Album Review: Dark Fortress - Spectres From The Old World
Reviewed by Tim Finch
‘Spectres From The Old World’ is not a traditional black metal album by any means. As instrumental intro ‘Nacsence’ opens the album you are hit with a heavy industrial feel to the music.
This album is the first Dark Fortress have released in five years. The band have been in somewhat of a hibernation over that time but in their own words they have “finally descended from their empyrean domain to storm black metal norms, set the pillars of light ablaze, and to render hope useless.”
As the intro ends ‘Coalesence’ kicks in, heading back to a more traditional black metal feel it’s still not black and white. The genre boundaries as blurred and the band experiment with more expansive sounds. The foundations, the vocal growls are all based off the traditions of black metal, but this sound offers so much more. ‘The Spider in The Web’ has an almost monolithic feel to it. Vast cavalcades of sound encapsulate the listener, drawing them into the music of the epic beast. ‘Swan Song’ is similar in feel a little more beastly and aggressive in tone but still gargantuan in aura.
With the short hiatus of the band they have managed to rekindle their passion for the song writing. ‘Spectres From The Old World’ highlights the work of a band who have poured their heart and soul into the production of a progressive black metal beast. Fans of the band and the genre will love this work, but it also has the potential to win over a swathe of new fans with its willingness to move away from what many would consider the norm.
Dark Fortress' 'Spectres From The Old World' is available now from your usual music outlets.
