This is the third year of Fortress Festival running, and my third year attending – with each year boasting impressive lineups from across black metal and its various subgenres. Amongst the couple dozen bands playing this year are Agalloch, Forteresse and 1349 who are the top billed acts. Organised by Reaper Agency, it is one of the main black metal festivals in the UK, a weekend held in North Yorkshire dedicated to this extreme metal genre we all love so dearly.
Day Zero; Arrival
After driving 250 miles south, I reached t’north. Scarborough, a quintessential seaside resort town in North Yorkshire; sandy beaches, sticks of rock, arcades, overpriced tat shops. What better place for a Black Metal festival.
I checked into my AirBNB and reunited my two mates who I shared with last year, along with a couple of new faces who had been convinced to come join us.
As we wander the town for some food and drinks, I spot many familiar faces who I know from the UK black metal scene as they all congregate to the pubs and bars of this quaint seaside town, ready to paint the town black for the weekend.
Day One
The sun is shining, amazingly none of us have sore heads from last night, and we are ready to start a hell of a weekend.
Nemorous
Third time I’ve seen Nemorous; Once with Ante-Inferno & Fuath in Glasgow (A show I mentioned in my Ante-Inferno/Ultha gig review) and at Fortress Festival ‘23 where the guitarist broke a string, and the rest of the band awkwardly stood around for 15 minutes with dead air, just staring at him looking a bit miffed.
Thankfully no such incident occurred this year as they played their upcoming debut album for us – absolutely the best I’ve heard them sound, and they have me very excited to get my hands on the album.
They finished off bathed in green light as they languidly and appropriately atmospherically came to a conclusion to their set, a grand entrance to the weekend for sure.
Perennial Isolation
The shrieky vocals of the Spaniards filled the Ocean Room accompanied by solid rhythmic blast beats, with the lead singer asking the crowd every two minutes if they were ready, and reminding them they were at Fortress.
It seemed the guitarist may have had some issues with their volume knob on the guitar, as it started off all the way down and then multiple times whilst playing he seemed to knock it back down, causing his guitar to intermittently mute itself.
Aquilus
These atmospheric folk black metallers from Australia slowed down the pace for a while to make for a more ambient mood, although they had some serious sound issues, unfortunately. During the first few songs all we could hear were the drums and a bit of violin – the only time I heard the bass was during a bass solo intro to a song that immediately got lost once the drums kicked in – and the guitars were just muddied into the mix.
They were not hugely my thing, perhaps it was the sound mix putting me off and I need to check out their studio stuff more than just a onceover in the weeks leading up to the festival. But it did give me a chance to go check out the merch tables whilst they finished their set.
Devastator
So from the slower pace of Aquilus here we are at the other end of the scale, being brought right back up with the black thrash blasts of Devastator. If anyone was still tired or hungover before they took to the stage, then they certainly weren’t anymore, as Black Witchery got the whole crowd moving and headbanging.
“We’re gonna play as many as we can” yelled Thomas (vocals, bass) rattling through song after song, with Worship the Goat kicking off a large circle pit. Certainly, no rest for the wicked as he once again yelled to the crowd “We’re not gonna give you a fucking break” as they began Spiritual Warfare.
This was a whole lot of fun, and really what I needed for my brain to go “you’re at fucking Fortress” and wake up fully.
Spirit Possession
Things remained high octane as the duo of Spirit Possession were up next. Bathed in just the red light of their logo behind them they kept up the pace of Devastator. For a two piece their sound was absolutely massive, they filled out the main hall with their dark atmosphere and technical playing.
Definitely a band I would love to see again in a more intimate venue, hopefully they can return to the UK in future on a tour where I can catch them.
Suldusk
Atmospheric folk black metal from Australia slowed down the pace… hang on am I repeating myself? Yes this very much did feel like Aquilus continued in part with the folky instrumentation, violin, and even several familiar faces from the Aquilus stage were present on the Suldusk stage – though their performance did have some more angsty heavier parts thrown in.
I will say that the instrumentation was much clearer than Aquilus and I could hear everything as it was meant to be – just something you tend to find with the Ocean Room performances rather than the Main Stage ones due to the building design and acoustics of it. They played several brand new songs for us which I believe may have been their live debut.
The Great Old Ones
The lovecraftian themed black metal band who have delivered one of my favourite albums of this year so far, Kadath – so I was very excited for them to take to the stage and managed to get to the barrier for them.
Wow, just wow. That is all I should say, as they were simply amazing and possibly my favourite performance of the day, perhaps weekend overall.
They had incredible energy, atmosphere and stage presence and put on one hell of a performance that sounded great. All issues I had with the Main Room stage sound from before had simply disappeared with these guys on the stage (thankfully it seemed to stay that way for the rest of the festival too!) as they opened up with Me, The Dreamer.
I did laugh at one point when a single smoke burst went off during a song – well timed and obviously intended for the moment, but it felt like a PG-13 film getting a single allowance of the word “fuck” and carefully picking the moment for it to be appropriate.
They played five songs in their fifty minute set and closed off with Under the Sign of Koth, this was a spectacle to behold and I could not have been happier.
Sylvaine
The third stage of Fortress is the Theatre Stage, a more mellow space where on day one you could sit for Darkher, Osi & The Jupiter or Sylvaine and on day two they held discussions with people from the scene.
I felt I ought to experience at least one show in this space this weekend, unfortunately these are the only clashes of the festival so I had to pick carefully which one – and it ultimately came down to me missing out on Selbst so I could watch Sylvaine.
A very different experience to the rest of Fortress, with just Kathrine Shepard on stage performing a mix of ambient post-metal, blackgaze, & folk style of music with performance dance thrown in. The chorus driven guitar and ethereal vocals induced a trance like state, where it may not have normally been my thing but I was mesmerised by the show.
Ruim
Stage props! This was the first band that actually had any stage setup with pop up flags and metal tridents, as well as two braziers flaming away (I felt for the drummer being surrounded by fire, as it was very warm on Saturday and many people did complain about the heat).
Another band I had highly anticipated for the weekend and they absolutely delivered with their fantastic energy. The atmospheric low lighting as the smoke filled stage was often lit by the red of their logo and the two braziers was wonderful, and they were another of my favourite performers of the weekend.
And as if their set couldn’t get any better, we also got a bonus cameo, as Ravn from 1349 joined on stage to sing I Am Thy Labyrinth by Mayhem with them.
Although I was fairly far forward, it was hard not to notice the mass crowd leaving behind me as they wanted to get into the Ocean Room for Akhlys before it hit the 850 person limit.
Akhlys
As expected, the Ocean Room was full, we managed to get in the line fairly fast but it quickly grew longer backing up into the main room itself. Thankfully I managed to get in just towards the end of what I believe was the first song of their performance and grabbed a spot at the side.
And although I could not see so great, I absolutely could hear their outstanding performance of discordant guitars and guttural growls – as full on oppressively evil sounding live as they are on their studio recordings – even if they do wear some goofy masks on stage.
The crowd (myself included) were absolutely loving their show, which is why it seemed so odd when they abruptly came to an end and walked off stage, leaving the crowd standing around wondering if that was really the end or if they were expecting some sort of encore.
Nonetheless, we made our trek back downstairs for the last time that day ready for the headliner.
1349
1349 are a band who hold a special place in my heart, as they were one of my first black metal bands I was introduced to when I was about 9 years old, so seeing them is sort of a childhood dream come true I suppose, as weird as that sounds. Naturally I had to get closer to the front again, finding a decent spot towards the middle of the stage just a couple rows back.
The room was dark as a deep rumbling coursed through the entire venue – hearing protection be damned you could feel this inside your skull.
Two members stepped out of the dark, and breathed fire across the front few rows – as if it wasn’t hot enough already in here. And then they kicked off straight into the Ash of Ages, lead single of their 2024 album The Wolf and the King.
Though it may have been a hell of a start to the show, it seemed Frost was not happy with his drum setup and we had a ten minute intermission to adjust some technical difficulties (I later learnt it may have been the triggers, though I am not sure).
And then we were back, into Slaves as the machine behind the drums absolutely belted out his blast beats for us. I Am Abomination, the whole band just nailed their sound and sounded so tight playing for us tonight. Song after song and I was giddy with finally seeing them live for the first time (and hopefully not the last).
A farewell bow from 1349 bids us adieu for the evening, and with that day one is over.
Day Two
Abduction
Yes I am once again seeing the fantastic Abduction. This is the third time in less than a year – but they are always well worth seeing due to their incredible performances.
What a way to start the day it was, as they performed their new album Existentialismus for us in full, an album I am already hugely familiar with and highly recommend checking out if you haven’t done so yet.
Their amazing performance was accompanied by visuals on the screen, a mix of animated versions of their album artwork and recuts of their music videos. The only thing I feel that was missing was A|V bringing out his wee skull pal to hold above his head.
The band departs the stage, but the crowd do not depart – we all know what is about to happen. The Fortress Festival 2026 headliner is being announced on the large screen behind the stage…
The house lights remain off, as music starts playing over the speaker system. A face appears on the screen along with “Reaper Agency presents” – Old Man’s Child will be a UK exclusive for next years festival.
Belore, Dödsrit & Autumn Nostalgie
I didn’t take as many notes on Sunday, and so I’ll combine some of the artists together.
Belore provided us with wonderfully atmospheric music with medieval and fantasy themes appropriately accompanied by flute. Two songs into their set though I got a message from a group of friends who were downstairs in the sunshine enjoying a pint… and I’ll be honest, I wasn’t going to go turn that down as I had somehow managed not to see these people at all on Saturday. Sorry Belore, I’ll see you next time!
We all made our way in for Dödsrit – a returning band from last year. They put on an excellent performance of tight instrumentation and harrowing vocals of anguish. I can’t really say much more, but they were a highlight of the day for sure, and I had great fun watching them and definitely need to check them out more.
Autumn Nostalgie, on the other hand, were beautifully bleak, performing their debut album Esse Est Percipi as well as a couple of songs from other albums.
Moonlight Sorcery
In a single word? Fun.
This was the most engaging and fun band of the entire festival, and I expected nothing less having gotten into their music late last year and thoroughly enjoy every moment of it. It’s melodically upbeat black metal, very rhythmic with harmonised guitars and keys. The entire crowd was reacting to every action on stage and everyone left in such good spirits where I overheard people saying how good of a performance it was.
Aristarchos & Ulcerate
The black clothed figures of Aristarchos took to the stage dramatically, as the lead singer held his hands together akin to Mr. Burns saying “excellent”. Okay, maybe that wasn’t his intention, but the thought would not leave my mind as he held that pose for much of the performance.
They were, however, absolutely solid performers, and I’m not just saying that because they’re also based up in Scotland – no bias from me here.
Next up in the main hall were the kiwis Ulcerate with their slightly avant-garde technical death metal sound. They certainly knew how to make an entrance, with a loud bassy bwaaaaam as the lights strobed away, making me feel like I was in a Christopher Nolan film.
I stuck around for a few songs, and they were by far the heaviest band of the festival. Unfortunately, death is just not one of those genres I ever got on with, and does not grip me the same way black metal does. (ok we’ll see about that raise, editors note)
I went to enjoy some sunshine with friends again, catching up on what people had thought of the weekend so far and what shows they had upcoming later down the line.
Grift
This was my big pleasant surprise of the weekend. I was surface level aware of Grift having given their discography a couple playthroughs at some point in the months leading up to Fortress, but wow.
Erik slowly lit some incense sticks as black and white footage played on the screens either side of the stage; puddles, broken windows, fallen over trees, abandoned buildings, deer skulls – really hammering home the themes.
They played Syner in full, as it is the ten-year anniversary of the album and their performance was absolutely everything it needed to be, and I left with a new-found appreciation for this band. Another highlight of the weekend for me, for sure.
Forteresse
Listen, I know who is up last in the lineup, but for me, these guys are the headliner of today.
Relentless blast beat attacks with tremolo riffs and an insane performance. But this isn’t just black metal, this is Metal Noir Québecois…
They put on such a powerful show even with technical difficulties. One guitar seemed to stop working part way through, but they kept going with their show and sounded great despite the thinner sound. They managed to fix the issue and concluded their show with Vespérales.
Fen
The British atmospheric black metal band Fen were up next to follow that act of Forteresse and right before Agalloch – no pressure then.
They played The Malediction Fields in full, a dark atmospheric album with strokes of sorrowful post-metal influences and their show lived up to it.
Though once it hit 21:00 it was like the Agalloch clock went off in everyone’s minds, as what felt like half the crowd departed the Ocean Room downstairs to go and find a good spot for the festival closer, despite there still being half an hour of Fen left. I did feel bad for them, but I guess they were thankful for those of us who did stick around until the end of their wonderful set.
Agalloch
And here we are, the grand finale of Fortress Festival 2025.
For some people this is what their ticket was all about, this is what made them buy a ticket and the sole reason they were here. For me they were just a bonus on top of a festival I was already coming to and to finish off the fantastic lineup that had played across the two days ahead of them.
Agalloch are one of those bands some people are so passionate about, and whilst I enjoy them now and again I never find them high up in the list of bands I’m rushing to listen to despite my love for slower based atmospheric black metal.
The curtain was drawn across the stage for the first time over the weekend. What laid behind it? What mysteries does it obscure? Have they some elaborate stage setup, or a grand array of props?
The curtain slowly opens to reveal… the same stage we’ve seen all along, empty.
The members slowly walk out one by one as an ambient track plays. Yeah I’m not sure what the curtain was for either.
Their echo driven guitars fill the Victorian venue as the crowd sway and headbang to the music, people around me are screaming in excitement or weeping with emotion as they play tracks spanning their discography.
“This is a song from our new album” John Haughm begins, just to tease the audience before finishing his sentence “that was released 11 years ago”. He has a laugh about it before admitting “that was mean” and they begin Dark Matter Gods from The Serpent & the Sphere.
Following that he talks with the crowd a bit more, “It’s a banger” as he refers to Ashes Against the Grain before playing Falling Snow and Not Unlike the Waves.
They finish the show laying on the stage, guitars ringing out as they fiddle with guitar pedal knobs to create a variety of soundscapes to conclude the weekend with.
And then, it’s done. Fortress Festival 2025 is over and we all make our departure for the last time from Scarborough Spa.
Day Four; Departure & Final Thoughts
Fortress Festival is finished for another year, but we have 2026 to look forward to now with Old Man’s Child headlining, along with worldwide debuts and mostly all European and UK exclusives.
The mind wonders about the possibilities, but we will find out in time. One thing is for sure, you’ll be seeing me there again.
Overall the weekend was just amazing, I had such a wonderful time as I knew I would. “It’s like black metal Christmas” was a phrase I overheard from another person which accurately describes Fortress Festival.
The infamous merch mafia did take a hit out on me, and took a lot of my money as a result – but new records to spin and patches to sew will keep me happy from the post-festival blues.
I’m glad I managed to get a chance to thank Gary Stephenson, director of Reaper Agency on Sunday, and just congratulate him on such a great festival once again.
I would also just want to thank everyone from the bands that played, the people behind the scenes, and all the people who travelled the world to be there – everyone made it such a special weekend. It was great meeting familiar faces and new people alike, and here’s to more of that next year.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go binge some Old Man’s Child and become familiar with them some more.
Photo gallery
Check out more details about the festival here: https://www.fortressfestival.co.uk/
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