year of writing, recording and releasing songs.

Creation of Jordan Maye kicks off with “Deranged,” where she meshes big psychedelic guitars and piano balladry into a Queen-sized stadium rocker. She wrote the song on an acoustic guitar to be soft and unsettling, then built the song up in the studio to its hard rocking current iteration—hitting falsetto high notes that mirror Jordan’s mental meltdowns as she was literally “kicking walls and screaming.”

The fun uptempo “Walking On Water” shows us that regardless of everything Maye has been through in her young life, everything is going to be okay in the end. It’s a triumphant song about finding your people and celebrating small victories. “I was back at Berklee,” says Maye, “and had found my group of friends. One day we found this precarious, frozen river. It was scary, but I ran across it. I felt unbeatable.”

The primal “Embers of the Learning Man” sparks vivid imagery of dancing shadows behind flames, floating cinders and ash. It’s a percussion-heavy bonfire song about learning from mistakes and the pain we all suffer. It vibes with ‘60s classic rock psychedelia as she toys with themes of ancient elemental wisdom and time. “Oh the embers they burn / All the bridges you’ve earned / I rebuild, lord I try / I’ve no time to learn,” she sings.

The symphonic piano-pop track “Tarot” was based on an exercise Maye participated in, where she picked tarot cards and wrote poems about them. Maye chose The Lovers and the Ten of Cups. She focused on Garden of Eden-esque imagery of man and woman, and the meaning of nature. The song teems with the concept of feeling one with the Earth, yet all “children have to pay the debt to time.”

“Hush” is a stadium-rock ballad of love and loss that marries emotive guitar reminiscent of ‘70s soft rock with her luscious glam-rock vocals. The opening line, “Tired and a victim of the elements,” evokes a Bukowskian Barfly character, yet there’s more going on here. Is the emphasis on being a “victim?” Are the “elements” more than just bad weather? Her lyrical imagery of the snow and moving city lights as she leaves Harvard Square are vivid, and there’s a sharp cleverness to her carefully chosen words. She’s a storytelling songwriter in the vein of Bob Seger’s “Turn the Page” or Springsteen’s “Thunder Road.”

“I was at a bar waiting for this Harvard student I was dating,” says Maye. “We were going to celebrate her birthday. Things were going too fast for me, and I was scared. More accurately, I was moving faster than I could keep up with. I kept thinking about how things come and go.”

“Tuesday” is a tragic ballad with finger-picked guitar and funereal organ underscoring the pain in Maye’s voice as she sings about “stain glass marble halls” and that feeling that this “pain will stick forever.” The sad love song “One Year After” harkens back to lost loves, realizing that someone you’ve put on a pedestal might not have ever deserved to be thought of that way in the first place.

The album ends with “Do You Really Care,” reminding us that friends will come and go as time passes. It hits the pinnacle of the stadium rock vastness of this collection of songs, starting with a dark intro reminiscent of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” before filling out into something more akin to Pyromania era Def Leppard, including a wailing guitar solo and a stomp-clap chant chorus. Through the power of this massive song, she confronts the loneliness we’ve all felt as she sings, “Is there anyone out there / Calling from far away / Was it even a human voice / I heard the other way / Do you really care?”

Maye writes deeply personal songs that resonate with who we are as a society. She taps into our shared empathy and compassion as she guides us through these specific moments of her life. Maye recently met songwriter and producer Rico Love (Usher, Beyoncé, Trey Songz) who’s advice deeply impacted her.

“Something he said really stuck with me,” says Maye. “Write things that need to exist, so people can relate to them. I just want to humanize our struggles in my songs, to relate to the problems we all share.”

Maye has been a consistent student of songcraft, taking piano, guitar and voice lessons since she was a child growing up in Atlanta. She learned to record on her own in high school and began writing original songs. While in high school, she was accepted to a prestigious week-long piano program at Berklee. She loved it and was accepted into a lyric writing class the next semester, but this time remotely, as COVID was in full swing. The following year she was accepted into Berklee as a full time student, where she continued to write and record songs.

From 2022 and into 2023, Maye took a year off of school to focus on her mental health. This is when she met producer, engineer and multi-instrumentalist Eric Breiner, who built a career as a composer for nearly 200 placements in ads, film and television. He recently left Hollywood for his hometown of Atlanta, where he focuses on producing new talent in his Peach Music studio, and to be closer to family. His brother Daniel plays drums on several of Maye’s songs.

“Jordan is an explosively creative individual,” says Breiner. “Every time she walks into the studio, she sits down at the piano, or picks up a guitar, and sings a new song. They’re always soulful songs with beautifully dark lyrics that invite the listener inside a young adult’s journey of self-discovery.”

Maye would bring Breiner demos that she recorded, and together they’d break the song down to its basic elements and put it back together. Breiner would take Maye’s base of lyrics and chords and start building from the ground up.

“Her voice can be powerful or sweet depending on the song,” says Breiner. “Beyond her command of tone, timbre and intonation, she’s such an easy vocalist to record because she’s never phoning the emotion in. If she’s singing, she’s singing with reason.”

Creation of Jordan Maye takes us on a candid journey of mental stress, love and death. Her songs are personal, yet feel universal in their humanity. We feel them viscerally and understand them innately.

“For me, ‘In My Life’ by The Beatles is the perfect song,” says Maye. “I find myself going back to it a lot. I’m always thinking about how time changes. Time passes. People come and go. The sun goes up and down. ‘Time’ by Pink Floyd is another one of those. I feel like I spent most of my life wasting time, especially now that I’ve found who I really am. I lost the kind of childhood that I wanted, in terms of my gender identity and in terms of who I actually am. I felt very isolated then. Now there are people in my life that make me feel found, happy, and that I matter.”

Track list:
1. Deranged
2. Tuesday
3. Walking on Water
4. Tarot
5. Hush
6. One Year After
7. Embers of the Learning Man
8. Do You Really Care

Album Credits for Creation of Jordan Maye
All songs by Jordan Maye
Jordan Maye – Production, Vocals, Piano
Eric Breiner – Production, Mix Engineering, Guitar, Bass Guitar
Danny Breiner – Drums
Nich Gannon – Drums
Erica Ransbottom – Cello
Keith Cooper – Drums, Additional Engineering on “Do You Really Care”
Rob Kleiner – Mastering