Fortress Festival, Scarborough Spa, England, 30-31 May 2026
The UK metal festival scene by now has a sizeable cohort of established events, between the likes of Download, Bloodstock, Damnation, ArcTanGent, Incineration, Desertfest... with such competition, new names have a lot of work on their hands to find early sustainable success. This makes Fortress Festival’s achievements remarkable; all four years of the festival so far have been sold out, and with over half the tickets for the 2027 edition sold within 24 hours of the 2026 event finishing, there is no indication that this will change anytime soon.
With the event occurring in the same month as fellow extreme metal celebration Incineration Festival, what is behind this success? One could look at the genre specialization; while Incineration covers the wider extreme metal spectrum, Fortress is overwhelmingly centered around black metal (and adjacent sounds such as folk and dungeon synth), with only a couple of acts each year meaningfully straying from this genre. Arguably more pivotal for the festival’s early popularity, however, is the nature of the acts it books. The 2025 festival (the first that I attended) was littered with artists making their UK (or even worldwide) live debut, returning to these shores after long gaps (including headliner Agalloch), or performing special full-album sets. In short, the festival has a level of exclusivity in its bookings that is rare to find elsewhere.
2026 promised more of the same. The first band announced was Saturday headliner Old Man's Child, returning to the UK for the first time this millennium, while Sunday was headlined by Gallowbraid in their first ever live performance. Similar rarities included Mesarthim, Abigail Williams and Aeon Winds, while the likes of Akercocke and Dødheimsgard treated attendees to full-album performances. While last year dedicated the third stage in the theatre to acoustic folk sets, this year the Sunday played host to a range of dungeon synth performances from the likes of Emyn Muil and Mortiis.
The festival was hosted once more in the Scarborough Spa, a Victorian-era events venue that at other times of the year hosts the Scarborough Spa Orchestra and Jazz Festival. I was very charmed by the seaside town when I visited for Fortress in 2025, and it had lost none of its charm a year on, with lush views treating those who stepped out onto the roof of the venue to travel between stages.
Table Of Contents
Saturday
Sunday
Despite an early start, my journey up north meant that time was of the essence when getting into Scarborough. Ultimately, while I missed the first notes of the festival, I was able to check in, drop bags, and get to the Spa in time to see the first of the day’s bands, partially aided by there being zero queue for wristband collection; the event staff had done a great job of getting attendees into the venue on time for festivities.
Groza 12:00-12:45, Main Stage
Among many things that Fortress Festival did right in 2025 was the almost uniformly excellent sound mixing across both of the main stages. As I caught the second half of Groza’s set, the first indications were that this would be carried over to 2026, as all elements of the Germans’ black metal were well balanced and clearly audible once more. Groza’s sound finds a healthy balance between blast-heavy tremolo riff assaults and steadier melodic passages, and both the sharp tremolo riffs and the arpeggiated chord textures resonated. The vocals have a howling feel to them, but with a clarity that takes them closer to a roar or shout. I was particularly taken with the final song; starting slowly and weaving in melancholic leads and textures, it retains that satisfying melancholic feel when it ultimately erupts into full blasts and tremolo attack.
Black Cilice 12:55-13:40, Ocean Room
The end of Groza’s set was an opportunity to grab some food, particularly as my memory of the first band in the second stage Ocean Room in 2025 was of a long queue waiting to eventually be let in. The festival seemed to have attempted to address the long queues through the main merch/bar hall resulting from this by splitting entry and exit, the former now through the rooftop door. It was a good idea in theory, although as only the third person in a ‘1 in, 1 out’ queue who saw at least 100 people leaving the stage before I was allowed in, there were still flaws in the execution. There were also initiatives to empty this room between sets to stop attendees waiting on the barriers, but these (and other) efforts for managing the second stage seemed to have been largely abandoned by the time Sunday came around.
As for Portugal’s Black Cilice, what I was eventually able to see what a quite raw and direct sound, heavy on the blasts and the croaky vocals, albeit with a degree of melody to the tremolo riffs. Due to fog and stage lighting, the band were almost entirely invisible on stage, giving off a vibe of this infernal sound being conjured from a malevolent void.
Mesarthim 13:50-14:35, Main Stage
This celestial atmospheric/electronic black metal Australian one-man project has been rather prolific since its inception, but a clear standout selection of songs has emerged from those releases, as Mesarthim’s setlist featured (according to setlist.fm, at least) the same songs as they performed on their previous visit to the UK in 2024 for Cosmic Void Festival. The mysterious . (yes, that’s their pseudonym) performed wearing an entrancing digital mask depicting a continual swirl, backed up by a dazzling lights display. The synths and shrieking vocals across this set were very clear, as were guitar solos; the distorted guitars were a bit muddier, but also typically functioned mainly as a textural feature.
The set, like Mesarthim’s journey, opened with “Osteopenia” from debut album Isolate, which is still one of the most memorable songs released by the project, and the melancholic synth melodies set against hazy guitar distortion was warmly dreamy and expansive, while the mid-track guitar solo was very effective. The disco rhythms of “Matter And Energy” served as a real wildcard in the set, although the reduced synth presence did highlight the lack of clarity to the guitars, which were a bit overpowered by the drums and vocals. Later songs exhibited a greater EBM influence, and the mix of epic metal synth soundscapes with these influences was very enjoyable.
Aeon Winds plays Aeon Odyssey 14:45-15:30, Ocean Room
Slovakia’s Aeon Winds were listed on the festival poster as playing an Aeon Odyssey set; of note, the other band on this split release, Midnight Odyssey, were the next act to play the Ocean Room stage, but were not credited with drawing from this split. Additionally, Aeon Winds’s allocated set time exceeded the duration of their portion of the split. Nonetheless, Midnight Odyssey’s Dis Pater joined the band towards the end of this performance. The bass was notably prominent in the mix for Aeon Winds, who otherwise had a quite reverby mix compared with the preceding acts.
Ossaert 15:40-16:30, Main Stage
This Dutch ensemble seemed a bit unsure of their vibe; the vocalist was garbed in priest robes, but the rest of the band declined to follow suit on the costume front. Ossaert’s sound was a bit more atmospherically inclined than some of the other blast-heavy black metal acts today, but the execution was nonetheless quite relentless. The sound was well mixed and well executed, with some interesting melodic tremolo sequences, but it could become a bit repetitive, with the exception of several dark ambient interludes. Like Groza’s set, this ended with a more melodic and atmospheric song, which even featured the only appearance of clean vocals, and the track escalated satisfyingly to a dark, ferocious climax.
Midnight Odyssey 16:40-17:25, Ocean Room
With several of the acts already on this day conforming heavily to the ‘blast-tremolo’ black metal template, it was nice to have a clear change of pace in the form of Australia’s Midnight Odyssey, as their first song already feature harmonized clean vocal choruses. This project’s sound is often referred to as ambient black metal; while there were slow washy tremolo/synth passages that aligned with this moniker, the set as a whole was too diverse to pigeonhole in any category. One track was effectively a folk metal song with prominent folk guitar melodies and rhythm, while the song that immediately followed paired meloblack riffs with deep clean vocals and gothic metal guitar melodies. The variety was much appreciated; however, the set did carry on the minor sound issues from Aeon Winds in terms of being overly bassy and reverby, as the bass occasionally overwhelmed the rest of the mix.
Akercocke plays Choronzon 17:35-18:35, Main Stage
Of the four times that I have seen Akercocke live, three of them have been full album sets; this was in fact the second time I had been present for a Choronzon live performance, following Damnation 2021. This set was marked by tragedy following the passing of bassist Federico Benini only days prior, with Jason Mendonça paying tribute to Benini. In his place was Kieren Allen; I also didn’t see Paul Scanlan on guitar, although I can find no news online in relation to this.
After opening with a clip from the Hammer House Of Horror episode “Guardian Of The Abyss”, the band launched into their set, but the mix was unfortunately substandard to begin with. The grotesque vocals were clear and the lead guitar cut through distinctly, but the tremolo riffing was muddy and the drums overbearing. While the band’s unique elements (peculiar semi-clean vocals, unorthodox structures) were appreciable, the set as a whole was difficult to initially enjoy. After 15-20 minutes, the issues were thankfully resolved, and the set became far more enjoyable with clearer riffs and a more refined drum sound, allowing their avant-garde blackened death sound to shine.
Totenwache 18:45-19:30, Ocean Room
After stopping for an ice cream, I returned to the Ocean Room, which was still rather warm inside despite the temperatures outside starting to dip. Totenwache’s sound was a return to the blasting aggressive black metal style of many other acts today, albeit with synths that added a welcome different touch, even if they were somewhat basic in their implementation. The meloblack riffs came through well; while there were hints of feedback, this was the strongest mix thus far on the second stage. The band’s sound was overall quite rudimentary, but enjoyable thanks to the mix, and particularly when they leant away from the blast beats towards less abrasive drum rhythms.
Dødheimsgard plays Black Medium Current 19:40-21:00, Main Stage
This album achieved the near-impossible in beating out a Thy Catafalque release in the 2023 Metal Storm Awards, giving an indication of its esteem in avant-garde metal circles. It is a very long release, and as such Dødheimsgard were granted the longest set time of the festival. I remember enjoying Black Medium Current upon its release, but it is admittedly an album I did not return to, and given its complexity and variety, I was effectively listening to it with fresh ears at Fortress.
As it is, this is probably the best way to experience the album; Dødheimsgard were afforded an amazingly well-balanced and clear mix, with all 9 individuals on stage (including 3 backing vocalists) coming through as intended, and weaving a rich tapestry of sound that spanned aggressive black metal, entrancing Arcturus-esque atmospheres, and captivating theatricality. Vicotnik began the set shrouded andd burning incense, and then was a consistently animated and energetic stage presence after, at one point banging his head intensely into the speakers. The show featured a very impressive array of sounds and styles, including electronics and a piano ballad duet to finish, and it was all paired with vivid imagery on the backing screens, from angler fish and demons to flappers dancing. Like Akercocke, Dødheimsgard paid tribute to a fallen comrade, Vasilis Serdentiotis, who featured in the performance of this record at Roadburn 2025. Overall, this set was the clear highlight of the Saturday, and one of the highlights of the festival.
Whoredom Rife 21:10-22:00, Ocean Room
The last band of the day on the second stage followed in the vibe of most of the other acts performing in the Ocean Room. The Norwegians in Whoredom Rife delivered a vicious display of black metal fury, one supported by a hench mix. Occasional hints of dissonance leant this set a sinister and menacing aura that, combined with the sheer power and intensity, had it win out over the other blast-heavy black metal acts of the day. Still, there were also some little lead guitar lines/phrases that meant the set offered more than just pure fire.
Old Man's Child 22:10-23:10, Main Stage
As with 1349 last year, the Saturday was headlined by a classic Norwegian black metal act that forces me to admit that, as much as I like black metal, I have never been a strong fan of the classic Scandinavian black metal bands. This was in fact my first time listening to Old Man's Child; I was optimistic I would enjoy it more than 1349 due to the fact that I like Dimmu Borgir, and the symphonic elements of this set were enjoyable, particularly when the synths were fully blasting out, even if the keyboard parts were somewhat basic. The meloblack riffs were also likeable, but ultimately I didn’t find myself engaged by this sound for the duration of their headline set.
While the theatre stage on Saturday was dedicated to ‘forum talk’ sessions with bands playing across the weekend, on Sunday the stage hosted several dungeon synth and other electronic sets. Truth be told, I have never been a dungeon synth fan, so while last year I enjoyed some of the folk acts playing in the theatre, this year I stuck to the two ‘main’ stages.
A Forest Of Stars 12:00-12:45, Main Stage
Sunday hit the ground well and truly running for me, with many of my most anticipated bands of the weekend playing in succession. A Forest Of Stars were on surprisingly early in the day considering their reputation, but the hall was nicely filled out by the time they took to the stage to a folk track playing through the speakers. The mix for the band was about as stellar as for Dødheimsgard the previous day: the ferocious black metal, the psychedelic passages (matched by the background video) and folk parts were all very clear. The set felt a bit more black metal-oriented early on, with the lush violin and guitar melodies of the band feeling more prominent later on. That said, the set largely drew from Stack Overflow In Corpse Pile Interface, with the one exception a masterful rendition of “Drawing Down The Rain”; as Beware The Sword You Cannot See is my favourite album from the band, hearing this beautiful track performed live was a real treat.
This Gift Is A Curse 12:55-13:40, Ocean Room
No rest for the wicked this morning, as right after were Sweden’s This Gift Is A Curse, whose Heir was one of my favourite black metal albums of 2025. The set, like the band’s style (which draws from black metal, but also hardcore and sludge among other genres), had a good mix; dissonant blasting assaults were ferocious and exhilarating, but a strong mix also meant that the slower, more malevolent riffs hit very hard. Vocalist Jonas Holmberg had an intense stage energy, at multiple points getting out a whip and hitting the floor/a drum. “No Sun, Nor Moon” from Heir was a gripping inclusion in the set, its pounding repetitive parts drawing the crowd in. Right after one of the festival’s highlights came another, and Sunday was underway in incredible style.
Abigail Williams 13:50-14:40, Main Stage
In The Shadow Of A Thousand Suns might be the first black metal(-adjacent) music I ever heard; Abigail Williams have come a long way since then, and I have followed them enthusiastically along the journey, so it was a treat to finally see them live. I felt like a minority on this, however, as this set seemed to have the quietest and thinnest crowd of the weekend, for no obvious reason that I was aware of (it did not clash with anything). Those who were in attendance saw the band emerge after a lengthy piano intro piece and open with “I Will Depart”, the first song of Walk Beyond The Dark, my favourite album from the group. When they subsequently went into “Sun And Moon” and “Ever So Bold”, I began to wonder if this was a full album set that had not been announced beforehand; as it was, they did play most of the album, although instead of the final two tracks they reverted to 2025’s A Void Within Existence, closing with “Talk To Your Sleep”.
This setlist was right to my tastes, and the sound was initially good (albeit the vocals a bit overpowered), but ultimately I found the set to be slightly lacking, even if I did enjoy it. Perhaps it was the awkward crowd energy, but also the mix had its flaws; the guitars felt buried in a couple of songs, while the snare ping was distracting at times during the blasts. More unfortunately, the sound temporarily cut out near the end of “Black Waves”. This is probably the only time that I will see Abigail Williams (there were apparently rumours that even this set was in doubt), and I did enjoy the experience, but considering the strength of the two sets prior, it did feel like something was slightly missing.
Darkenhöld 14:50-15:35, Ocean Room
During relentless events such as this, some sets have to pay the price of one’s need to recuperate, and Darkenhöld were one of the acts that I only saw a small portion of their performance. There were some unfortunate feedback/artefacts that I picked up on, but otherwise the mix was good and balanced, with several solos coming through clearly and pleasantly. Their black metal was steadier and more melodically inclined than many of the acts playing this stage yesterday, and what I did capture of their set was enjoyable.
Fluisteraars 15:45-16:45, Main Stage
Fluisteraars were granted a full hour here, and they started with no fanfare; the lights came on, and the band was ready to play. I know this band primarily through Bloem, a remarkable black metal album for its warm, triumphant tone, and the set opened with arguably the highlight of that album, “Nasleep”. While the song is blast-heavy to begin with, the warmer tremolo textures were detectable early on, and when it reached that lush gazey second half, the band were weaving a trance. The sound was solid once more for this set, supporting the aggressive parts but capturing the brighter soundscapes well too, with the bass cutting through very clearly in the cleaner sections. The vocalist was an enigmatic presence of stage, kneeling during quieter instrumental sections and playing a floor drum on multiple occasions. I do think “Nasleep” is the most remarkable song the band have released, and the set did somewhat peak at the start for me, but this was still a very good hour of music.
Antrisch 16:55-17:40, Ocean Room
Kanonenfieber have very much captured most people’s attention for ‘war black metal’, but other names (whether inspired by them or emerging coincidentially) are building their own reputations, among them Antrisch. Appearing in Clandestine Cuts during the Covid years, they now have 2 albums under their belts, and have developed a commanding stage presence; all garbed in WWI outfits, the backing band were sombre, while the death-faced vocalist prowled the stage with intense energy. Aside from the vocalist’s microphone cutting out temporarily during the encore, this was once again a remarkable mix; I am not sure I’ve heard black metal produced so well live, this at times could easily have been a studio recording blasted out of the speakers. I am not too familiar with Antrisch outside of that Clandestine Cuts feature, but I really enjoyed this set, with great blasting meloblack, strong mid-tempo riffs, and compelling sombre lulls, often featuring march-like snare to feed into that military theme.
Vinterland plays Welcome My Last Chapter 17:50-18:50, Main Stage
As noted when discussing yesterday’s headliner, classic Nordic black metal isn’t my forte, and I must admit that Vinterland’s Welcome My Last Chapter was mostly new to me when this full-album set was announced for the festival. Approaching it with fresh ears, it sounded very much of its time: old school meloblack with lots of blasts and simple frozen tremolo melodies. A somewhat reverby mix may well have been intentional to replicate the audio quality inclinations of the era, but the riffs were still easily discernible. While this was good, I did find a full hour of it lasted a bit longer than my intrigue for the sound.
Vespéral 19:00-19:50, Ocean Room
It wouldn’t be a black metal festival without some ‘métal noir québécois’, and Montreal’s Vespéral provided representation here. An acoustic strummed backing track transitioned satisfyingly into a black metal tremolo taking over the melody. While I know the two scenes are on opposite sides of the continent, the atmo-black vibes of this set early on did remind me a lot of the Cascadian black metal scene, with arpeggiated melodies and melancholic blast-laden tremolo riffs reminding me of early Agalloch. Vespéral are a new name (having formed in 2022), and they haven’t formed much of an identity of their own yet, but I did find this a pleasant set, from the warm melodically inclined tremolo riffs to the mix of blasts and punkier drum rhythms, as well as rich and warmly melancholic slower sections.
Misþyrming 20:00-20:50, Main Stage
It had been a decade since the only previous time I saw Iceland’s Misþyrming rip my face off at Roadburn 2016; they had lost none of their intensity on stage here. A very long semi-industrial ambient backing track did build the anticipation for a bit too long, and there was some initial muddiness to the sound once they got going, but that cleared up after the first 10 or 15 minutes. As it was a decade ago, this was a blast- and sharp tremolo-heavy set, but with some variation in the degree of intensity; unlike some bands I talked about on the Saturday, I found this sound most compelling when the band were operating at full savage speed. I particularly enjoyed the combined triple-vocal attack that Misþyrming used regularly, which added an extra degree of oomph to the sonic assault.
Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult 21:00-21:50, Ocean Room
Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult was a name that I had never heard of prior to their announcement for Fortress Festival, and I was surprised further by how high they were on the line-up; further research revealed that the German band were nearly 30 years old, so I don’t know where they’ve been in relation to my radar all these years. That research revealed that the band are heavily influenced by the 90s Norwegian black metal scene, and their sound was very classic and raw, bolstered by a thunderous mix. However, Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult do have a unique element to them, namely the vocals of Onielar (who has made a full recovery from breast cancer); in addition to spewing blood, her high-register howling, banshee-esque vocals were immediately striking, and did a lot to make this music stand out among a sea of typical shriekers.
Gallowbraid 22:00-23:00, Main Stage
If I was in the dark about some acts playing at Fortress, I was not alone in my unfamiliarity with Sunday headliner Gallowbraid, particularly upon seeing that they had but one EP to their name. However, this was a very special set; testament to the pull that this festival already has, this marked the first ever live performance by Gallowbraid anywhere in the world, and the enthusiasm of considerable portions of the audience about this event was palpable.
While Gallowbraid were wholly new to me, I am much better acquainted with one of Jake Rogers’ other projects, Caladan Brood, and I was therefore prepared for some folkish atmospheric black metal. That genre description felt generally applicable to Gallowbraid, but it was not easy to initially appreciate; the band (whether due to misfortune or stage inexperience) were cursed with one of the worst mixes of the weekend, with muddy and overly reverbing guitars and somewhat buried synths. Finer guitar details just about cut through the mix, and the guitar solos were a welcome shake-up from the guitar strumming when they arrived. While the mix certainly didn’t help, I must confess I was not particularly enamoured with this mostly middling-tempo atmospheric black metal; while the folksier melodies and elements were welcome when they arrives, along with the frequent moments of Agalloch inspiration, I never found myself getting drawn into this set, not even when they brought out multiple newly written tracks (as acknowledged by the band, a 40-minute EP is not enough to fill a full-hour slot).
It also felt evident at times that this was a debut live performance, from issues with tightness to dead air between songs and a relative lack of fluency. On the whole, while I’m happy for all the fans of the band who got to witness what was surely a truly special experience for them, as a non-fan, I did find this to be a slightly underwhelming end to a day that had featured some truly remarkable performances.
From bringing icons such as Agalloch back to these shores to delivering once-in-a-lifetime performances such as Gallowbraid, Fortress Festival have made it clear very early on that they bring something unique and special to the British metal festival scene. Not only are there bands here that are rarely or never seen elsewhere on these shores (or even this planet), but the whole event is organized extremely well, all while taking place in charming surroundings. Next year’s first headline announcement, Emperor, is an interesting prospect, seeing as the band have played the likes of Bloodstock and Incineration Festivals in recent years, but even if this doesn’t end up being a 30-year anniversary Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk performance, there’s no doubt that the experience will be all the more special for being at Fortress.
As for the rest of the line-up, it is very easy to ponder dream bookings when the organizers have demonstrated that the sky is the limit in terms of who they can lure to Scarborough, but it also seems futile to predict when they have so many surprises up their sleeves. All I can say is, if you are a fan of the genre and have been tempted to visit this festival in previous years, there is a zero percent chance that you will be disappointed if you book a ticket to come to the 2027 edition. Be warned, though, as tickets are selling out fast!
They, Mesarthim, Fluisteraars en Abigail Williams were basically the main reasons for me to go, and for a first time it was an awesome experience. The pre- and afterparties in the pub (forgot the name) were awesome as well, good people to have fun with all around the festival.