So, onto day two and another stacked bill of epic Black and Death Metal, and with the sun beating down I made my way down the infamous slope to the grand Scarborough Spa and into the building just in time to set my stall out in the main room for the onslaught of the brutal Abduction.
The main room was packed for Abduction and quite rightly so. There was a definite air of anticipation for the aggressive Black Metal and with the promise of them displaying tracks from their new, as yet unreleased, album to us the excitement was truly palpable. As the lights dimmed and we caught our first glimpse of the band the whole venue erupted, the aural violence blasting out of the speaker stacks was caustic and the visuals were also equally as haunting. The controlled aggression and noxious auditory hostility which they dispatch was absolutely phenomenal and a perfect opening to the day. The string work from the guitars was built with dexterity and a clinical manipulation while the bass lines and drum work from the kit were muscular and brawny which all gelled in a way which created the perfect platform for the belligerent and endearingly angry vocals to sit upon. Each lyric was spat out with spite and a hostility which we have grown to love from these UK Black Metal stalwarts, and in the live setting Abduction sit as one of the best at plying their trade. A set of epic violent tracks, and a set which could have quite easily offended the uninitiated, for the rest of us though that was simply epic.
First taste of the Ocean Room next and on its modest stage we saw Belore who brought with them epic Black Metal, sweeping soundscapes and grand constructions of intricate riffs and detonating percussion. The vocals were chilling, powerful and beefy, the lyrics were served with an obvious passion and delight, each word was presented to us with a luxurious undertone which attracted us and invited us to cling to every syllable being exhibited before us. The whole experience simply enveloped us and made us part of the whole Belore event, and I’m sure they will have made more than a few friends based on their coastal efforts on this Sunday afternoon.
Back to the Main Room and for this one I was very excited, this time it was for the Swedish Black Metal of Dodsrit. As Christoffer set up camp front and centre it was obvious that they were here to prove a point, they were here to make their UK debut go down in Black Metal folklore and that they certainly did. The vocals were powerful and majestic, absolutely barbaric in their deliverance where each word was like a hammer crushing your soul, each word was colossal and immense and absolutely battered your very being. The guitar work was mesmerising and addictive, it worked in such unison with the rest of the factions that a chilling and barbarous happening was built and one which we were very much privileged to be a witness to. Dodsrit, on that performance, were certainly contenders for set of the day, absolutely magnificent and a recital I am very keen to reenact again someday very very soon
Slovakian Atmospheric Black Metal back over on the Ocean Room stage by way of the wonderous and luxurious Autumn Nostalgie. As the lights dimmed and the band introduced themselves to us we were taken on an adventure of velvety and mighty Black Metal. The vocals were formidable and dominant and the soundtrack on which they sat was vigorous and robust, potent and plush in equal measures. The room was rammed with every corner and available space filled in order for people to become a part of the opulent and lavish Black Metal which we were being served, and it was a set which surely left no one disappointed.
Moonlight Sorcery next on the Main Stage and they hit us like a sledgehammer, you would never know that they were in their infancy in the live arena, they were absolutely colossal in their live offering and the set was absolutely breathtaking from start to finish. The vocals were majestic and regal, served with an obvious passion and pride, each word was sumptuously served with an extravagance and venomously grand aura while the drums were beaten with a calculated violence and opulent anger which only seemed to act as a master to which all of the other Moonlight Sorcery divisions drove off. The components of the set were majestic and symphonic, the aura surrounding them was mystical and transcendent with a brutal and harsh edge to the silky and decadent core which overflowed and demonstrated the very hunger and desire which the Finns had brought with them to Scarborough tonight. This had been a set and live offering which was very much overdue and I just have to send an enormous amount of gratitude and appreciation to Fortress Festival for making that happen. That had been a blockbuster of a set, one which was almost character building in its very nature, and one where there simply aren’t enough adjectives to do it justice. Kiitos Moonlight Sorcery, kiitos.
Now for something a little different, leaving the Black Metal behind it was time to be pummelled and pulverised by some brutal and technical Death Metal by way of Ulcerate and their colossal and titanic power. The stage was a fairly simple affair, the trio being illuminated and simply letting their influential riffs, bass lines and drum work become the marionettes to the mighty vocals which were dispatched from the lungs of Kelland. ‘The Dawn Is Hollow’ was absolutely gargantuan and ‘Dissolved Orders’ was just on another level, absolutely battering in its existence and endearing in its weight and force with which it presented itself to you. It’s certainly not often that Death Metal can be described as a refreshing respite but in and amongst all of the beautiful Black Metal on the Fortress bill the pummelling and technical Ulcerate brand of Death Metal was a welcomed addition on this Sunday afternoon.
So, onto my festival spearhead (unfortunately due to personal reasons, and with a heavy heart, I had to call an early end to the day) and onto some mighty Canadian Black Metal courtesy of the magnificent Forteresse. The stage was set with strategically placed candles and then all hell broke loose. Monarque unleashed his vocal prowess and dispatched vocals which were toxic and vitriolic in equal measures, each word was levied upon you with a ritualistic malice and spite which was mesmerising in its very nature. ‘Le Sang Des Heros’ was a triumph, full of endearing bitterness and attractive malice, the strings from Moribund and Matrak were sumptuous and lavish throughout. ‘Wendigo’ was another highlight for me, opulently lethal and contagiously hostile, absolutely colossal and addictive in its makeup, each component of the Forteresse vessel was on point and delivered a potent and contagious display of technicality and brutality from start to finish. An impeccable example of just how to deliver an epic set of Black metal.
Another year, another Fortress festival, and this juggernaut just keep steamrolling the majority of its peers. With each year it simply gets stronger and stronger, and with the Norwegian legends Old Mans Child already pencilled in as 2026 headliners, I for one am beyond excited to see what next years edition has in store for us. Fortress you have been, yet again, simply sublime and perfection personified.
