Fen - Epoch

On the heels of post-rock/shoegaze taking over the post-black metal realm (I feel like I’m reviewing cereal there’s so much ‘post’ everywhere) Fen releases its long-awaited follow-up to 2009’s The Malediction Fields. In Epoch we are treated to nothing less than expected of Fen: dingy, elongated songs that maneuver up and down between moods so often you’re not sure what to feel and where.

First, the above-board production on Epoch is a terrific highlight; the bass can be heard in its subtle glory amidst a crest of raspy vocals and cold, heavy keys that are a compliment as opposed to a guitar replacement. Meshing clean tones of ethereal design with said rasps adds the dual layer of intrigue to the album. “Ghosts of the Flood” is the best example of this, though each track has its own small corner of the world here. With each song well over ten minutes long, Fen manages to pull off what fellow countrymen 40 Watt Sun do in lengthy, yet interesting songs that aren’t at all boring or stagnating. With such a seesaw effect through the tracks of highs and lows, Epoch creates the finest tapestry of musical enchantment within the eight tracks offered. It’s contemplative music at its finest.

With such trance-inducing melodies literally crawling out from the instruments, Fen captures a very wide section of the shoegaze craze and creates the absolute amended definition of the genre. The tones and arrangements assembled here are not careless pieces of wonder thrown together haphazardly; while not exactly Pink Floyd in depth and spacey perception, Fen reaches the ground-floor of the emotional spectrum and slowly lifts the riser through its musical venture. As you’re lulled into a false sense of peace, the caustic black metal charge hits like a chain to the face, however subtly and cautiously implemented it may seem. The amazing visuals one might get from such music are overwhelming, and few bands can successfully pull this off. Fen is certainly a band of cerebral resonance that simply cannot be taken lightly. 

Where many songs of such length can become boring very quickly, the tracks on Epoch don’t carry such burdening baggage. So many time changes, mood shifts and augmented tones make for one interesting album that puts Fen in a class with Alcest, Les Discrets or Amesoeurs, and that is very good company. I’m not sure how long it will take for the masses to come and desecrate this current movement as they do with every other wonderful extension of metal music, but for now we can enjoy the honesty and integral collective that is doing it to high degree.

Standouts include “The Gibbet Elms” and “Ashbringer”, but honestly there isn’t a stagnant track on here. In all its extended glory, Fen produces a gem that stands out and will no doubt find its way onto many Top 10 lists by year’s end, including mine.               

Release Date: February 11, 2011
Label: Code666 Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  Epoch
2.  Ghosts of the Flood
3.  Of Wilderness and Ruin
4.  The Gibbet Elms
5.  Carrier of Echoes
6.  Half-Light Eternal
7.  A Warning Solace
8.  Ashbringer

Total playing time:  01:04:55

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*Comments:

Reviewer: Chris

March 19, 2011