Description
DARK FORTRESS's march to the grave was inevitable. The journey from signing with American independent Red Stream Records
in 2001 to The Cosmic End Tour (with The Spirit and Asphagor) in 2023 was circuitous, full of highs and lows and rife with raw
potential. Ultimately, DARK FORTRESS ended life after releasing their lauded final album, "Spectres from the Old World", in 2020.
By all metrics, self-imposed death is better than zombie-lurching into oblivion. Many fans didn't see DARK FORTRESS writing their
'early' epitaph, however. DARK FORTRESS uncoiled on their terms, leaving their only live album, "Anthems from Beyond the
Grave", as their final offering to the ancient and unspeakable forces of darkness and evil.
V. Santura says: "I never thought DARK FORTRESS would have a live album. The technical situation-we had multi-track
recordings of two shows [Rotterdam and Bochum]-allowed for 'Anthems from Beyond the Grave' to happen. I didn't even listen to
the recordings for months after the tour. When I finally did, I thought, 'Holy shit!' We sounded incredible, and I'm hardly ever happy
with our shows. All of our hard work had finally fallen into place on that tour. When Century Media heard it, they said, 'We're gotta
release it-it's too good not to'! If this is our end and it definitely is, then it's a fitting end to DARK FORTRESS."
"Anthems from Beyond the Grave" isn't solely a live album but works as the perfect "best of" that comes with liner notes reflecting
on 29 years of pitch-black history.
DARK FORTRESS is dead, long live DARK FORTRESS!
