Artist: Dark Fortress
Label: Century Media
Release: 2008
After a two-year hiatus, German melodic/black metallers Dark Fortress have woken up again and served us a new, (this time) conceptual and somewhat more melodic and harmonic album titled ”Eidolon”
The last two years were a big test for the band: after countless gigs, vocalist Azathoth (Matthias Jell) left, and guitarist V. Santura lent his services to none other than Celtic Frost, who hit the road again in 2006. But when the water’s up to your neck, you’ve got to take a good big gulp, and that’s exactly the motto Dark Fortress went with, finding inspiration for the new album. Another turning point was the arrival of new vocalist Morean, who had already worked with the band on their second-to-last album ”Seance” from 2006.
As I mentioned in the intro, the new album is woven with a touch more atmosphere and harmony, and it also serves up a pinch of lyrical abstraction, since every song describes the journey of a soul from its birth all the way to its end. Complexity is the word that easily sums up the whole record, because “Eidolon” is a masterpiece built from “old school” black metal ingredients and a dash of Swedish “death metal”, which creates a great atmosphere already with the first song ”The Silver Gate”.
It’s also interesting that the album is extremely dynamic and a world away from the monotony of your average black metallers, since the tempo and rhythm switch up several times within a single song, which makes the album very listenable and energetic.
There’s something new in the vocals too, which prove to be a good replacement but by no means top the raspy voice of Azathoth, who left the band for personal reasons. Morean is simply a different person with a different way of singing, and the voice comes through best on ”Analepsy”, which is also a clear sign that Morean has until now been singing with death/thrash metal band Noneuclid. That doesn’t mean the album is nothing but low ”growls”, of course — it merely hints at it and adds a whiff of death metal.
One last thing I’d like to mention: the new album is a solid effort from a good German outfit that carries on and upholds its roots in Nordic black metal. Of course, that foundation is enriched with somewhat unusual rhythms and masterful guitar work (without overlong, needless solos) that conjures up just the right amount of dark atmosphere. If, despite all that, we still don’t get goosebumps, the keyboards, loud just enough, will surely raise them. Keyboards are generally known for being pushed way too far in the mix and so ruining the true dark image of melodic/black metal, and that’s why, next to the rhythm section, I see this as almost the biggest trump card of the new Dark Fortress album.
Lineup
Morean – vocals
Asvargr – guitar
V. Santura – guitar
Paymon -keyboards
Draug – bass guitar
Seraph – drums
Production
Dark Fortress
Tracklist
1. The Silver Gate
2. Cohorror
3. Baphomet
4. The Unflesh
5. Analepsy
6. Edge of Night
7. No Longer Human
8. Catacrusis
9. Antiversum
Rating: 7/10
