Review Summary: A solid slab of first wave black/death worship.
Any time I see a band or album labeled as "dungeon synth/black metal" I hesitate. Not because I don't love either genre, but because a lot of bands that mix the two styles don't do it correctly. There are exceptions like Old Nick, Phantom Spire and others that do it to perfection, but too often bands miss the mark. Not striking a good enough balance between the two or just not executing. So when I went into Dungeon Keeper's debut EP,
Fortress of Evil, I was a bit skeptical. But what I found once I hit play was surprising...
There are 0 traces of ambient, dungeon synth or anything of the sort on this EP. For all intents and purposes, the music contained inside this release is some of the most intense black/death/doom metal that you can imagine. The riffs are often times simple, but absolutely pulverizing, taking one back to the glory days of black and death metal. Its not one note at all though. Riffage here is extremely groovy, hearkening back to the early days of bands like Bathory and Hellhammer with the punk edge and rhythm. Dungeon Keeper clearly relishes that prototypical raw sound that initially scared the *** out of "normal" civilians in the mid/late 80s. There's also plenty of grueling and prodding doom sections that are straight-up punishing with the riffs raining down on you like hail the size of a grapefruit on your unsuspecting head. Vocals are an unadulterated assault on the ear drums, switching between a hoarse death growl and painful screeching, almost reminiscent of Maniac of Mayhem fame.
The only real complaint that I can think of is that this may a bit one note for the average metal listener. Yes there's lots of great riffs and blasts and the vocals are killer, but you won't find these guys searching any unknown territory. If you're a fan of black, death or doom metal, you can go into this pretty much knowing what to expect. In 2024, it's nearly impossible to be completely original in any genre of music.
Overall,
Fortress of Evil is a fantastic start for this young German band. Like I said, you won't find anything groundbreaking here. But what you will find is about 18 minutes of more than solid black/death/doom metal that will tear you a new asshole.
