Early history Edit
The band formed in 1994. In 1996 they released the demo Rebirth Of The Dark Age.[2] In 1997 the original line-up, consisting of band founder Asvargr (guitar), vocalist Azathoth, Njord on bass, and drummer Charon established the band's first live line-up with the addition of a second guitarist named Crom and keyboardist Thamuz. Debuting live in February 1997 the band soon played dates alongside acts such as Lunar Aurora, Disaster and Naglfar. Dark Fortress' first label release was the Split MCD with Barad Dür entitled Towards Immortality, which featured two new tracks by the band and was released on Fog Of The Apocalypse Records. A third track was recorded during the same session and was used for the compilation CD From The Mystic Forest - Part II. The band continued composing material for their first full-length album, but recording was postponed from 1998 until August 2000, when Dark Fortress entered Klangschmiede Studio E and with Markus Stock (of Empyrium) completed their album Tales From Eternal Dusk. Heavily influenced by groups like Dissection, Unanimated, and Satyricon, the album received positive reviews and offered a mixture of haunting guitar melodies, morbid and tormented snarling and diversified song structures.
Changes
Charon and Crom left due to conflicting musical interests, and these line-up changes further delayed live and studio activities. However they later signed to US label Red Stream for two albums and hired Seraph and V.Santura as the new drummer and guitarist. Recorded at famous Grieghallen Studio in Norway (Mayhem, Emperor, Immortal) Profane Genocidal Creations was delayed due to problems during the mixing/mastering process. It was not released until February 2003 and showcased Dark Fortress' development into classic traditions of black metal as well as their continual progression as composers and musicians. With a stable line-up consisting of Azathoth (vocals), Asvargr (guitar), Santura (guitar), Draug (bass), Paymon (keyboards) and Seraph (drums) more live shows and festival appearances followed, seeing Dark Fortress share stages with popular extreme metal acts like Behemoth, Impaled Nazarene, Pungent Stench, and God Dethroned, as well as many underground acts.
2000 onwards
The hitherto musical peak of their career then hit the metal scene with the 2004 release of Stab Wounds (Black Attakk). Accompanied by gloomy artwork by artist Travis Smith (Opeth, Nevermore, Anathema, Death) Stab Wounds was well received not only by the band's underground following but also mainstream metal press. The German edition of Rock Hard praised it as "too good, too original and heavy to be ignored. Simply the best German black metal has to offer!"[citation needed]. Their new album contained melancholy melodies combined with suicidal themes. An interpretation of Katatonia's "Endtime" was included on the limited CD Digipak, while a cover version of Emperor's "I Am The Black Wizards" was featured on the double-LP version (released by Imperium Records, 2005).
On 13 May 2007 they fired their vocalist, Azathoth, due to various non-musical reasons. His replacement was Morean.
Their next album was entitled Séance, again accompanied by the artwork of Travis Smith. The album is a concept album about the direct contrast between the current and the future, the fragility of human existence with its most striking weaknesses - ignorance, arrogance and false illusions - and the crass finality of death. The central lyrical motif of Séance departs from typical black metal subjects and instead deals with the idea of paranormal beings. The musical side supports this conceptual idea with gloomy guitar melodies, twisted and morbid passages and grim vocals.
On January 29, 2010 Dark Fortress released an Official Music Video for the song 'Hirudineans'. This song is on their 2010 album Ylem.
Nemesis
Dark Fortress Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Herded as cattle and so unsuspecting
Yet volatile
Blind and deluded, you prattle
Calling forth the demon
Summon your king
A horror on wings
Oh, how you toil
While precious walls are breaking
Your lies unspoiled
Your souls mine for the taking
And while you grope in the dark
I will walk in your midst
Poisoned sting at the ready
And there will be no awakening
Rise, minions
From venom reborn
Shed your innocence
Let the massacre commence
A simple ascent
Luring in the hapless to turn on themselves
Death in the air
You fall
Like raving fiends, you murder your own
Humans will be humans
When caught in my snare
But the worst is yet to come
As your mindless spree continues
I prepare to deliver the master stroke
Your gods, your progenies
Your guardian angels unguarded
As I approach the inner sanctum
In treachery cloaked
Unseeing offspring of sanctimonious bigotry
Here is my gift to you
My procreation in visceral blasphemy
Receive my seed
Slowly to incubate
Deep, gorging into oblivion
As your doom is plunged into your flesh
As they trickle down
Drip, drip, drip, one by one
A living, breathing feast awaits my spawn
The longer you live
The stronger they’ll become inside you
Ah, look at them writhe, my little ones
And you will call me your god
Begging me to deliverance from your sins
And you won’t even know
Until they eat through your skin
The lyrics to "Nemesis" by Dark Fortress depict a power-hungry evil entity, manipulating and exploiting the vulnerabilities of humans. The first verse refers to the masses being herded and unsuspecting, but also volatile and deluded in their beliefs. The demon is called forth, and the horror on wings (presumably the evil entity) arrives, primed for the slaughter. The second verse continues this theme, describing how the evil entity poisons and corrupts the souls of humans, while they remain blind to the danger. The evil entity walks among them, ready to strike, and there will be no awakening from their delusions.
The chorus describes the rise of the minions, reborn from the venom of the evil entity. They shed their innocence and begin a massacre, luring unsuspecting victims to turn on each other like raving fiends. The evil entity justifies this behavior, stating that "humans will be humans when caught in my snare." However, the worst is yet to come, as the evil entity delivers its "master stroke" - a gift to the offspring of sanctimonious bigotry (presumably those who have proclaimed themselves righteous and holy). The gift is the evil entity's own procreation, deeply implanted within the bodies of its victims. As the evil entity promises, "the longer you live, the stronger they'll become inside you." The result is a living, breathing feast for the evil entity's spawn, devouring its way through the minds and bodies of its host. The final line suggests that the victims will be so blinded by their delusions that they won't even recognize the evil entity as their god, until it's far too late.
Line by Line Meaning
Thronged
Crowded and packed together
Herded as cattle and so unsuspecting
Being directed and controlled like livestock, without awareness
Yet volatile
Easily changeable in a violent way
Blind and deluded, you prattle
Unable to see the truth, you chatter foolishly
Calling forth the demon
Invoking the evil entity
Summon your king
Bring forth the ruler of the underworld
A horror on wings
A terrifying beast with wings
Primed for the slaughter
Ready to be killed
Oh, how you toil
Oh, how you work hard
While precious walls are breaking
While important barriers collapse
Your lies unspoiled
Your deceptions remain undiscovered
Your souls mine for the taking
Your innermost selves are ready to be seized
And while you grope in the dark
And while you stumble in ignorance
I will walk in your midst
I will move among you unnoticed
Poisoned sting at the ready
Ready to inflict harm with a toxic jab
And there will be no awakening
And there will be no realization of the danger
Rise, minions
Stand up, followers
From venom reborn
Born again from poison
Shed your innocence
Lose your purity
Let the massacre commence
Allow the large-scale killing to begin
A simple ascent
An easy climb
Luring in the hapless to turn on themselves
Attracting the unlucky to attack each other
Death in the air
A deadly presence
You fall
You fail and collapse
Like raving fiends, you murder your own
You become crazy and kill your own kind
Humans will be humans
Human nature is always the same
When caught in my snare
When trapped by my trap
But the worst is yet to come
But the most terrible part is still ahead
As your mindless spree continues
As your senseless rampage goes on
I prepare to deliver the master stroke
I get ready to execute my most effective move
Your gods, your progenies
Your deities, your descendants
Your guardian angels unguarded
Your protectors unprepared
As I approach the inner sanctum
As I come closer to the holiest place
In treachery cloaked
Disguised as deceitful behavior
Unseeing offspring of sanctimonious bigotry
Children who cannot perceive the hypocrisy of self-righteousness
Here is my gift to you
Here is my present for you
My procreation in visceral blasphemy
My offspring created with brutal sacrilege
Receive my seed
Accept my reproduction
Slowly to incubate
Slowly to mature
Deep, gorging into oblivion
Penetrating deeply, consuming everything in their path
As your doom is plunged into your flesh
As your fate is inserted into your body
As they trickle down
As they flow down slowly
Drip, drip, drip, one by one
Dribbling, one drop at a time
A living, breathing feast awaits my spawn
My offspring are eagerly awaiting a feast of living things
The longer you live
The more you survive
The stronger they’ll become inside you
The more powerful they will grow within you
Ah, look at them writhe, my little ones
Oh, see how they squirm, my small ones
And you will call me your god
And you will see me as your deity
Begging me to deliverance from your sins
Pleading with me to save you from your wrongdoing
And you won’t even know
And you will not realize
Until they eat through your skin
Until they consume your flesh
Contributed by Henry L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.