The Dark Armies consist of an alliance of several races in The Legend of Spyro series, with the Apes being the first race to be loyal to the Dark Master Malefor.
After he was exiled, Malefor formed an army of Apes and taught them how to harness the dragons' lifeforce, the Spirit Gems. However, it was later revealed that the Apes weren't truly loyal to Malefor since they only served him for their greed and thirst for power. They were later punished by their master, who turned them into Shadow Apes.
The race of this dark alliance included the corrupted spirits of the deceased who were freed to roam the Well of Souls during the Night of Eternal Darkness.
In The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon, during the three years Spyro and Cynder were trapped in crystal, Malefor had created a new army of creatures from the earth called Grublins. They are Malefor's main attack force, and are his replacements for the Apes.
The Golems are the ancient embodiments of destruction Malefor summoned to bring about the Great Cleansing, as he claimed that it was the duty of the Purple Dragon breed to destroy the world by resurrecting the Destroyer and the Golems of the Deep.