FESTIVAL REVIEW: Fortress Festival 2024

The idyllic seaside town of Scarborough is probably one of the last places in the UK you could expect to find a weekend dedicated to the dark arts of black metal. But look beyond the stunning rugged landscape, rows of quaint independent shops, fish and chips, and rolling waves that crash upon the seafront and there is metal to be found. Held in the impressive Victorian theatre, Scarborough Spa, the organisers of Fortress Festival have assembled arguably one of the strongest black metal lineups in recent memory. A ton of UK exclusives, rare live performances from an international roster and zero clashes from the festival’s two stages, Fortress Festival is a dream come true for black metal aficionados. Here’s what went down.

Saturday – 1st June

SUNKEN – Main Stage

Danish quartet SUNKEN are tasked with kickstarting Fortress Festival 2024 and by the time the Danes take to the festival’s main stage, a host of eyes greet them and boy do they impress. Basked in an endless swirl of mist and smoke, the band dazzle and mesmerise as their atmospheric blend of black metal sounds utterly enormous in Scarborough Spa‘s expansive setup. The likes of Foragt and Dødslængsel, both taken from 2020’s Livslede, are memorable highlights in a performance where the immersion is never shattered. As far as opening statements go, SUNKEN get Fortress Festival off to the best possible start.

Rating: 9/10

ANDRACCA – Ocean Room

Although the big draws for this year’s Fortress Festival are the international exclusives, there’s a splattering of homegrown talent on display and such is the case for ANDRACCA. Since forming in 2016, the Lancashire-based band have become a firm favourite in the UK black metal scene and they make a great case for their reputation with a fierce performance on the festival’s Ocean Room stage. Drawing from material from this year’s excellent To Bare The Weight Of Death, the riffs are razor-sharp and the vocals have plenty of weight behind them. Albeit ANDRACCA aren’t reinventing the wheel, but a strong performance nonetheless.

Rating: 7/10

LAMP OF MURMUUR – Main Stage

Helmed by band mastermind M., our transatlantic cousins in LAMP OF MURMUUR have been one of black metal’s brightest burning stars in recent years. UK appearances from the band have been sporadic and as such, their appearance at Fortress Festival heralds a rare opportunity to witness the band live in action and over the course of their time on the festival’s Main Stage, the band lead us through an utterly blistering black metal display. Oozing IMMORTAL worship with cold and razor-sharp riffage in In Communion With The Wintermoon and Dominatrix’s Call is one of the highlights of the set, bolstered by an incredibly effective light show. It’s a stunning set and one that sets the bar incredibly high.

Rating: 9/10

WALDGEFLÜSTER – Ocean Room

Having to follow LAMP OF MURMUUR is no easy feat but German black metallers WALDGEFLÜSTER are more than up for the task. Despite the more intimate setting of the Ocean Room, the band’s soundscape shines and for all their ferocity, there are moments where their music is evocative and dare we say, beautiful. Rich melodies are allowed to breathe and Winterherz‘s are crystal clear to hear in the mix. And with a guest vocal appearance from PANOPTICON‘s Austin Lunn in Mim Blick aufn Kaiser being a welcome surprise, the band give a solid performance and make their UK debut one to remember.

Rating: 8/10

FALL OF RAUROS – Ocean Room

Travelling across the Atlantic to make their UK debut, Portland’s FALL OF RAUROS bring a wonderful combination of folk-laden black metal to the Ocean Room at Fortress Festival. Although their hybrid sound is not particularly ground-breaking, the band execute it with such professionalism and enthusiasm, it makes their performance incredibly memorable. Boasting elaborate song-structures that allow their passages of play to really breathe comfortably, they sound incredible despite the more intimate confines of the festival’s smaller stage, with Earths Of Timid Grace and Banished sounding absolutely epic. A triumphant debut on UK soil and if they return, we can expect them to grace a bigger stage for their sound to truly ascend.

Rating: 8/10

ULTHA – Main Stage

Returning to Fortress Festival for just their second appearance on UK shores, German black metallers ULTHA draws a big crowd to the Main Stage and over the course of their set, the band blow the crowd away. Basked in a sea of searing red light, the band grab the crowd in a stranglehold and refuse to let the immersion break in their forty minute set. From the monolithic The Night Took Her Right Before My Eyes through to the wicked The Avarist (Eyes Of A Tragedy), their blend of black metal is eviscerating and bombastic, with foreboding atmospherics that swirl like a vicious maelstrom, all of which plays nicely to the grand environment of Scarborough Spa‘s main room. We’ve witnessed something truly special here.

Rating: 9/10

THE INFERNAL SEA – Ocean Room

Having lost DÖDSRIT at the eleventh hour due to understandable health reasons, UK favourites THE INFERNAL SEA step up to the plate and they deliver a performance that is ferociously fierce. Coming in with an arsenal of new tunes with this year’s Hellfenlic, the band’s groovy-blackened riffs and commanding vocal snarls in songs like Lord Abhorrent or Bastard Of The East cause a sea of heads to bang and conjure some of the only mosh pits to occur across the entire weekend, a rarity for a black metal festival indeed. A solid replacement for the sorely missed DÖDSRIT and a performance that re-energised the crowd for the second half of day one of Fortress.

Rating: 7/10

DER WEG EINER FREIHEIT – Main Stage

Bavaria’s DER WEG EINER FREIHEIT have been a firm favourite in extreme music circles with 2017’s Finisterre and 2021’s Noktvrn being incredibly well-received, and their UK exclusive billing for Fortress Festival is one of the festival’s big draws. And the band do not disappoint. Blending post-metal with black metal ferocity, the German’s sound is absolutely enormous, expansive and Earth-shattering. They ebb and flow from crooning melodies to sheer aural aggression with the utmost ease, and akin to a well-oiled machine, they are utterly proficient. Nikita Kamprad‘s vocals cut through the mix ever so well, even more so considering their wide soundscape, and by the time they finish, we are left stunned. Bravo.

Rating: 9/10

PANOPTICON – Main Stage

American black metallers PANOPTICON made their UK debut at last year’s festival, and this time, they are back with a full album playthrough of 2014’s Roads To The North. And given the merch queue for the festival-exclusive shirt snakes its way throughout the venue for the large majority of the day, it’s clear that PANOPTICON are one of the biggest draws of the weekend. And their performance is as epic as is the backdrop of the stunning Scarborough Spa. Intertwining the rolling scope and epic nature of folk with black metal is no easy feat, especially in the live environment, but PANOPTICON manage it with surprising ease as folk-led instrumentation, fierce percussion and gorgeous sympathies from violin make PANOPTICON one of the most majestic performances of the entire festival.

Rating: 9/10

REGARDE LES HOMMES TOMBER – Ocean Room

An aroma of incense and precariously balanced candles greets us in the Ocean Room as French ensemble REGARDE LES HOMMES TOMBER hold the massive crowd in anticipation before igniting a petrol bomb and cause utter bedlam. Drawing largely from 2020’s excellent Ascension, the likes of A New Order and The Renegade Son pack an almighty punch as vicious riffs from A.M. and J.J.S. keep the adrenaline surging and in frontman T.C., he channels the intensity with a truly gripping display and his ferocious vocals cut through the noise like a hot knife through butter. It’s utterly exhilarating and it’s nothing short of spectacular, solidifying their status as one of the most visceral and exciting bands in black metal today.

Rating: 10/10

TRIPTYKON – Main Stage

Tom G. Warrior is a living legend in extreme music. Having spent last summer’s festival season celebrating his legendary CELTIC FROST in the series of TRIPTYKON Plays CELTIC FROST shows, and prior to this he basked in his HELLHAMMER era, for their headlining slot on day one of Fortress Festival, Warrior and his companions play ode to his work in TRIPTYKON. And it is utterly crushing. Sprawling epic The Prolonging kicks the set off in fine fashion over its near 20 minute runtime, and still sounds as crushing today as it did when we first heard it 14 years ago, whilst Abyss Within My Soul boasts enough heaviness to level the building. Although the focus is towards TRIPTYKON‘s material, that the crowd lap up with glee, we’re treated to CELTIC FROST classics like Procreation (Of The Wicked) and Circle Of The Tyrants and to hear these classics in a setting as grand as this is truly special to experience. Throughout his career, Tom G. Warrior has been a loyal servant to extreme music and as the dust settles on day one of Fortress, his status as a living legend is set in stone.

Rating: 9/10

Sunday – June 2nd

BLOOD COUNTESS – Ocean Room

Having only formed in 2018, and having to navigate the lockdown days of the pandemic, York’s BLOOD COUNTESS are a relatively fresh face in UK black metal and it’s humbling to see many bodies packed into the Ocean Room on their early Sunday afternoon slot. And they more than do their part in blowing off the cobwebs from the night before as BLOOD COUNTESS ignite sheer aural violence. A cacophony of riffs in In Virgins Blood and Screams Over Carpathia sees mosh pits swell and surge, and in vocalist The Cuntess, she channels the band’s primal rage by delivering larynx-shredding shrieks and howls. It’s a searing performance and establishes BLOOD COUNTESS as a genuine force to contend with in black metal.

Rating: 9/10

THY LIGHT – Main Stage

Sitting on the more depressive end of the black metal spectrum, THY LIGHT take to the stage and through their emotive and bleak music, minimal interaction with the crowd and basking in sombre lighting, the band are impressive. Set opener Infinite Stars Thereof sweeps and transcends with vocals piercing through the wall of sound whereas In My Last Mourning… is devastatingly beautiful as mournful guitars cascade and wash over the crowd effectively. With the depressive nature of their soundscape front and centre, it’s difficult not to get swept away under the sheer weight of their emotive-led black metal and wallow in sorrow.

Rating: 7/10

VEMOD – Main Stage

Norway has often been considered the spiritual home of black metal and in the case of VEMOD, they have been one of the Nordic nation’s hidden gems over the course their near 25 year career. Fortress Festival marks just the third time the band grace our shores and their expansive approach to black metal is utterly epic to experience. Ensuring an ethereal mood is maintained from start to finish, the band’s sonics transcend beyond just a band operating like a well-oiled machine, it feels akin to witnessing a living, breathing organism inhale and exhale throughout their lengthy compositions. True North Beckons ebbs and flows like a river, Der Guder Dør has a moment where solitary and solemn clean vocals send tingles down the spine and the staggering Venter på stormene, weighing in at just over 13 minutes, ends the set on a flourish. It’s clear that following that performance, VEMOD‘s stock will surely have grown.

Rating: 8/10

ABYSSAL – Ocean Room

ABYSSAL are colossally heavy. For the mysterious collective, Fortress Festival marks a rare outing on home soil and through their fusion of death, black and doom metal, the band threaten to demolish the foundations of Scarborough Spa as a suffocating aura of menace is maintained throughout their time on stage. It’s dense and obtuse with little to no respite to catch your breath as they power their way through a set that is comprised of material from their last three studio records. Thumping and terrifying, the band successfully inject a bout of adrenaline for those beginning to struggle with an afternoon slump.

Rating: 7/10

FURIA – Main Stage

Given the quality on offer at this year’s Fortress Festival, it takes something truly special to blow the crowd away and become the talk of Scarborough. For Poland’s FURIA, they not only display their craft with impeccable musicianship but the sheer immediate and immersive atmosphere they conjure during their Main Stage outing leaves jaws firmly planted on the floor. The band, adorned with corpsepaint and shirtless, look fiercely intimidating and their music reinforces this as they pummel the crowd with unrelenting black metal. It’s utterly vicious and barbaric and the primal feeling that sits at their musical beating heart resonates with the crowd who remain utterly transfixed towards the stage. In a festival full of special moments, FURIA are certainly one of them. Outstanding.

Rating: 9/10

MORTIFERUM – Ocean Room

With the vast majority of the Fortress Festival bill being catered to black metal, this is a black metal-tailored festival after all, the sporadic placement of death metal on the lineup serves as a nice palate cleanser. And MORTIFERUM are certainly up to the task. The American’s take on the genre is the living, hulking bastard offspring of DEAD CONGREGATION and TOMB MOLD and their primal, rumbling bombardment seeks to awaken straggles from the day’s earlier action. The likes of Seraphic Extinction, Funeral Hallucinations and Incubus Of Bloodstained Visions hit with the force of a freight train. Disgusting riffs intertwine with Max Bowman‘s guttural blasts to keep you on your toes and the band never let the intensity dip as MORTIFERUM beat the crowd into oblivion. Palate cleansed!

Rating: 8/10

GAEREA – Main Stage

Having surged in popularity during the darkest days of the pandemic, Portuguese outfit GAEREA have momentum on their side having greatly impressed on recent jaunts to UK shores. And whilst previous live shows have been exhilarating, their performance at Fortress Festival is on another level entirely. Not only does their Main Stage showing indicate that they are set for super stardom (as far as in the context of black metal goes) and they set a claim for arguably one of the best performances of the entire weekend. In part, this is down to their stage presence as the theatrics of their stage presence, with frontman Guilherme Herniques twisting and moving his body like a marionette, and a illuminated variant of the Asmodeus sigil keeping eyes fixated firmly towards the stage. There take on black metal is the aural equivalent of a swirling vortex, with the likes of World Ablaze, Mirage and Salve being performed to ferocious perfection. GAEREA‘s ascendancy has been relentless in recent years, and based on their performance at Fortress Festival, they look destined to keep soaring.

Rating: 10/10

BLACKBRAID – Main Stage

With numerous UK exclusives and rare live appearances scattered across the Fortress Festival lineup, arguably, the UK debut of BLACKBRAID is tipped as one of the most hyped sets of the entire festival. The American ‘indigenous North American black metal’ project has been at the forefront of the black metal scene through two superb full-length records (2022’s Blackbraid I and last year’s Blackbraid II) and given the enormous expectations, the set would have to be utterly mind-blowing to meet said expectations. As such, BLACKBRAID don’t quite achieve that. Their craft is expertly dispatched as Sgah’gahsowáh leads his bandmates through an aural assault, with The Wolf That Guides The Hunters Hand and Moss Covered Bones On The Altar Of The Moon being two clear standout moments of the set. But, with some of the more indigenous musical traits lost in the mix, making them incredibly difficult to hear amidst the icey riffs, and the band just lacking that additional firepower to truly ascend to the upper echelons, there is that slight feeling that they don’t hit the lofty heights set upon them.

Rating: 7/10

MISÞYRMING – Ocean Room

Given the Ocean Room is packed to the rafters for MISÞYRMING is testament to the Icelandic band’s reputation in black metal. The volcanic nation has spawned wave after wave of top tier black metal and arguably, MISÞYRMING are one of the finest bands to emerge from the country and they live up to their fierce reputation with an outstanding performance to close the Ocean Room. Dagur Gíslason spits his vocals with utter venom which pierces like a blade and their frostbitten riffs ebb and flow from mid-temp thumps, like the fist pumping Engin Vorkunn, eerie harmonies on the triumphant Ísland, steingelda krummaskuð or the raging Orgia which ignites bedlam in the pit. It’s absolute carnage and the band do not put a foot wrong as they hold the audience in the palms of their collective hands. In a festival full of outstanding performances, this is right up there as one of the best of the entire weekend.

Rating: 10/10

WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM – Main Stage

With the Main Stage now decorated with foliage and candles and as dense fog sweeps the stage, revered American black metallers WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM take to the stage to close Fortress Festival. In a festival jam-packed full of standout moments and unique exclusives, we’re in store for one more as the band deliver an exclusive performance of their 2007 classic Two Hunters. The likes of Dea Artio and I will Lay Down My Bones Among The Rocks And Roots are majestic, sprawling and showcase the band’s tenacity for weaving truly stellar atmospheric black metal. Many in the crowd close their eyes and let the music wash over them effortlessly, becoming a passenger to the riffs and ambience. Although the focus is towards the full-album playthrough, the crowd are treated to a double whammy encore of Crown Of Stone and Queen Of The Borrowed Light, that not only ends the band’s time on stage, but the festival, to a triumphant close. There’s an overriding sense of spectacle and occasion that has been felt throughout the festival’s duration and it’s felt here once again, and it solidifies Fortress Festival as a vital event in the extreme metal calendar.

Rating: 8/10

Check out our extensive photo gallery of the weekend’s action at Fortress Festival 2024 from Sabrina Ramdoyal Photography here: 

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