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Dark Fortress is a German
melodic black metal
Blackened death metal (also known as black death metal) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal that fuses elements of black metal and death metal.
The genre emerged in early 1990s when black metal bands began incorporating elements of death me ...
band from
Landshut formed in 1994. They have released seven
studio albums, a
split album
A split album (or split) is a music album that includes tracks by two or more separate artists. There are also singles and EPs of the same variety, which are often called "split singles" and "split EPs" respectively. Split albums differ from " va ...
and a
demo album.
History
Early history
The band formed in 1994. In 1996 they released the demo ''Rebirth of the Dark Age''.
Dark Fortress – Rebirth of the Dark Age [Demo] [Melodic Black Metal] - Metal Kingdom
/ref> In 1997 the original line-up, consisting of band founder Asvargr (guitar), vocalist Azathoth, Njord on bass, and drummer Charon established the band's first live line-up with the addition of a second guitarist named Crom and keyboardist Thamuz. Debuting live in February 1997 the band soon played dates alongside acts such as Lunar Aurora, Disaster and Naglfar (band)">Naglfar
In Norse mythology, ''Naglfar'' or ''Naglfari'' (Old Norse " nail farer") is a boat made entirely from the fingernails and toenails of the dead. During the events of Ragnarök, ''Naglfar'' is foretold to sail to Vígríðr, ferrying hordes ...
. Dark Fortress' first label release was the split MCD with Barad Dür entitled ''Towards Immortality'', which featured two new tracks by the band and was released on Fog of the Apocalypse Records. A third track was recorded during the same session and was used for the compilation CD ''From The Mystic Forest – Part II''. The band continued composing material for their first full-length album, but recording was postponed from 1998 until August 2000, when Dark Fortress entered Klangschmiede Studio E and with Markus Stock (of Empyrium) completed their album ''Tales From Eternal Dusk''. Heavily influenced by groups like Dissection (band), Dissection, Unanimated, and Satyricon (band), Satyricon, the album received positive reviews and offered a mixture of haunting guitar melodies, morbid and tormented snarling and diversified song structures.
Changes
Charon and Crom left due to conflicting musical interests, and these line-up changes further delayed live and studio activities. However they later signed to US label Red Stream for two albums and hired Seraph and V.Santura as the new drummer and guitarist. Recorded at famous Grieghallen Studio in Norway (
Mayhem,
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( e ...
,
Immortal) ''Profane Genocidal Creations'' was delayed due to problems during the mixing/mastering process. It was not released until February 2003 and showcased Dark Fortress' development into classic traditions of black metal as well as their continual progression as composers and musicians. With a stable line-up consisting of Azathoth (vocals), Asvargr (guitar), Santura (guitar), Draug (bass), Paymon (keyboards) and Seraph (drums) more live shows and festival appearances followed, seeing Dark Fortress share stages with popular extreme metal acts like
Behemoth,
Impaled Nazarene
Impaled Nazarene is a Finnish extreme metal band that started as black metal but have incorporated elements of grindcore, thrash metal and death metal, and have grown more towards hardcore punk.
History
The band formed in November 1990, with fo ...
,
Pungent Stench, and
God Dethroned, as well as many underground acts.
2000–present
The hitherto musical peak of their career then hit the metal scene with the 2004 release of ''Stab Wounds'' (Black Attakk). Accompanied by gloomy artwork by artist
Travis Smith (
Opeth,
Nevermore,
Anathema
Anathema, in common usage, is something or someone detested or shunned. In its other main usage, it is a formal excommunication. The latter meaning, its ecclesiastical sense, is based on New Testament usage. In the Old Testament, anathema was a ...
,
Death
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
) ''Stab Wounds'' was well received not only by the band's underground following but also mainstream metal press. The German edition of ''
Rock Hard'' praised it as "too good, too original and heavy to be ignored. Simply the best German black metal has to offer!". Their new album contained melancholy melodies combined with suicidal themes. An interpretation of
Katatonia's "Endtime" was included on the limited CD Digipak, while a cover version of Emperor's "I Am The Black Wizards" was featured on the double-LP version (released by Imperium Records, 2005).
On 13 May 2007, they fired their vocalist, Azathoth, due to various non-musical reasons. His replacement was
Morean.
Their next album was entitled ''Séance'', again accompanied by the artwork of Travis Smith. The album is a concept album about the direct contrast between the current and the future, the fragility of human existence with its most striking weaknesses – ignorance, arrogance and false illusions – and the crass finality of death. The central lyrical motif of ''Séance'' departs from typical black metal subjects and instead deals with the idea of paranormal beings. The musical side supports this conceptual idea with gloomy guitar melodies, twisted and morbid passages and grim vocals.
On 29 January 2010, Dark Fortress released a
official music videofor the song "Hirudineans". This song is on their 2010 album ''Ylem''.
Members
File:Dark Fortress, V Santura 02.jpg, V Santura
File:Dark Fortress, Asvargr.jpg, Asvargr
File:Dark Fortress, Draug.jpg, Draug
File:Dark Fortress, Paymon.jpg, Paymon
File:Dark Fortress, Seraph.jpg, Seraph
File:Dark Fortress, Morean 07.jpg, Morean
Current members
* Asvargr – guitar, backing vocals
(1994–present)
* V. Santura – guitar, bass, backing vocals
(2001–present)
* Morean – lead vocals
(2007–present)
* Phenex – keyboards, backing vocals
(2014–present)
Former members
*Paymon – keyboards, backing vocals
(1997–2014)
*Azathoth – lead vocals
(1994–2007)
*Njord – bass, backing vocals
(1994–1997)
*Zoltan – bass, backing vocals
(1997–2000)
*Draug – bass, backing vocals
(2001–2018)
*Seraph – drums, percussion
(2000–2022)
*Charon – drums, percussion
(1994–2000)
*Crom – guitar, bass, backing vocals
(1997–2001)
*Thamuz – keyboards, backing vocals
(1997)
Timeline
Discography
*''Rebirth of the Dark Age''
demo (1996)
*''Towards Immortality''
split (1997)
*''
Tales from Eternal Dusk'' (2001)
*''
Profane Genocidal Creations'' (2003)
*''
Stab Wounds'' (2004)
*''
Séance'' (2006)
*''
Eidolon'' (2008)
*''
Ylem'' (2010)
*''Venereal Dawn'' (2014)
*''Spectres from the Old World'' (2020)
References
External links
Official website*
*
Encyclopaedia MetallumDark Fortressat
Century Media Records
Century Media Records is a heavy metal record label with offices in the United States, Germany and London. In August 2015, Century Media was acquired by Sony Music for US$17 million.
Background
Century Media was founded by Robert Kampf and Oli ...
{{Authority control
German heavy metal musical groups
German black metal musical groups
Musical groups established in 1994
Century Media Records artists
1994 establishments in Germany