Dark Fortress

In Germany, two unrelated metal acts have shared the name Dark Fortress. An '80s-influenced power metal group from Riedstadt came together in 1998 and issued the album Light and Darkness in 2000; after its dissolution several years later, former members singer/bassist Torsten Thassilo Herbert along with guitarists Thorsten Brand and Matthias Bludau launched the power metal band Dragonsfire in 2005. A separate black metal outfit from Landshut, established four years earlier and still active long after the Riedstadt unit folded, represents the better-known Dark Fortress and should not be mistaken for Dark Suns or Sweden’s Dark Funeral.

That Landshut ensemble originated in 1994 when guitarist Asvargr, its founder and leader, recruited vocalist Matthias Jell (performing as Azathoth), bassist Njord, and drummer Charon. Following rehearsals throughout 1994 and 1995, the band captured its debut demo, Rebirth of the Dark Age, in 1996. The next year Asvargr brought keyboardist Thamuz into the fold, added guitarist Crom, initiated live shows, replaced Njord with bassist Alex Stütz (known as Zoltan), and issued the split release Towards Immortality alongside Barad Dür through the independent Fog of the Apocalypse Records.

Although the group intended to begin album sessions in 1998—the same year Paymon succeeded Thamuz on keyboards—its first full-length effort, Tales from Eternal Dusk, did not appear until 2001. Personnel shifts marked the early 2000s: Zoltan and Charon departed in 2000, Crom followed in 2001, after which Zoltan joined Seraph of Pestilence (previously Cremation) and Crom entered Sindecade. Fresh arrivals included guitarist V. Santura, already active with Celtic Frost, Noneuclid, and the Shroud; bassist Draug; and drummer Seraph, formerly of the Shroud. Dark Fortress tracked its sophomore album, Stab Wounds, in 2003 for the Black Attakk label and delivered the third full-length, Seance, in 2006.

Azathoth exited after thirteen years in 2007, leaving Asvargr as the sole remaining founding member; he was succeeded by vocalist Morean, founder of Noneuclid. The first album featuring the new singer, Eidolon, reached the United States via Century Media in 2008.