Dark Fortress

History

The band formed in 1994 and released the demo Rebirth of the Dark Age in 1996. In 1997, the original line-up—founder Asvargr (guitar), vocalist Azathoth, bassist Njord, and drummer Charon—added second guitarist Crom and keyboardist Thamuz to establish the first live line-up. They debuted live in February 1997 and soon played with acts such as Lunar Aurora, Disaster, and Naglfar. Their first label release was the split MCD Towards Immortality with Barad Dür on Fog of the Apocalypse Records, featuring two new tracks; a third track from the same session appeared on the compilation From The Mystic Forest – Part II.

Recording for the first full-length album was postponed from 1998 until August 2000, when Dark Fortress entered Klangschmiede Studio E with Markus Stock (of Empyrium) to complete Tales From Eternal Dusk. The album Profane Genocidal Creations, recorded at Grieghallen Studio in Norway, was delayed due to mixing/mastering problems and released in February 2003, showing the band's development into classic black metal traditions. With a stable line-up of Azathoth, Asvargr, Santura (guitar), Draug (bass), Paymon (keyboards), and Seraph (drums), they performed more live shows and festivals alongside Behemoth, Impaled Nazarene, Pungent Stench, and God Dethroned.

The 2004 release Stab Wounds (Black Attakk) featured artwork by Travis Smith and was well received by both underground and mainstream metal press, containing melancholy melodies and suicidal themes; a cover of Katatonia's 'Endtime' appeared on the limited CD Digipak, and a cover of Emperor's 'I Am The Black Wizards' on the double-LP version. On 13 May 2007, vocalist Azathoth was fired for non-musical reasons and replaced by Morean.