Countdown to The Metal Assault 12th Anniversary Fest – Part Five with Fortress of Empyrean

Countdown to The Metal Assault 12th Anniversary Fest

Part Five with Fortress of Empyrean

Los Angeles, California based metal blog turned record label Metal Assault will be celebrating the 12-year anniversary of its February 13, 2010 inception with a festival, February 12 and 13 2022 at Transplants Brewing, a brewery plus live music venue in Palmdale CA. In addition, Metal Assault is also hosting a pre-party on Friday February 11, at Supply and Demand in Long Beach CA. The weekend will feature an eclectic assortment of 22 bands, including several representatives from the Metal Assault Records roster, as well as some non-roster bands that Metal Assault has supported and worked with over the years.

Metal Assault owner Aniruddh “Andrew” Bansal says about the festival weekend: “I’ve devoted the past twelve years of my life to promoting heavy metal, and I find it only fitting to celebrate this 12-year anniversary of the launch of Metal Assault, with the biggest event I’ve curated till date. I’m delighted to have put together a lineup of bands that people will most certainly enjoy from start to finish, across the entire weekend. And what’s more, in collaboration with Transplants Brewing, Metal Assault is launching its very own beer!”

Let’s meet one of the bands playing The Metal Assault 12th Anniversary Fest…

FORTRESS OF EMPYREAN

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in your band, and how long the band has been together.
Javier Cortez, vocalist/guitarist. 2022 marks 10 years for Fortress of Empyrean.

How did you wind up being connecting with Metal Assault Records?
Andrew actually booked us to play one of his shows at The Slide Bar in Fullerton in 2018. Since then we just saw Metal Assault grow more and more. It seemed inevitable that we would cross paths once again and we did.

What is the name of your current or upcoming album or EP and what inspired the title?
Very good question. We are actually in preproduction and entering the studio at the end of January. We have a couple working titles at the moment. Nothing set in stone just yet.

What are you looking forward to the most about playing the Metal Assault 12 Year Anniversary Fest?
We look forward to playing outside of our bubble that is the LA area. A weekend of awesome bands is definitely exciting. We look forward to doing what we do in Palmdale.

Select two songs you might be playing at the Metal Assault 12 Year Anniversary Fest and what inspired the lyrics.
We are currently working on a setlist, but I can probably say “Fall in Line” will be on there. Lyrics are about the control and manipulation in society. Another song we will most likely throw in the mix is “Savior”. The song is basically about a bad relationship.

What could one expect from your live show at the Metal Assault 12 Year Anniversary Fest?
You can expect us to do what we always do, play our asses off and have fun while doing it.

What’s up next for your band after the Metal Assault 12 Year Anniversary Fest?
Well like I said before, we I’ll be taking a break from the studio to play this fest. So, after this show we get back to work and finish up recording the album.

(Interview by Ken Morton)

Fortress of Empyrean on Facebook
Metal Assault Records on Facebook

Metal Assault 12th Anniversary Fest Tickets here!