Top 10 bands you must watch at Fortress Festival 2024

May 28, 2024 James Weaver

Following a successful first outing in 2023, Fortress Festival returns to bring a blockbuster weekend of black metal to the UK. Whilst last year’s debut was just a one stage affair, 2024’s festival boasts an impeccably strong lineup of international bands, many of whom are gracing the festival as a UK exclusive, alongside a wealth of homegrown talent. With no clashes across the two stages, Fortress Festival is poised to be one of the most anticipated extreme metal festivals of the year. Ahead of the weekend’s action, we highlight ten bands that you must watch at Fortress Festival 2024!

LAMP OF MURMUUR – Main Stage, Saturday June 1st

Since forming in 2019, American black metal outfit LAMP OF MURMUUR have grown their status in the black metal underground through three highly regarded full-length studio albums and a number of splits and EPs. Band mastermind M. understands clearly how to make excellent black metal and he brings his brand of darkness to this year’s Fortress Festival in a UK exclusive appearance. Appearances on our shores since their inception have been few and far between and for many attending this year’s festival, LAMP OF MURMUUR is a must-see band. Expect the main stage to be packed to the rafters when they take to the stage on Saturday afternoon.

ANDRACCA – Ocean Room, Saturday June 1st

Whilst the big draws for this year’s Fortress Festival is undoubtedly the waves of stellar international talent on offer over the festival weekend, the Fortress team have ensured that homegrown UK talent is scattered across the lineup and Lancashire’s ANDRACCA are certainly a band to catch your attention. With just two albums to their name (2018’s Morgulduin and this year’s To Bare The Weight Of Death), the quartet conjure a fierce and expansive soundscape – one that will sit comfortably with die-hard fans of the genre – and live, we anticipate ANDRACCA to shake Scarborough Spa‘s foundations through an aural bombardment of razor-sharp riffs, bending leads, and copious amounts of blastbeats. We fully anticipate ANDRACCA will showcase their value to the UK black metal scene at this year’s festival.

BLACKBRAID – Main Stage, Sunday June 2nd

A relatively new name on the scene, BLACKBRAID have quickly ascended to become one of the most talked about bands in extreme music. Helmed by mastermind Sgah’gahsowáh, the fusion of his Native American heritage and the visceral nature of black metal has worked wonders and their two studio records, 2022’s Blackbraid I and last year’s Blackbraid II, are regarded as modern classics for the genre. Now, the band will finally grace UK shores in an exclusive outing for this year’s festival and we can expect the festival’s main stage to be packed to the rafters as one of black metal’s hottest new properties make good on the hype as they perform to the masses gathered.

MISÞYRMING – Ocean Room, Sunday June 2nd

Iceland is notorious for producing killer black metal and arguably one of their biggest names, MISÞYRMING, will grace the Fortress Festival stage in what will be one of the weekend’s most anticipated performances. Those who have experienced the Icelandic band live before can attest to their ferocity and given that UK appearances have been rare, their headlining slot on the festival’s Ocean Stage should not only inject a bout of much-needed adrenaline for any stragglers, but bring the curtain down on the stage with a truly thunderous performance. Riding high on their latest record, 2022’s monumental Með hamri, expect to hear plenty of headbang-inducing riffs from one of black metal’s flagship names.

GAEREA – Main Stage, Sunday June 2nd

Portugal’s GAEREA have exploded to the forefront of the black metal scene in recent years. 2020’s Limbo took the metal world by storm during the days of the pandemic and 2022’s Mirage showcased that the masked collective are far from being a one-trick pony. As the world opened back up and live shows returned, GAEREA proved that they are an even more powerful force in the live arena than they are on record. A mean feat indeed. Just as we saw in Manchester and at last year’s Bloodstock Festival, the Portuguese collective conjure a suffocating and frenzied atmosphere and surge with white hot intensity. As a UK festival exclusive for this year’s Fortress Festival, their main stage outing on day two of this year’s festival should further cement their status as one of black metal’s most exciting properties.

REGARDE LES HOMMES TOMBER – Ocean Room – Ocean Room, Saturday June 1st

France’s REGARDE LES HOMMES TOMBER have been a mainstay on extreme metal festival lineups for some time now. The quintet display a thunderous rendition of the black metal formula with splashes of sludge and post-metal thrown in for good measure. Fortress Festival sees the band make the short jaunt across the English channel to grace the festival for a UK exclusive performance. Still riding high on the success of 2020’s Ascension, expect a truly epic performance and (fingers crossed) we are treated to some new material.

BLOOD COUNTESS – Ocean Room, Sunday June 2nd

The UK has a bountiful black metal scene and BLOOD COUNTESS are yet another example of our island nation producing superb black metal. Having created a buzz in the underground since spawning in 2018, 2022’s debut full-length Occulta Tenebris capitalised on the momentum to establish the band as a genuine force in UK black. Raw, visceral and channelling the legacy of the genre’s infamous second wave, BLOOD COUNTESS tick all the boxes of what makes for a killer black metal band, and those gathered for their appearance at Fortress Festival will be indoctrinated to their blood-soaked black metal. We can guarantee it.

WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM – Main Stage, Sunday June 2nd

For over two decades, WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM have been at the pinnacle of the North American black metal scene. Just as the Scandinavian legends have propelled the genre our side of the Atlantic, WITTR have done the same for their side of the ocean as they channel their exploration of nature and mysticism with expansive atmospherics and fierce black metal. Being billed as a headliner for this year’s Fortress Festival feels justified given their pedigree, but to make the occasion even more special, their headlining set will feature a UK exclusive performance of 2007’s Two Hunters in its entirety. For those descending upon Scarborough, their set promises to be one of legend, one in which many will say “I was there” in the years to come.

MORTIFERUM – Ocean Room, Sunday June 2nd

Whilst Fortress Festival is peppered with numerous quality black metal bands, for those itching for a more death metal kick, American outfit MORTIFERUM are just what the doctor ordered. With a sound not too dissimilar to the likes of DEAD CONGREGATION or SPECTRAL VOICE, over their eight year history, the band have crafted a soundscape that is as monolithic as it is devastatingly heavy. Making their debut appearance on our shores for the festival, the band will pummel the venue with enough destructive force to level the entire building. Those in attendance when the band take to the festival’s second stage on Sunday evening will bare witness to arguably one of the heaviest bands of the entire festival.

ULTHA – Main Stage, Saturday June 1st

German black metal outfit ULTHA return to our shores for Fortress Festival for just the second time in their career and with their appearance at this year’s festival billed as a UK exclusive, for fans, this will mark the only time this year they will get to experience the band’s wickedly crafted black metal with their own eyes. For a decade, the Cologne-based band have taken the extreme metal world by storm with 2018’s The Inextricable Wandering being acclaimed by critics and fans alike. Still supporting 2022’s All That Has Never Been True, expect to hear material from across the band’s discography to date whilst they further showcase why they are such a revered name in black metal.

Boasting an impeccably strong genre, this year’s Fortress Festival is a black metal fan’s dream. Festival organiser and Reaper Agency UK founder Gary Stephenson told us, “the festival follows the immeasurable success of 2023’s Fortress, a sold-out event which has rightly taken its place within the glorious pantheon of UK black metal history. Fortress 2023 & 2024 joins Reaper Agency’s impressive track record so far, which consists of numerous sold-out UK festival shows in just three years of activity.

We’ve snagged some exclusive sets you won’t see anywhere else, brought in some bands making their UK debuts, and the whole line-up covers the rich spectrum of black metal. Fortress 2024 is set to snatch that mantle and wield it a ruinous blow with bigger crowds, more merch stands, more ferocious bands and even greater infamy in its wake… all taking place upon the sun-scorched coastline of this historic North Yorkshire town.”

Darkness descends on Scarborough. Don your most kvlt-looking shirts and embrace the chaos. We’ll see you there.