DARK FORTRESS’s march to the grave was inevitable. The journey from signing with American independent Red Stream Records in 2001 to “The Cosmic End Tour” (with The Spirit and Asphagor) in 2023 was circuitous, full of highs and lows and rife with raw potential. Ultimately, DARK FORTRESS ended life after releasing their lauded final album, “Spectres from the Old World”, in 2020. By all metrics, self-imposed death is better than zombie-lurching into oblivion. Many fans didn’t see DARK FORTRESS writing their ‘early’ epitaph, however. From “Eidolon”’s (2008) acclaimed film noir aesthetic of “Edge of Night” and the breakaway success of “Ylem”’s (2010) video/title track to publications Deaf Forever and Decibel awarding “Spectres from the Old World” (2020) near-perfect scores, the Bavarians appeared invincible. Yet, DARK FORTRESS uncoiled on their terms, leaving their only live album, “Anthems from Beyond the Grave”, as their final offering to the ancient and unspeakable forces of darkness and evil.
Click the following link for a live video of “Pulling At Threads (Live in Europe 2023)” that was captured on aforementioned tour: https://youtu.be/TdvPzSoK30w
“I never thought DARK FORTRESS would have a live album,” says V. Santura (guitars). “The technical situation–we had multi-track recordings of two shows [Rotterdam and Bochum]–allowed for ‘Anthems from Beyond the Grave’ to happen. I didn’t even listen to the recordings for months after the tour. When I finally did, I thought, ‘Holy shit!’ We sounded incredible, and I’m hardly ever happy with our shows. All of our hard work had finally fallen into place on that tour. When Century Media heard it, they said, ‘We’re gotta release it–it’s too good not to’! If this is our end and it definitely is, then it’s a fitting end to DARK FORTRESS.”
