Profane Genocidal Creations

Dark Fortress was a band I happened upon unexpectedly over 20 years ago. Back then they were still trying to figure out their style, where the first album ("Tales from Eternal Dusk") was this light melodic black metal - nothing groundbreaking but fairly inoffensive and easy to listen to. The have since stuck with the style seen in "Stab Wounds" for the next several releases, which gave the band a more unique identity and presence. So what about the second album, "Profane Genocidal Creations"? With 10 tracks and a run time of nearly 70 minutes, that's a lot to unpack and in theory there could be a lot of filler or areas where things go wrong.

What's interesting about this album is that I get so many references (intentional or not) from more popular bands and it's not hard to hear who may have inspired them. Fortunately, Dark Fortress puts a special spin on things where they just get that right balance. They skirt away from being unoriginal thanks to competent musicianship, unexpected surprises, and tracks that are very palatable on the ears. To emphasize that last point, Dark Fortress finds many opportunities to make things catchy and the clear production makes for a smooth listen. This is at the cost of an engrossing atmosphere found in later albums or even similar groups like Dissection or Lord Belial, but the song structures tend to stay varied throughout most of the album.

As far as comparisons go, Enthrone Darkness Triumphant-era Dimmu Borgir comes to mind, but only a few of the tracks seem to place a lot of emphasis on keyboards and even then it's not for the whole track. "Moribound Be Thy Creation" might be the most keyboard-heavy and it's something I wouldn't be surprised to see on a Dimmu Borgir album, but that lead guitar really commands a strong presence. Arguably Asvargr (assuming he's the lead) really steals the show a lot of the times, yet I can't turn away. Old Man's Child's "Born of the Flickering" might be the best comparison in terms of overall sound and production, but even then most of the tracks on "Profane Genocidal Creations" have a more complex depth.

Tracks like "Through Ages of War" and "Blood of the Templars" are filled with prominent riffs and the song structure highlights a lot of nuances that the other instruments bring. Others like "Passage to Extinction" showcase the more melodic side, but its composition has a lot of depth and the 9 minutes feels like it flies by without me wondering how much time is left. There are pockets of female vocals, which I have to question why they were added, but in the aforementioned track, they do seem to fit more than I expected them to.

The best track might be "Defiance of Death" which gives me Emperor vibes (the preceding short "Introduction" track could've easily been on an old Limbonic Art album as well), but Dark Fortress creates an ominous atmosphere that juxtaposes well with the near-experimental guitar melodies. The track has a great build up into something more melodic later on and despite the long length, its so easy to stay engaged because of the right balance in production with all the other instruments.

Where "Profane Genocidal Creations" excels is its whole package. I can nitpick random passages or indicate which songs are on the weaker end, but at the end of the day, the album is successful in combining the best elements of a lot of the more well-known and beloved black metal bands (or of similar style) while trying to add some new ideas. I can get a mix of Emperor, Dissection, Dimmu Borgir, Lord Belial, Old Man's Child, and countless others all at once. If you're looking for that ""gateway metal" sound, "Profane Genocidal Creations" will easily deliver. If you can get past a few of the cheesy parts, you'll see how Dark Fortress really gets a lot of it right. Since the "Stab Wounds" album a year later, they've really adopted a darker, more anti-human approach and have done well there, but fans of the band should be sure to check out this truly niche release. Twenty ears later, I can still go back to this album and appreciate all it has to offer.

In 2010, Dark Fortress released Ylem, a record that makes me come back to this band every now and then. Although I am not acquainted with their entire discography, their debut was decent but I don't care much for their last outing, Spectres from the Old World. I am still curious to find out if dashes of the brilliance found on Ylem are to be found on other albums, so today, I'm checking out sophomore Profane Genocidal Creations (even the album title hints at Dimmu Borgir worship, as does the bands name, although this is probably unintentional since both bands are of similar age).

This is an album that wears its influences on its sleeves, in this case, we're talking aforementioned Dimmu Borgir, Emperor, Old Man's Child, Cradle Of Filth, Dark Funeral... You get the picture. There are two major warning signs that I should have really paid heed to before wasting a good hour of my life. First of all, this album is long! Songs ranging between 8-9 minutes seems to be the standard rather than the exception on this album. For a band that didn't quite impress me with their debut, to go for something epic so early in their career without yet having proven they have the chops for it is indeed an ominous portent. The second warning is the cheesy, plastic "orchestra" intro, displaying bad taste regarding composition, as well as production and quantity of length rather than substantial quality.

The most striking thing about Profane Genocidal Creations is the production, which, unlike most other black metal releases, pushes the guitars to the front with a clear, almost dry sound that occasionally makes me feel like I'm listening to a death metal album. Even the bass is audible. The drums, though interesting and technical at times (credit to Seraph) as well as the competent rasps by Azathoth seem slighgtly hidden behind the wall of guitars and suffer from dry, cardboard-like produtcion.

The keyboards aspires on an Enthrone Darkness Triumphant ambience, and this sort of goes for the song structures as well. We are presented with a riff that is repeated over a length of time, before we are abruptly thrown into the next riff, which in its turn is repeated over a length of time, and there is great variation in tempo. What made up for an atmospheric and unique, if also at times charmingly immature, experience on Dimmu Borgir's breakthrough album feels unrefined and plodding on Profane Genocidal Creations. Unfortunately, the dry-clean production contributes to bereaving this album of any atmosphere.

These unsatisfying aspects makes it almost impossible for me to remember or mention any one particular song from this album, save for "Passage to Extinction" with its cringeworthy female vocals, or perhaps "Through Ages of War" which lands somewhere in between a thrash-banger and Dissection. The lyrics are just as juvenile as you would expect from something that sounds like this...

It pains me to say, that on Profane Genocidal Creations, Dark Fortress failed to reinvigorate any of the speed, intensity or atmosphere of their obvious influences, and even though competent at times, unimaginative competence is a brilliant asset if you work in accounting, but is equally boring for a metal band. I will not be returning to this album. Check out Ylem instead!

This is the third release of black metal outfit Dark Fortress, and the first album of theirs I have heard. Though it usually takes me a listen or so to actually get into a lot of black metal, "Profane Genocidal Creations" hit me immediately, and from the first time I heard it, it went on heavy rotation in my CD player. With this release, they combine the acoustic passages in the vein of Dissection, with black metal in the style of mid-years Emperor and early Satyricon. And for a black metal album, it is produced very well, with production most similar to Dissection's. The tone of the acoustic production is set very well, and works very well with the songs with the way the passages are arranged. They accomplish the same with the keyboard sections, as opposed to the keyboards taking over as the primary instrument, and laying down nothing but a simplistic classical composition (tonic subdominant dominant tonic), rather they write very well, and pay attention to its overall place in the mix itself.

I love the way they write on this album, they don't take cliches of black metal and repeat them over and over again, such as 32nd note single note passages, nor do they adhere to simply using the keyboards as a rhythm instrument on the synth choir or string settings, they go beyond those cliches to find their own voice. The combination of great clean vocal parts layered over the entire song is another thing they accomplish very well here. The best example is 5 minutes into the track "Defiance of Death", the way everything is brought together is simply awesome, and makes me rewind almost everytime. Needless to say, that is my favorite track on the album. The rest of the album is similar, "In Morte Aeternitas" comes close, but doesn't match "Defiance of Death".

Dark Fortress has done a good job in finding their own voice in black metal. Fans of Dissection, Emperor, Burzum, Satyricon... check out this album, those bands may pretty much be gone, but at least you can check out a band that has done what those bands have done, which is to find their own voice, and avoid stylistic cliches.

Standout Tracks: Defiance of Death, In Morte Aeternitas

This is the second album from these German Melodic Black Metallers, and while I can't say that it is very original, it is pretty good. All the instruments are pretty clear, and the vocals shift between rasps, female vocals, and clean spoken word parts.

The production is actually really good. It was recorded in Grieghallen studios in Norway, where many of the classic BM bands recorded some of their albums, such as Emperor, Mayhem, Immortal, Burzum, etc. This alone could make someone automatically give this a 100 rating, but where it is recorded doesn't make a damn, so that this is why I am giving it an 80.

This album reminds me a lot of Dimmu Borgir. The vocals in particular sound very much like Shagrath circa Enthrone Darkness Triumphant, and the music circa Spiritual Black Dimensions, where sometimes the keyboards take total control. The guitars are very well played, with some thrashy riffing and some complex arrangements. There is even a little mixture of some old school BM thrown in here and there, with some parts sounding like they came from Dark Funeral's music. Anyway. The drums sound very good. The blast beats are clear and the double bass work is excellent. The bass is even audible, what a surprise, considering this is BM, not Prog Rock. It all makes for an enjoyable album, with an intro that sounds very much like Fear and Wonder from Dimmu's Puritanical... album, to me anyway.

Bottom line: You like your BM melodic, then this is the album for you. If you like it raw and dirty, then maybe you should stay away from this and get yourself some Darkthrone or early Mayhem.

To begin in a different way from my other reviews, I'll begin here with the visual aspect of the thing. At first sight their logo looks cliché, but a closer look will make you see some quite cool details and a fortress (reminds me some full of details stuffs I did, that's maybe why it looks cool for me...). And the cover, well... even if there might be a mood or something here, the theme is too common and leads to an unattractive one with no real impact. It was done by Kris Werwimp... well a very simple drawing can have more impact than a full of colors painting... All the more it costs at the very least 35 Euros to get a painted cover...
Now that my artistic moment is over, let's talk about the music.
It begins in a too simple and melodic way, and then follows some Black metal à la very old EMPEROR. They have got the same kind of melodic riffs and the same way of using the synths. Old HECATE ENTHRONED may be quoted for the keyboards also. Some primal black à la old DARK FUNERAL is here as well.
There are some old school metal/ Black metal touches here and there, it may remind me of DESASTER (Ger)'s first recordings for this reason.
The first track as well as some riffs are Ok, but the whole is melted in so many too common and simple riffs I've ever heard so many times... very often the arrangements and melodies sound too cliché for my ears!
No, fuck this shit! The more I listen to the tracks, the more it sounds cliché and unimaginative!
So many mags and zines will give a good review to this one it's only laughable! Once you're tight with almost correct tracks, you can get good reviews almost everywhere... So sad!
Nothing new nor worth the listening if you're into Black metal since more than 4/5 years!