Fortress Festival 2026 – Scarborough Spa, Scarborough, 30/05/26-31/05/26 (Live Review)

Fortress Festival 2026 -Sold Out Poster

Has it really been a year since last year’s excellent Fortress Festival? Apparently so. Fortress has quickly established itself as one of the world’s premier black metal festivals, (some would say THE premier black metal festival), and it’s brilliant to have yet another year with a massive amount of fantastic bands. Increasingly, attendees get to experience some very rare appearances too.

Before we get into it – as was the case last year, this review is greatly enriched by the stunning photographs from the very talented Aleksandra Hogg, so a huge thanks to her once more. I urge you to check out her work at Acidolka here, here, or here. Continue reading “Fortress Festival 2026 – Scarborough Spa, Scarborough, 30/05/26-31/05/26 (Live Review)”

Black Cilice – Votive Fire (Review)

Black Cilice - Votive FireThis is the seventh album from solo Portuguese black metal band Black Cilice.

This is raw black metal, steeped in esoteric atmosphere. Across four expressive songs, the artist behind Black Cilice spends 34 minutes weaving black magicks out of shadow and ritual. Votive Fire is transportive in that unique way that only black metal can be. Continue reading “Black Cilice – Votive Fire (Review)”