Dark Fortress
Séance

They are called Dark Fortress, they were formed in 1994 and come from Germany. But this time, set aside mighty swords, erudite wizards, and fearless warriors. No, this time the Teutonic country, a fertile land of power and speed metal, gives us one of the most promising and enjoyable realities in the modern black metal scene.

Dark Fortress learn and metabolize the lesson from the black metal masters in their first two albums, "Tales From Eternal Dusk" (2001) and "Profane Genocidal Creations" (2003), so much so that they were often compared to their spiritual fathers, Dissection, in their early days. It is with their third full-length that Dark Fortress's personality begins to outline with more strength: "Stab Wounds" (2004) presents us a band with great ideas to rejuvenate a kind of metal that is sometimes too self-referential and devoid of innovation. The next step arrives in 2006 with this "Séance", a piece fitting perfectly into a dark and increasingly defined mosaic.

The album heavily focuses on a dark, heavy, misanthropic, and sick atmosphere alongside top-quality black metal with solutions that sometimes open up to melody (here not entrusted to the usual overused pseudo-symphonic keyboards - which play a background and atmospheric role here - but to perfectly fitting guitar lines). Through echoes of a sick mind followed by guitar and drums with a martial rhythm, we encounter the beginning of "Ghastly Indoctrination", the album opener. Within seconds, we realize we are facing a black album that doesn’t attempt to recycle the usual tricks. And it's shortly after that the hallucinatory state breaks, with an absolutely violent and killer riff and a frenzied drum in full black metal spirit. Azatoth’s voice is the voice of the Madman, the voice of the Necromancer, and the Desperate. Hypnotic guitar notes chase and overlap with the blackest furious assaults. An excellent start that bodes well for the continuation. The entire work indeed maintains medium-high levels, with some decidedly notable episodes. One example is "Requiem Grotesque", which seems like the sound offspring of a madman: a surreal start, a dying voice, and a bloody scream, a less black but more desperate rhythm. One of the few particular tracks of this "Séance."

Some vague doom influences are found in "While They Sleep", marked by its central part: a silent tapestry, minimal-industrial inserts, and icy keyboard notes accompanied by drums, the murmur and agony of Azatoth, narrator of Death. At the end of "REvolution: Vanity", strings act as a bridge and, fading, we arrive at the most experimental, absurd, tough, sick, and black track of the platter: "Incide". It’s an insane experience we are about to undertake. Screams. What we hear are the desperate screams of Azatoth and the pulsating of his heartbeat. Moments of heart-wrenching silence literally make us shiver in the pauses between the cries and chilling laments of a tortured soul. Terrifying background sounds, hot blood flowing, madness devouring the soul. And then, the regurgitation of Hell, and the assault of all its legions of Demons. Eerie strings unfurl a banner of despair, wrapped in the voice of the derelict imploring ("don’t kill me"), as it transitions to the next track. "Shardfigures" follows the more canonical part of the work, where reflective and atmospheric parts alternate with more intense ones (sometimes more, sometimes less), as in the various "CataWomb", "To Harvest The Artefacts Of Mockery", "Poltergeist" and "REvolution: Vanity", although at times it’s pervaded by even greater melodic openness. The closing track, "Insomnia", offers more impact with its furious sadness and resignation, with a briefly touching and warm moment found towards the end, like a tiny oasis in the desert, finishing with a conclusion that spills into desolation.

In conclusion, I can say that this is an album that undoubtedly stands out among other black metal productions, and the band demonstrates they have the potential to become one of the reference points for the future of the genre. The more aggressive and destructive component, predominantly favored over the insane atmosphere created here, will later become a mainstay of the subsequent "Eidolon" (2008), another album decidedly above average that confirms the great capabilities of the group. Finally, I suggest you make this album yours and let your mind get lost and wander madly through the dark corridors, gloomy dungeons, and high towers of the Dark Fortress.