My Weekend At Fortress Festival 2026

 
Trekking up north for a niche musical festival on the costal town of Scarborough was quite an unusal adventure! Catching the last of the heatwave made for fantastic weather, we had time to enjoy both music and the local area. Although the lineup mostly consisted of modern Black Metal I'm exhausted with, the spectacle of a Dungeon Synth stage and return of favorite Old Man's Child pulled me north.

I'm glad I invested time into Choronzon. Before seeing It performed in full, we attended the interview talk on the side stage. That added such depth to the experience, giving additional insight and context to its creation from the band themselves. Their show was fantastic, a riot of enthusiasm for this eclectic assemble of extreme oddities. It was the one time I saw a mosh pit, which speaks to the frotress demographic, unsurprisingly mostly men my age and older. No teenagers in sight!

Flooded with feelings, memories and ecstatic musical magic, finally seeing Galder's Old Man's Child was blessing. A "bucket list" band I didn't think I'd get to cross off the list. Their show was a fun nostalgic romp. Playing favorites plucked from many possible candidates. Far from a band in their prime, they act pulled of these songs well, in the process stirring many memories as these old riffs and melodies unlocked parts of my brain from decades gone by. At the time, I didn't think this could be topped.

I'm not sure if I caught the announcement because Fief's inclusion was a joyous surprise. Relaxing in the theater to these jovial medieval dances, I was impressed by the impressions these often atmospheric songs had made on me. Usually, I'd consider this tone setting music, a ken ambience to spark ones imagination but I found myself remembering all melodies and transitions between. I loved every minute of the show!

Fresh in the mind, Emyn Muil's emotional motifs really came to life on stage. Preformed as a trio, some songs were stripped of their metallic core. This absence was felt when the distortion guitar was brought to the stage, suddenly, the magic elevated. I believe this approach was adapted for the Dungeon Synth stage but it felt like these songs needed to be in their final form. Either way, fantastic to see live!

Stealing the weekend comes Old Sorcery's first ever live performance. I hadn't even considered this a possibility, I was buzzing with excitement. Undoubtedly the genres top talent, I was astonished to see how well this translated to the live setting. It was if another element of magic emerged through this scenario. There was the mystical wizard himself, conjuring other words and occasionally commanding cryptic chants into the bellowing reverberations of his mic. It blew my mind, these already mystique drenched numbers hit me hard. Incredible show, one among the all time favorites.

Akercocke "Choronzon" (2003)

Here is a record I would have enjoyed immensely in decades past. Devilishly artistic, its flourishes of darkly esoteric wonder, today plays countermand to a tired breed of blunt Death Metal akin to Dying Fetus. Tight, dry, anechoic drums batter against dense worming distortion riffs. Over top, the narrow guttural belching pig squeals lack that absurd sense of fun they once bestowed in this listeners enthusiastic youth.

Choronzon is a deeply cryptic record, continuously seeking devious creativity. Defying convention, its architecture continuously meanders through a seemingly unending arsenal of riffs and eccentric musical ideas. This theme remains grim and abrasive throughout, almost confrontational in its extremity. Yet frequently does the record find moments of nebulous worldly sound and shadowy acoustics to venture through.

In these expansive strides, melody and tone tilts to the Doom and Gothic Metal sounds of that era. Despite similarities, Akercocke put their fiendish demonic spin on anything familiar. With unpredictable structure, their songs traverse this hellish landscape with sudden pivots and excursions who's excitement rarely fades. Its simply jam packed with bizarre satanic oddities and sinister guitar bending riifs.

These days, I'm instantaneously partial to its lighter touches where raw aggression subsides. The constant scowling and traumatic blast beats taking a measure longer to come around to. Although burned out on this brutal sound, I'd have to admit the record houses some of the genres better riffs, especially when breaking the conventional mold and looking for a vicious, snarkier peruse into that dimension of extremity.

Lurching between its obvious metallic constructs are the keys, either Symphonic or Electronic in texture, they play a fantastic yet easily overlooked role in characterizing its best departures from extremes. I would have loved to hear more of this strand. As the record grows on, its form tends to condense more into that brutal form. However, it closes on Goddess Flesh, a short composition showing off the talents of keyboardist The Rizz. Intriguing record, as already stated, I found it at the wrong point in time.

Rating: 7/10