Death Fortress - Triumph of the Undying

By Bryan Camphire. Death Fortress churns out malicious bone-crunching black metal. They make music with a vengeance, unhinged and foaming at the mouth. It's the sound of a horde of hell hounds rabidly chasing your

By Bryan Camphire.

Artwork by Raul Gonzalez.

Death Fortress churns out malicious bone-crunching black metal. They make music with a vengeance, unhinged and foaming at the mouth. It's the sound of a horde of hell hounds rabidly chasing your sinful soul toward irrevocable damnation.

On Triumph of the Undying, the tone is evil and punishing. The minor key melodies are full of menace. The serrated guitars mirror the hoarfrosted hellscapes depicted on the cover art. The low slung bass is like ten tons of blue-green undulating sludge. And the drums ...the drums ...the drums. Shawn Eldridge plays like a man possessed, like he's tirelessly trying to turn the kit inside out as he attacks it with every ounce of his being.

Death Fortress spread destruction with the voracity of a hungry wildfire. The songs careen forwards at breakneck speed, consuming all and sundry with heinous jagged tongues. Now and then the music slows to half-time, presenting the full extent of the scorched remains like a helicopter surveying acres upon acres of ashen death.

Deathless March of the Unyielding, the previous long player by Death Fortress, was one of the sickest releases of last year. Triumph of the Undying is leaner and meaner without losing any of the quality we have come to expect from this band. It's a short set: six songs clock in at just about thirty minutes flat. Once again, Death Fortress have delivered another masterful set of uncompromising black metal, full to the brim with grit and gristle.