Record Label: Century Media Records
Year: 2020
Rating: 7.5/10
Dark Fortress ain’t no stranger in the Black Metal community, as they have written some very good albums in their career. Six years after the release of Venereal Dawn, the Germans came back with Spectres from the Old World determined for a dynamic comeback. But could this be enough for their fans?
Dark Fortress ~ Photo by Markus Laakso
When “Nascence(Intro)/Coalescence” started blasting from the speakers, I understood that this album is going to be more uptempo than the previous one, keeping at the same time, the elements that made them famous: energetic riffs, slow atmospheric parts and haunting melodies. As the album continues more mid-tempo parts make their appearance, with the band exploring them with more atmospheres and melodies, which sometimes slows the flow of the album, but on the other hand, shows the listener the band`s musical capabilities.
The experimentation continues also in “Pali Aike“(which was chosen for video clip), which is the first song of the album that Morean uses his clean vocals, giving a more evil shade in the song. However this is not the final song where we hear them, as he uses them more than before and they fit completely in songs such as the stormy “Pulling at Threads“, at the remarkable “In Deepest Time“, with highlight the choir in “Swan Song“. Finally, the album closes with “Nox Irae“, which could easily be in any Triptykon record.
In conclusion, Dark Fortress did not forget their identity and once again continues to attract the listener. The recipe for a good Melodic Black Metal record has succeeded again, while at the same time new musical paths seem to be opening up for their future work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOUODi3shT4&list=PLUIOJdJ4UrXV_lcVf7lc4dnHYfrsUKZzY&ab_channel=WiseParanoiaDark Fortress – Spectres from the Old World (Full Album)
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