Dark Fortress (D)

(facebook) Formed in 1994 the German black metal outfit DARK FORTRESS have established themselves in the top ranks of the genre with intense live shows and fascinating, pitch black full-length masterpieces that meet the standard created mostly in northern Europe’s prolific scenes with ease.

Contrary to the last DARK FORTRESS album “Eidolon”, “Ylem” is not strictly a concept album; however, most songs have a common theme - invocations of the death principle from different perspectives. “Ylem" is the term for the state of the elements before the Big Bang; in alchemy, it refers to the primordial matter from which all elements were created. The return to a state of “Ylem” automatically signifies the end of everything that exists now. There is a spark of life in every living cell, but also a seed of entropy and death. This inevitable process and its aftermath is sped up and described in different scenarios, ranging from personal (“Osiris”, “Wraith”) to magical (“Ylem”, “Redivider”), religious (“Nemesis”, “The Valley”) and cosmic angles (“Silence”, “As the World Keels Over”). The insignificance of the feeble evolutionary detour that is man is evident, for our future is clear: we will be nothing but dust and bones on a scorched, lifeless rock waiting to be devoured by the sun. This vision is also the basis of Stephen Lenfestey's artwork for the album.