Here’s what went down at what is possibly the UK’s best black metal festival, and for everyone reading this who is now shouting: “But what about Cosmic Void??” Well, Cosmic Void is in London—end of argument. A one-man show of somebody doing Macbeth on a bouncy castle could sell out in London. Selling out a black metal festival in the far Northeast in a quiet seaside town is an achievement that can’t be overstated in its magnitude.
Opening the Saturday were Nemerous. Now, these lads were not in an enviable position, opening a black metal festival at 1pm right next to a beach on one of the nicest days of the year. Fortress Festival goers had to pass through families relaxing, eating ice creams, children making sandcastles and dogs happily chasing one another, which might be as far away from black metal ‘lore’ as one can get. But they were still able to pull together a blistering set of capable black metal that did its job well to ‘wet the lips’, so to speak, of what the weekend had in store to come.
Next up on the main stage were the Australian collective Aquilus. Before we get into Aquilus, a little bit of context is needed. This year’s Fortress Fest wasn’t actually Fortress Fest. It was really Agalloch-Fest. This is Agalloch’s first UK show -post break-up and reformation- since 2015. If you’re an Agalloch fan who lives in the UK, maybe even Europe, you had a ticket for Fortress pretty much as soon as they were announced. With this in mind, Aquilus is the first of many bands booked throughout the weekend that could be considered ‘Agalloch-inspired’, with the line-up being half curated around their star booking headliner. Aquilus were heavy enough on the incense to create the nature-themed atmospheric and synthonic sound that they were striving for, festival goers entered into a hypnotic trance of musically laden ecstasy as the Australians bounced between brutal blackened blast beats and soft contemplative climaxes.
Over to the Ocean Room now, which, due to capacity, means leaving the main stage early is an essential if you want to get into it; we’ll find Derbyshire blackened thrash masters, Devestator. These boys brought the party with them to a bit of an overall sombre and serious festival, which is to be expected with the genre, of course. Exploding into thrash heavy enough to put Slayer to shame, Devestator were able to conjure perhaps the only real mosh pit of the festival. In light of the recent controversy with Slam Dunk’s (lack of) security, it was pleasing to see security taking the mosh pit very seriously. Devastator were a crowd favourite, with football-like chants of: ‘Deve-stator!’ between songs. At the end of the set, the lads went around the barriers high high-fiving and fist-bumping their fans, new and old. Overall, they were reminiscent of an ‘evil Motley Crue.’ They put on one of the best shows of an incredibly stacked weekend, which is especially impressive as they were probably the most ‘divergent’ to the black metal genre as well.
Returning to the Grand Theatre, American duo Spirit Possession take the stage. If Devestator were ‘blackened thrash, the fun version’, Spirit Possession are ‘blackened thrash, the serious version’. The duo were able to create a raw and aggressive blackened sound that admittedly gets off to a bit of a slow start, but culminated in a face-melting climax that was nostalgic of the Scandinavian golden years of black metal of the 90s.
Now, as the day progresses, so does the pain in the hips and feet of many. This is where Fortresses’ most appealing feature comes into play. Imagine, if you will, a festival where, whenever you wanted, there was a comfortable seat to sit in whilst you could also catch a main stage band. Fortresses’ home in the Scarborough Spa Grand Theatre allowed this, with the main room and the balcony being open to everyone. It was a game changer to those of us who are already dreading the physical toll that this year’s two-day Damnation threatens. In the Gods, is where we caught The Great Old Ones. This year’s album entry of theirs, Kadath, a stellar album, creating considerable hype for their set. The Lovecraftian black metallers were a serious highlight, imposing both brutality and anxiety in their gargantuan and atmospheric sound.
Another marvellous feature of Fortress is that within the venue, there is a smaller theatre that is comparable to a Christmas panto or school drama show in size. Here, Sylvaine confidently took her acoustic show to hundreds of eagerly awaiting black metallers. This would be a daunting prospect for some, but Sylvaine kept us all enthralled in her soft croons and clean acoustics that felt as though you had been released from a washing machine filled with razor wire into a warm bubble bath with pleasant floral fragrances. It’s something this reviewer is very keen to see more of in future editions of Fortress.
Ruim in the main stage next put on a show that was similar to Dragged Into Sunlight’s fabled 2024 Damnation set, which has ingrained itself into the UK heavy music scene’s folklore. The chaos, the sensory overload and the relentless brutality and uncompromising sound, Ruim are what people came to Fortress for. To close out Saturday, the magnificent Ahklys. Though, the lead singer did look hilariously like Bane from the Christopher Nolan film with his mask on, but he took a break from fighting Batman to enthral Scarborough with some of the most hypnotic black metal built up across the entire weekend.
Despite not many Creeper fans potentially being familiar with Lowen due to the wildly different musical styles of both groups. The heavy, prog and doom inspired metal outfit have been successfully blending traditional Middle Eastern music with western heavy metal genres like doom, death, and progressive metal since 2017 and their performance at Camden’s Koko could only be described as hypnotic. The entire audience seemed to be in total silence, mesmerised as Nina Saeidi took to the stage in traditional Middle Eastern attire, brandishing a sword, and singing a cappella in her native tongue. Combined with Cal Constantine’s ferocious, stampede-like drumming which combined with the impressive acoustics of the venue, sounded thunderous and contrasted with Saeidi’s spellbinding stage presence perfectly and Shem Lucas’s chugging guitar riffs and impressive soloing, Lowen wears the culture of their ancestors with an immense sense of pride whilst also moving heavy metal in a more progressive, theatrical direction.
While KLÄMP may have stuck to the shadowy clubs and smaller stages of the UK’s underground, remaining scene darlings rather than global rock stars, but the collective’s pedigree rivals acts who headline stadiums. Remaining scattered across the UK and The Netherlands, the rotating cast of members includes members of Idles, Petbrick, Pulled Apart By Horses, Tall Ships and Manatees with multiple guitarists, bassists and synth players overlapping to create a dense fog of noise.
Performing as a five piece led by frontman Greg Wynne, KLÄMP screech and groove through half an hour of noisy industrial informed material from their new album TOTAAL TECHNIEK and older, more experimental work from their back catalogue. Whether you understand them or not, KLÄMP are certainly a once in a lifetime experience.
Within the belly of the good ship, Thekla, California four-piece Modern Color deliver a set that shimmers with emotional clarity and measured force. While the song structures are instantly familiar to any fan of post-hardcore—bursts of aggression, long melodic arcs, heart-on-sleeve lyrics—their performance feels almost revelatory. As any early nerves are thrown overboard, frontman Fleming Valenzuela is beaming as he lets the crowd know that this is the band’s first show on a boat. A dock in south-west England is a long way from Redondo Beach, but the band seem entirely at home tonight.
Modern Color trust the power of their songwriting and are very sparing with their interactions, but this does nothing to lessen the rapport that they build. The crowd, which steadily grows and edges forward as the band presses on, responds in kind: nodding heads become lurching bodies and those at the periphery of the room begin to give their full attention. Clean and screamed vocals are blended seamlessly, and the interplay between melody and dissonance is handled deftly by a band who seem absolutely in their element. Tonight’s 9-song set is dominated by tracks from last year’s There Goes the Dream and its predecessor From the Leaves of Your Garden and despite the quality of both records, all the material is elevated in the live setting.
For a band that operates just beneath the algorithmic radar for many, Modern Color’s shows on this run could turn a lot of new fans in their direction.
Opening the night were Omoia, who, despite being Leeds-based, made it very clear this was a hometown crowd. Playing their first ever Cardiff show, they were met with roaring energy before they’d even struck a note—helped in no small part by the fact that about 80% of the crowd were already wearing their merch. That kind of turnout for an opener speaks volumes, but Omoia didn’t coast on goodwill. They tore into their set with passion, precision, and an infectious enthusiasm that could win over even the most Stoic gig-goer. Every track landed with force, blending urgency with a deep musicality that never once felt forced or postured. There’s something undeniably genuine about Omoia—watching them, you get the sense they’re doing this because they have to, because the music demands it. If you’re looking to book a band who will not only bring the energy but turn a room into believers, Omoia are one to pay attention to. No question.
Setting the tone early in the evening, I See Stars made their long-awaited return to the for the first time since 2013. While many fans seemed to be there primarily for their nostalgic hits and were still settling into the day, given their relatively early time slot, their newer material, especially tracks from Treehouse, were warmly received. The crowd visibly transformed midway through the set, with the highly anticipated ‘Ten Thousand Feet’ and ‘Murder Mitten’ instantly igniting energy near the front and shaking off any lingering cobwebs. Overall, their performance was a strong reminder of their evolving sound and enduring appeal.
