Following the success of this year’s Fortress Festival, next year’s event has been announced as taking place over the weekend of 31st May – 1st June 2025 at Scarborough Spa, with many bands already being announced.
1349 will headline the main stage on Saturday 31st May 2025. Their eighth studio album The Wolf And The King will be out on 4th October 2024 via Season Of Mist. The band was formed in 1997 by Ravn, who recruited bassist Seidemann and now-former guitarist Tjalve to help him pursue the vision of recapturing the original spirit of black metal. The longstanding lineup of Ravn, Seidemann, guitarist Archaon and drummer Frost (also of Satyricon) has been in place since 2001 and will bring their trademark crushing black metal to Fortress Festival.
Afsky will bring their melancholic and depressive Danish black metal to the Scarborough shore with the live band on the Fortress Festival main stage. The band was set up in 2015 by Ole Pedersen Luk and has three albums under theirbelt, with the latest Om Hundrede Ar released in 2023 by Vendetta Records enchanting black metal fans all around the world.
The first band to be revealed as appearing, was Agalloch, and the Fortress Festival will be their first in the UK since the band’s reformation, the last time they appeared live in the country being 2015, what’s more it will be the band’s only European show for 2025.
Following a seven-year hiatus, Agalloch announced their return to live shows in 2023. Since their 1999 debut album, the band’s discography has defined what it means to combine influences from a variety of musical genres into one brooding, colossal, and cinematic sound that provides the soundtrack to existential themes concerning life, nature, loss, and death. One of the first to combine elements from black metal, neo-folk, progressive rock, post-rock, and ambient music, Agalloch has influenced countless of bands in black metal and beyond.
Regarding their exclusive performance at Fortress Festival, Agalloch said: “We have not played England since 2015 and have no dates in Europe for 2024. This is why we are so excited to make our return to England at Fortress Festival 2025 in Scarborough. This will be an exclusive European show for 2025 and we will make it a special one! Thank you Fortress for inviting us and we look forward to meeting all of you in the near future!”
Gary Stephenson, Fortress Festival organiser and Reaper Agency UK founder, said: “There was only one option for a headline act at Fortress 2025. We are really excited to tell you that Agalloch will finally return to the UK after 10 long years to headline the 2025 edition of Fortress Festival. This will be a very special performance from the band and one that will be a full-year exclusive for Europe. Fortress is the new kid on the block so we are honoured that the band have chosen this event to make their long-awaited return.”
Stephenson said at the time: “Rest assured we have already been working on this line-up for many months and we are confident that the 2025 edition of Fortress will be mind-bendingly good for you all. We will try not to make you wait long until we release more band announcements… A new stronghold has arisen!” True to his word, more bands have been revealed.
Featuring iconic former Mayhem guitarist and Vltimas founder, Blasphemer, the festival will be the UK debut for Ruïm with an exclusive performance by the band.
Formed in early 2020, and driven by a firm desire to revisit the style of music Blasphemer has dedicated himself to and been associated with since the mid-90s. Joining Blasphemer is French-born drummer César Vesvre (Agressor, Thagirion).
The project was inspired by the rediscovery of a long-lost tape of old, unused Mayhem-era riffs (post Wolf’s Lair Abyss), a new vision for an album immersed in Brazilian witchcraft and the left hand path of the Umbanda tradition, a practice in which Blasphemer himself was taught. The result was Black Royal Spiritism – I – O Sino Da Igreja, Ruïm’s debut studio album, presenting a glimpse of something new, unique, visionary and highly eclectic.
Unorthodox death metal band Ulcerate, all the way from the Auckland, New Zealand was revealed as the third exclusive band on Fortress Festival’s 2025 line-up. Formed in 2000, the band’s artistry is characterised by a whirlwind of scything art-metal guitars, thunderous, intricate drumming, and guttural vocal roars that create an overwhelming sense of impending doom. Alongside the Fortress Festival announcement is news of their seventh album, Cutting The Throat Of God.
Following a seven-year and ice-cold slumber, Canadian black metal band Forteresse will triumphantly return to the stage at Fortress Festival with a UK exclusive performance on the main stage.
Revered for their “Québécois black metal” and spawning the black metal scene in their native homeland, Forteresse formed in 2006. They debuted with the Métal Noir Québécois album and have since released multiple records, most notably 2016’s Thèmes Pour La Rébellion.
Their fourth album House of the Black Geminus out now, Akhlys will perform a 2025 UK exclusive set at the festival. The band stated: “Akhlys is honoured to take part in Fortress Fest 2025. We will bring our brand of darkness to a region we have never been before, and I couldn’t think of a more fitting festival to do this.”
Whereas, South American project Selbst released their Despondency Chord Progressions earlier this year, and will also make their UK debut at the festival, performing an exclusive set. N.of Selbst said: “This is a great opportunity for Selbst. Personally, and on behalf of the live band members, we are honoured to be part of this experience! We look forward to sharing an unforgettable moment of introspection with the attendees at this gathering.”
Celebrating the 10th anniversary of debut album Syner, Grift will perform the album in full as part of yet another UK exclusive set. Less far back, Perennial Isolation will perform their 2021 album Portraits in full in their UK debut with a exclusive performance from the Barcelona-based atmospheric black metal band.
Moonlight Sorcery will be putting in an international exclusive set, as part of their debut show outside Finland. The band commented: “The slumber in frost and cold is over. We are honoured to perform at Fortress Festival as our first international show and we are looking forward to sharing this moment with the audience. It is time to present our Majestic Symphonies Of The Nightside!”
The band’s debut album Horned Lord Of The Thorned Castle was released in September 2023 via Avantgarde Music, being mixed and mastered at Unisound by Dan Swanö.
Australian acts Suldusk and Aquilus will perform their UK debuts with exclusive shows. A band blending neofolk with black metal, Suldusk’s appearance follows the release of their Anthesis album via Napalm Records earlier this year. Similarly, Aquilus’ performance will follow the release of Bellum II. Aquilus’ Waldorf said: “This will be the first time that Aquilus performs in the UK. More than a decade after the debut release of Griseus, and upon the release of the new Bellum opuses, Aquilus is finally heading abroad. We’re looking forward to playing Fortress 2025.”
Abduction, the UK black metal band, will perform an exclusive full album set of their yet-unreleased fifth album. Formed in 2016 as a one-man entity, Abduction made fast progress, carving a fearsome reputation as a standout act in an increasingly crowded extreme metal scene. The last studio offering Black Blood was released in 2022 via Candlelight Records. Abduction’s A|V added: “Fortress Festival! Abduction returns with glorious elation to the shores of Scarborough. Six of the most desperate and newest hymns of virtue, truth and legacy shall be spat forth in the main theatre in our most inordinate and vital celebration of death yet!”
Devastator will return to Fortress Festival with its fist-pumping blackened thrash following the band’s appearance at the event’s inaugural edition in 2023. Ttheir second album Conjurers Of Cruelty was released via Listenable Records in March 2024.
Four other acts announced are The Great Old Ones, Spirit Possession, Perchata and Belore. The first two will perform UK exclusive shows, while it will be a UK debut and exclusive show for the two other bands.
UK atmospheric black metal act Fen will perform a UK exclusive full album performance of their 2009 debut album The Malediction Fields. “The Malediction Fields era was an incredible time for us”, said the band. “We were feeling our way through the genesis of the band, defining our sound and very much doing things on our own terms. It was an exciting period of discovery, experimenting with ideas, textures and ambience as we observed the post-black metal sound and blackgaze scenes emerge around us.”
Fen added: “What better place to celebrate our history and perform that album in full than at Fortress Festival? An event almost tailor-made for the atmospheric, reflective-yet-furious ambiences we were looking to create. To do so with Agalloch as headliners – one of the first bands we ever played with and an act who showed us so much support and encouragement – just underlines how beautifully fate has decreed that this must happen! Until then – keep it bleak and cometh the hour, we will then bring the bleakness…”
Slovak post-black metal/ambient outfit Autumn Nostalgie will make their exclusive UK and perform their 2020 debut album Esse Est Percipi in full. As will atmospheric UK black metal band Crimson Throne who will present their yet-unreleased and unannounced second full-length album at Fortress Festival. While another UK black metal act Nemorous (formed from the ashes of Wodensthrone) will also present their yet-unreleased and unannounced debut album.
50% of all early bird tickets tickets were sold immediately following the announcement of Agalloch performing, and that did not slow down. Fortress Festival 2025 itself is now 60% sold out. Remaining standard weekend tickets are on sale here.
