Six Bands You Need to See at… Fortress Festival

I’m pretty sure that the seaside town of Scarborough on the East coast of the United Kingdom has never seen anything like Fortress Festival. More accustomed to “Kiss Me Quick” hats and donkey rides on the beach, the typically British seaside town will be taken over by the black metal hordes for two days this weekend. (Previous coverage here.)

This weekend, hundreds of corpse-paint-clad black metal fans will descend on Scarborough Spa for two days of extreme metal headlined by Triptykon on Saturday night and Wolves in the Throne Room on Sunday. Away from the music, plenty of other attractions and merchandise stands will be open throughout the weekend.

Fortress Festival 2024 poster

With the festival just 48 hours away, we’ve picked six bands we think you should be checking out this weekend.

For more information, stage times and ticket details, head over to the Official Fortress Festival Website here.

1. Der Weg Einer Freiheit

Hailing from Germany, progressive black metal outfit Der Weg Einer Freiheit has been peddling their boundary-destroying post/progressive black metal for nearly two decades now. The German quartet unleashed their fifth album, 2021’s Noktvrn, to critical acclaim and return to the UK this weekend for an exclusive performance in Scarborough.

2. Gaerea

Anyone attending Fortress Festival this weekend who has already experienced the mysterious menace of Portuguese black metallers Gaerea will surely have them high up on their list of bands to check out. For those yet to cross paths with the faceless entity, you are in for a true treat. As menacing and savage as they are haunting and mournful, the anonymous Portuguese band put on the kind of hypnotic, brutal show that, quite honestly, you will never forget.

3. Regarde Les Hommes Tomber

Making the reasonably short journey from Nantes in France, post-black metal outfit Regarde Les Hommes Tomber are another band making an exclusive appearance at Fortress Festival this weekend. In our opinion, if there was ever a group who captured everything that this Fortress Festival line-up has going for it, then the dramatic, haunting, progressive tones of this post-black metal band are surely that group.

4. Blood Countess

Time for a British pick for this weekend, and you can’t get more local than Blood Countess, who can probably smell the seaside air from their base on the North East coast. Bringing their Countess Bathory-inspired black metal to Scarborough, the Brit outfit promises to turn the sea at Scarborough blood red with a relentless, maniacal set. Be prepared to bang your heads!

5. Fellwarden

There are plenty of exciting exclusives this weekend at Fortress but none more exclusive than the appearance of Fellwarden. Speaking about their set, Fellwarden’s Frank Allen has revealed that the studio project will be making their only live appearance in Scarborough this year, and, if they stick to their word, this will be your only chance to experience the epic black metal of Fellwarden in the live arena any time soon or at all.

6. Blackbraid

Wrapping up our round-up of just six of the killer acts at this year’s Fortress Fest, American black metal tornado Blackbraid is coming to the UK for not only their debut UK show but Blackbraid’s only show in the UK in 2024. The brains behind Blackbraid, Jon Kreiger, knows the importance of the show promising fans something unforgettable as he brings Blackbraid’s cold-hearted savagery from the depths of the American wilderness to the equally biting climate of the UK coast.