Live Review: Fortress Festival

Live Review: Fortress Festival

30th/31st May 2026

Words: Sam Jones

Day 1

Being the opening band of a festival is no tall order. But Groza open the main stage with class and charisma as they effortlessly rope a Sun-drenched, hungover crowd into wild fervour. Only ten minutes in Groza have the crowd by the throat, awash with hues of turquoise and scarlet, with a light show to make a Pink Floyd fan sweat. The air was heavy with clamour, riffs ascendant as smoke machines thrust billowing columns before an audience perspiring yet basking before Groza’s onslaught. Their sound is impeccable yet that’s merely an affinity to Fortress’ stellar production quality and mixing capabilities.

I missed the opening minutes to Mesarthim but upon entering the main stage room I immediately thought “What is that?” and very quickly had my answer. Their frontman utilised a digital mask in the effect of a spiral, there was piano, triumphant riffs that awakens you from the depths of despair. Mesarthim stents cosmic variation of black metal where the spacey vibes are in force yet minus the malice, the hatred. The band took us on a spellbinding journey as the venue’s lights continued to be used to great effect. They’re only my second band of the festival but already the juxtaposing atmospheres of black metal are already on display.

Midnight Odyssey were the sole band I saw in The Ocean Room on Saturday. Now since that set there had been complaints regarding security, massive lines getting into the room but I had heard the security supervisors would be addressed come the following morning which I was happy to hear. The band’s set itself was highly enjoyable, steaming with heat as Midnight Odyssey do their utmost instilling their cold and cosmic soundscape. I do think the set was missing something though, had this been on the main stage they could have used the full scope of theatrics and production needed for that grand Midnight Odyssey atmosphere, and you could hear that clicky-clacky metronome sound counting them in given they didn’t have a drummer. It was still enjoyable and is another band crossed off my bucket list but I couldn’t help but feel something more could have been injected into this set.

My jaw fell to the floor for the entirety of Dodheimsgard’s set. I went into their set totally blind, they’re unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Merging synthwave with black metal with outright gothic pop in places, Dodheimsgard deliver a performance that converted me as quickly as Dodsrit did last year. The only band I’ve ever watched with actual backing singers, Dodheimsgard deliver a soundscape that transcends the world of black metal. There are so many differing components going on, mixing this must be a nightmare, yet the band make it work, delivering something archaic, intangible yet not beyond reach. I’ve honestly never experienced anything like it. There was a sequence about three tracks in that I can only describe as “Cursed Disco” where I could follow along to it all but somehow it felt wrong. It was something malignant, something outside the human cerebellum. Then right at the last track their frontman Vicotnik performs this vocal duet with one of the backing singers and the atmosphere mellows then darkens, and now the set is laden with this intimate sorrow yet beneath this lay an ethereal violence not unlike lacerated stars. It was downright one of the greatest sets I’d ever seen. I left the venue afterwards knowing that was not getting topped that evening.

 

Day 2

A Forest Of Stars are the first band on the main stage, bringing their trippy but melancholic take on black metal to the Fortress masses. Though their performance is alive with energy, the beauty of their sound is founded in the morose, quieter sequences, all before things explode once more, holding back the rage and anguish until it bursts free. Their vocal theatricality has been well documented by this point but seeing it live is something else entirely, imbuing their sound with a raw and biting demeanour. I saw many near the front utterly enamoured by the band, hands reaching to the sky, across their face, absolutely entranced by A Forest Of Stars; for those souls this was no mere performance but a rite of cerebral passage, fitting given the band’s sound is akin to waking from a dream with the last vestiges of subconscious present.

Abigail Williams however provide a much more visceral performance with harsh vocals, blast beats and riffs that come off a razor’s edge. On the back of the news that Abigail Williams were unsure what their future would hold, the crowd was understandably dense with bodies eager to see the band in, as of right now, potentially their final festival show, perhaps, for some time. During their set comes a complete absence of theatrics or dramatics, just four guys doing their utmost in delivering the sharpest, leanest songs they may muster. It’s a sweltering, punishing attack from start to finish but before long Abigail Williams end their set triumphant knowing the crowd responds wondrously to their efforts. One of my most awaited acts and they did not disappoint.

The queue to enter the Theatre room for Emyn Muil was far longer than I anticipated but I joined it at the right time. The sole band on the lineup playing the Dungeon Synth stage I was invested in, I began to queue for the Theatre Stage and glad I did at the time I decided. Even as the doors finally opened, there were scores still hoping to get inside but I was surprised to find everyone managed to get a seat. The lights dimmed, applause was made, and Emyn Muil delivered some dungeon synth inspired right out of Tolkien’s work. Vocals, booming drums and ambient synths fused to create something truly immersive; the chance to sit down during a set was a welcome change also. I left not long before the set was done to prepare for Vinterland. Dungeon Synth isn’t really my thing but I fully understand why others were adamant to check out Fief, Old Sorcery, Mortiis etc.

Given Vinterland‘s flight difficulties yesterday resulting in the cancellation of their Forum talk, it was relieving to hear their sound check; they made it. With lilac and magenta lighting, smoke sees them appear like phantoms from the fog; blast beats thicken the air as vocals claw the main hall, Vinterland’s debut UK show is a terrific spectacle. Playing their iconic 1996 album in full, Vinterland make use of the main stage’s astonishing production quality in easily the most explosive act of the day I’d yet seen. Fists and horns are thrown to the air, the excitement is tremendous. God knows some here have waited decades to hear thus material live.

We left the main hall to see Vesperal in the Ocean Room, a genuine world first for while Vinterland were still performing I couldn’t pass up the chance to see Vesperal; and to get in without a vast queue either. The sheer passion oozing out of Vesperal, particularly their frontman, was incredible; it’s evident these guys absolutely loved being here. Their frontman especially had easily the greatest stage presence of Fortress thus far, commanding his stage with guttural vocals and using every inch of room available to him. I saw my first crowdsurfers of the fest, the first circle pit, Vesperal tapped into something there that resonated with fans.

After catching some air I soon returned to the main hall to see Mispyrming. By far sport g the most demonic demeanour of the festival, the stage was awash in blood red hues with piercing riffs permeating outwards. Other than tonight’s headliner these guys have the vastest crowd I’ve seen for the main stage this festival. But their sound isn’t lightning fast, it’s steady, it allows you to cling on to their barbed-wire aesthetic, though bleeding you’ll be. Against the backdrop of today’s black metal offerings, these guys provide that primal and apathetic sound many adore with this genre; they’re a great balance against the upcoming headliner.

I felt I needed to see Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult, or at least some of their set before preparing for Gallowbraid given how rarely the band are here. Donning a torturous crown Onielar is one of the most renowned women in black metal and her dormancy demonstrates why; those pained shrieks, blunt force riffs, absolutely no semblance of mercy to be discovered. Blast beats abound in multitude, the corpse paint is everywhere, Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult scratch that traditional itch others may have been longing for. I only caught a snippet of their set but even in that short time I enjoyed what I heard, deciding to see them in full come their next visit to the UK. I moved downstairs to prepare for Gallowbraid.

Gallowbraid. World live debut. For many this was the great selling point to this year’s Fortress and as soon as they began I saw precisely why. Now personally I wasn’t too big a fan going into this set; that feeling turned on its head quickly as they dove straight into tracks off Ashen Eidolon. The crowd were electric, I can’t imagine how longtime fans must have been feeling to hear this material live. The production was enormous, those screeching vocals carrying high into the balcony section. But none of us expected Gallowbraid to play world exclusives of two new tracks there and then, to ecstatic applause, the first new Gallowbraid material in sixteen years. Following this the band threw us back into the back half of Ashen Eidolon, culminating in Stone Of Remembrance that closed out the set. Leaving the stage to an enormous sea of horns, Fortress brought back on screen their first announced act for 2027: Emperor in a UK exclusive performance. I know for one that I’ll be back next year as Fortress is quickly replacing Bloodstock as my go-to yearly UK extreme metal festival. What an amazing time.

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