Dark Fortress - Venereal Dawn (2014)

2015-02-11T15:53:22Z

Dark Fortress - Venereal Dawn (2014)


1. 	Venereal Dawn 	11:03 	  
2. 	Lloigor 	07:07 	  
3. 	Betrayal and Vengeance 	07:10 	  
4. 	Chrysalis 	06:29 	  
5. 	I Am the Jigsaw of a Mad God 	08:33 	  
6. 	The Deep 	03:09 	  
7. 	Odem 	06:29 	
8. 	Luciform 	07:25 	  
9. 	On Fever's Wings 	11:12 	
10. 	The Deep (Acoustic Version) 	02:58

Asvargr - Guitars
V. Santura - Guitars, Vocals (backing)
Morean - Vocals (lead)
Seraph 	-  Drums
Draug - Bass
Paymon – Keyboards

It’s hard to believe metal bands these days and see the conviction and urgency behind all the aggressiveness, harshness and brutality they spit forth. With countless artists and labels emerging every single day a proper industry has been established and, as in any other mass-production industry, a product must look, smell and taste nice, but it doesn’t necessarily need to be healthy and natural. Translated to rigid metal parameters, this means that many metal bands scream very loud without having any real trouble or itch urging them to do so, which, joined with lack of talent, seldom causes anything of worth.

Fortunately, something exceptional may lurk behind the carefully thought-through imagery from time to time, and Dark Fortress are the prime example of that the whole package principle – this band literally doesn’t have a weak spot. Their visual presentation is impeccable (all their album covers are fine enough to end up on your bedroom wall, as well as their logo that is hands down one of the most mesmerizing out there) and their music has been constantly progressing over the last 15 years, perpetually getting deeper, more complex, more inspirational, more stimulating and more memorable.

Venereal Dawn is without doubt their brightest moment and strongest musical statement to date. It represents the wealth of good ideas (both in terms of music and the lyrical concept), intelligent arrangements and tight musicianship and, as such, embodies one of the most pleasurable extreme metal experiences this year offered so far. Album starts on a high note with the album-titled piece which clocks at over 11 minutes, immediately confronting the listener with its eclectic, brilliant flow and incredible sense of structure. The track is memorable all the way through, but the riff that starts at 7:06 and the solo that follows it are just beyond incredible. Lloigor is more streamlined and focused track, with the opening 90 seconds that sound as if they were borrowed from some of the lost tracks of the Opeth’s Blackwater Park sessions, which is by no means a bad thing. Chorus that comes afterwards is one of those epic ones that crawl under your skin, refusing to leave you alone, and there is a big probability that, after the album turns to silence, you’ll catch yourself humming that particular melody. Among other noteworthy tracks, it would be unfair not to mention Chrysalis with its powerful opening riff progression, furious and straight-forward I Am The Jigsaw Of A Mad God, mysterious Odem and monumental finale On Fever’s Wings.

In this shallow era of the shortest attention span in the history of mankind, many will overlook the epic proportions of this musical offering. And it is a shame really, because this niche of metal music, that for years has been dominated by gigantic acts like Cradle Of Filth and Dimmu Borgir, hasn’t witnessed an album of this quality for a very long time – the latest studio recordings by these two mentioned bands certainly fall short in comparison to this potent musical animal. --- metal-archives.com

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Dark Fortress ‎– Ylem (2010)

2018-02-22T13:48:19Z

Dark Fortress ‎– Ylem (2010)


1 	Ylem 	6:33
2 	As The World Keels Over 	6:36
3 	Osiris 	7:35
4 	Silence 	4:27
5 	Evenfall 	5:36
6 	Redivider 	7:08
7 	Satan Bled 	4:35
8 	Hirudineans 	4:56
9 	Nemesis 	6:35
10 	The Valley 	8:02
11 	Wraith 	8:20
12 	Sycamore Trees 	4:02

Bass – Draug
Drums – Seraph
Guitar – Asvargr, V. Santura
Guitar [Solo] – Morean (tracks: 8)
Guitar [Solos] – V. Santura (tracks: 1 to 7, 9 to 12)
Keyboards – Paymon
Vocals – Morean, Mortal (tracks: 11)

Did you know “Dark Fortress” is the English translation of “Dimmu Borgir”? Pretty funny, but I’d definitely say the former band is much more interesting today than the latter, and their new album, Ylem, is proof of that. You might even wonder why I bring up the comparison. Well, Dark Fortress has become a pretty polished sounding black metal band, one might even throw the word “modern” out to describe them. I wouldn’t dispute this, however I find them to be much more worthwhile than the vast majority of their over-produced, gimmicky contemporaries.

It seems that one thing the band focused on with Ylem was making a more diverse album than usual. This still sounds like what you’d expect from a Dark Fortress release, but there’s a few experiments and surprises thrown in this time. The title track open things up in a fairly characteristic manner. It’s mostly fast paced, with a vicious vocal performance and some nice guitar leads. Even in this track, the slow, moody break about halfway through is a nice touch. As the World Keels Over also varies in pace, and the verses even seem to delve into some atmospheric area. Osiris follows suit, relying on a fairly straightforward, yet hard-hitting momentum. The first real scorcher is Silence, which does anything but live up to its name. This is one of the more chaotic tracks featured here, displaying fast riffs, great blastbeats, and once again, an impressive vocal performance. Evenfall is about where the album starts to branch off into unfamiliar territory. Morean utilizes some strange groaning clean vocals on this one, which I don’t find to be completely convincing. As a whole, the song doesn’t seem to develop as well as the other ones. Satan Bled is another fierce blazer in the vein of Silence, although still features some slower sections. Closing the album, is certainly the largest departure from Dark Fortress’ usual sound, and is a track that will doubtlessly divide fans. Morean showcases some fairly high pitched clean vocals over an otherwise crushingly heavy, slow paced doom-influenced track. It’s a bit strange at first, but in the end is surprisingly convincing. The vocals take some getting used to, but the riffs are completely awesome.

I like the apocalyptic theme running through the album. Ylem is apparently the primordial matter from which all elements originated (before the Big Bang). To return to this state would mean the end of everything that exists now. Sure, it’s not the most original idea for a black metal concept, but it makes for more interesting lyrics than most modern black metal bands churn out these days. Ultimately, the theme is well conveyed throughout the music, with some songs featuring atmospheric touches, such as my personal favourite, The Valley. There’s almost an epic feel to many of the songs, which also makes for a more convincing listen.

If there’s one thing I may critique, it is the length of the album. The songs are sharp and well polished, but in the end they don’t justify the album being over seventy minutes long. It seems as though the band tried to please everybody rather than being concise with the material, and it made for a bit of a bloated result. Nevertheless, Ylem is a very worthy chapter in Dark Fortress’ history, and one that I would strongly recommend. ---Razakel, metal-archives.com

Założony w Landshut w 1994 roku niemiecki black metalowy Dark Fortress zdołał wspiąć się na najwyższe stopnie gatunku, dzięki zapierającym dech w piersiach występom scenicznym oraz świetnym płytom, które spełniają standardy ustanowione na północy europejskiej blackowej sceny.

Ich pierwszym muzycznym znakiem życia było demo z 1996 roku "Rebirth Of The Dark Age", które stało się prodromem mrocznego i hipnotyzującego stylu zespołu. W 1997 roku do oryginalnego składu zespołu, w osobach: Asvargra (gitara), wokalisty Azathotha, basisty Njorda i Charona (perkusja) - dołączyli drugi gitarzysta o pseudonimie Crom i klawiszowc Thamuz, ustanawiając w ten sposób skład koncertowy. Debiutująca w lutym 1997 roku młoda horda szybko zaczęła współdzielić undergroundową scenę z takimi grupami, jak Lunar Aurora, Desaster i Nagelfar. Pierwszym wydawnictwem Dark Fortress, które ukazało się pod szyldem Fog Of The Apocalypse Records, był split z Barad Dür zatytułowany "Towards Immortaliy". ---.gandalf.com.pl

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Rock, Metal

Dark Fortress - Venereal Dawn (2014)

Dark Fortress ‎– Ylem (2010)