Scarborough plays host to another sold out Fortress Festival, helping deliver the crème de la crème of extreme metal to UK shores.

SCARBOROUGH

As far as venues go, Scarborough Spa is a wonderful place to hold a festival like this. A Grade II* listed building, the Spa is a grand old place. To see it teeming with fans of extreme metal is brilliant. Everywhere you look, there are band shirts and battle jackets and tattoos. What is more important, is that this is a superb community.

DAY ONE

Opening the festival are Nemorous. It is a fitting way to start such an event; playing a yet to be released new album to an audience that will lap it up. An atmospheric synth led introduction starts things off, as the flayed visuals change. The stage is bathed in red light as the band gradually amp up the drama in their sound. Formed from the ashes of Wodensthrone, it is exciting to hear something brand new for the first time; when the band hits full throttle, the sound is furious and the vocals are savage. A great start.

Spanish atmospheric black metal horde, Perennial Isolation, kick off proceedings on the second stage. A queue for the bar snakes through the room with wares available from Dark Earth and Onism. The Spaniards raise their fists to cheers of appreciation from the crowd. A. is unrelenting in his vocal delivery and takes every opportunity to connect with the crowd; who are within touching distance of the stage. Performing their 2021 album, Portraits, in full, the room is full with queues to get in forming. 

HEADING DOWN UNDER

From England, to Spain, to Australia, Melbourne’s Aquilus offer something completely different. Whilst the music is still punishing, the depth that is offered in instrumentation and range is magnificent. A cacophonous swell emerges as the bands ornate logo flickers amongst the green and blue light. When the drums enter the fray, the pace is emphatically doom laden. The air of silence around the main stage is deafening. Hayley Anderson exuberantly cuts shapes playing the violin, in turn making the emotion of the music hit harder.

When Aquilus get to their second track, the pace completely changes. Pensive piano and violin gives way to a black metal tempo. ‘Were Aquilus from Australia; we’ve travelled a long way to be here tonight with you. Hope you enjoy it.’ Perhaps the Aussies are still on night time as they play at 2pm GMT! Throughout their set, Aquilus demonstrate their dynamism in all aspects of their music. And fear not Aquilus, we enjoyed it so much and appreciate the trek you’ve made. 

An almighty screech of feedback shoots out as Spirit Possession take the stage. The two man American outfit are stage left and stage right on stage. Sonically, they offer up the fiercest and most frightening set of the day so far. For those into their classic black metal, Spirit Possession will scratch that itch. Massive blasts and evil riffs make for a deadly and chaotic mix. 

RESPITE

Billed as a more chilled out space, the third stage at Fortress has acts that are extreme but in a different way. Darkher is up first.

‘It smells great in here…like my bathroom!’ says one punter as they enter the Spa Theatre prior to Darkher’s performance. With joss sticks smoking, the tone is set as the low babble of expectant chatter is surrounded by gentle new-age synths over the PA. The room is at capacity well before Darkher takes the stage. 

As Darker takes the stage, her long waist length hair is coloured red from the low light of the room. Bowing her guitar and adding beautiful choral vocals, the entire room is transported to an otherworldly realm. Subtle percussion and ethereal and haunting guitar paint a dark tapestry. Darkher’s vocal style gives another dark hue to proceedings; especially during Hollow Vale. The control that she has of her range is perfect; always nailing the right level of emotion.

SULDUSK

Suldusk begin their performance with a new track. It showcases their many sides perfectly. Early on, the crowd are firmly on side before they head back to their first album. Hayley Anderson is turning in double duty on violin having just performed with Aquilus. Again, her playing adds great depth. Emily Highfield is magnetic as singer and leader of the band. Her voice can shift seamlessly from shrill screams to dark whispers to clean singing. She cuts a diminutive figure as the white light shines behind her. Ably backed by the band turning in atmospheric black metal and post rock motifs, Suldusk are a treat for the ears. 

The Great Old Ones are a musical force. Their music is inspired by the works of the greatest H. P. Lovecraft. With three guitarists in the mix, the sound is excellent. It could so easily be a quagmire. Some of the sound in the main room is a little muddy but it is purely down to the age of the room – the architects of the room probably didn’t factor in the extreme metal genre in their blueprints. There is a bit of black’n’roll in some of the music as the band succeed in creating the aura of Lovecraft, musically.

With so much power, the music that The Great Old Ones have the ability to create is endless; the bass drives in the early throws of the set, meshing perfectly with the drums. The atmosphere in the main room feels like it is moving up a notch as the crowd offers up fist pumping ‘hey’ chants to the beat. When singer Benjamin Guerry gives an impassioned ‘Come on!’ from the stage, the band go full tilt into black metal at breakneck speed.

BLASPHEMY

Ruim are fronted by black metal royalty. Blasphemer, he of the post-classic Mayhem, has rediscovered the furious riffs of his former band. With French drummer César Vesvre, they have created a mystical beast of a record in Black Royal Spiritism – I – O Sino da Igreja. With their demonically curved and ornate logo displayed on the mic stand, they waste no time in going about their business.

Ritual fires are lit as the cloaked Blasphemer elevates us to a different plain. Guttural vocals and dissonant, unnerving guitars create a sense of unease. It’s the kind of thing you expect from such an esteemed artist. A gravelly and broken ‘Scar-bo-rough’ emanates from the stage. This deep tone is blood curdling; it’s this tone that is taken into many of the compositions. The entire Ruim set is more hellish incantation than ‘gig’. To top it all off, 1349’s Ravn joins his fellow Norwegian on stage to share vocal duties on a rendition of Mayhem’s I Am Thy Labyrinth.

SET OF THE DAY?

Whilst Ruim are slaying the main stage, American industrial/black metal act Akhlys are setting up in the Ocean Room. The buzz in the air, and the amount of people wanting a spot, suggest that they should be on the main stage. Despite that, for those in attendance, they get a blistering set. The cascading black metal rhythms and vicious vocals have heads being thrown around and lots of people just looking at each other in general disbelief at what they are witnessing.

There is a mass influx of people about 10 minutes into the set, with plenty still queuing to get in; the temperature is beyond boiling – only Beelzebub knows how hot Aklyhs must be in their fully masked get up. There is an incandescent rage in the delivery from Akhlys and every single person in the room is lapping it up. Whilst the obvious thing to notice is the bludgeoning nature of the music, the harsh guitar melodies that chime incessantly are sadistically hypnotic and genuinely the stuff of horror. Along with The Great Old Ones and Aquilus; potentially the set of the day (in this writers opinion).

AURAL HELLFIRE

And so, to the headliners. 1349 hail from Norway and are named after the year the Black Death reached Norway.

Singer, Ravn, encourages the crowd to get their hands and horns up as 1349 unapologetically lay waste to the main stage. Greeted by a double shot of fire breathing and masses of dry ice, the traditional black metal sound is great to hear. For all the variations on the theme, 1349 stay true to the ideals of the genre. 

After a couple of songs, there is a lengthy delay as Frost is clearly having issues with his drums. ‘Sorry about that,’ says Ravn before screeching ‘Flaaaaaaaame’ before the fury begins once more. The Norwegians round out the day in dastardly fashion.

Day one at Fortress is an undoubted success, musically. Every band is completely solid and revellers relish their favoured artists. The merch desks do a roaring trade (with nearly all Fortress clobber selling out); metal fans are rabid for getting their hands on their textiles or wax. There is some frustration with indoor temperatures (it is hot) and the German sausage stand steps up when the Goth Burgers and pizza sell out.

Roll on day two!

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