By: Anders

Posted: Feb 9, 2006

This German black metal force was formed back in 1994, and has 3 full length releases behind it. They are now signed to Century Media and this is their first album for them, a monster of an album clicking in a bit more than an hour of pretty varied and dark black metal.

The influences on the album are many, not many tracks sound the same, there is a red thread on the album, mostly kept together by the production and the sound of the instruments, together with the dark and at times eerie atmosphere. The band consist of some good songwriters, the tunes are pretty catchy, together with them possessing a cold and grim atmosphere most of the time, even though the band once in a while also uses some majestic atmospheres. Though the band has some pretty obvious sources of inspiration once in while as well, the track 'Requim Grotesque', possesses vocals that reminds me a lot of Attila on Mayhem's "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" and the track 'To Harvest The Artefacts Of Mockery' could be a tribute to Celtic Frost, Bathory and later on Darkthrone.

There are sporadic good guitar work on the album, some rehashed riffs, but also some nice cold and very atmospheric melodies, which are enchanting. The vocals are mostly good, a harsh and raw rasp most of the time, shifting pace to follow the tracks, some of them are fast and others very heavy and dark as 'REvolution Vanity', which also offers some good synth work. The synth used on the album is well-balanced and delicate and helps the atmospheres to grow, without overpowering any of the other instruments. The production is dark as well, a bit too dark and compressed at times, a more open and organic sound wouldn't have hurt, and it would have made the album easier to listen to and enjoy. There have also sneaked in a bit of folk influences , as the wicked string section display in the start of 'Incide', even though it gets pretty eerie and wicked at times.

There are a lot of interesting things on this album, I was actually quite surprised by it. It is dark and chilling at times, more bombastic and awe-inspiring at others. It is not a groundbreaking album, far from, but there is a healthy dose of classic black metal deeds and a bit of new interpretations of such as well, and it works pretty well together. If you don't like your black metal too grim and aggressive, this is a good place to start, and perhaps it is time for me to check out Dark Fortress' previous albums, they might hide something good.

Rating: 7½/10

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