I was truly blown away by the debut album from these British pine scented black metallers, and having seen them give several dazzling performances I have to say thus far they are proving to be a consistently great outfit and are quite possibly the most exciting thing in Britain right now. Epoch was therefore one of the albums I had been looking forward to in 2011 and really was keen to hear the new material. While Malediction Fields was an excellent debut, it never struck me as being one they could never top; that’s the worst thing when a band brings out a good debut that exhausts their capabilities and every subsequent work is a big let down. It struck more as being a confident sounding album, albeit not particularly original, and the efforts of a band that had plenty of room for growth and development. Which brings me to Epoch.
What is clear on this album is that Fen have kind of grown into themselves. There are of course similarities in their music to Agalloch, Alcest and Wolves In The Throne Room, but they seem to have really managed to find their own footing on this album. What I really admire here is the fact that instead of going for the safe option of releasing another album that sounds just like the first, as they quite easily could have done, they have developed their sound and such evolvement is clear on Epoch. This is not an instant album that hits you straight away, but rather one that I’ve found to grow on me more with each listen.
The overall tone of this album is much darker, especially when you hear tracks like ‘The Gibbet Elms’ which I find has a thoroughly spellbind intro that kind of draws you immediately into a dark, wooded landscape thick with trees. There synths here are quite understated adding a splash of light contrast to the music and a very subtle shoegaze dreaminess. ‘Of Wilderness and Ruin’ has an equally dark ambience and the keyboards add a real sense of melancholy. There’s plenty of harsh blackened ferocity driving this along, and when they go for it they are totally on it; drums clatter away and guitars have that truly menacing edge to them while The Watcher has a fearsome and incredibly impassioned rasp that just backs the music up perfectly and makes you really feel what this is all about. They come across particularly raw and callous on ‘Carrier Of Echoes’ which contrasts nicely against the tender, ethereal guitar lines and more so against the wistful clean vocals on the chorus which could indolently be compared to Neige. There’s a bit of complexity to this one as well with some progressive guitar lines and quirky time changes, even a warm Spanish piece peaking through the shimmering ambience at one point, while there’s a constant intensity and fiery passion that really deserves your full attention.
‘Half-Light Eternal’ really sets a mellower tone putting the harsh blackness aside in favour of a more moody and ethereal piece that owes much more to Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine at least until things are suddenly usurped by a fierce gust of wind that sweeps up from below. Naturally there’s an air of sophistication surrounding these eight tracks and this really comes across through every note. There’s even a lounge-jazz suaveness in places. Musically this is both mesmerising and intense, harsh yet beautiful and while bands like Winterfylleth and Wodensthrone are certainly in the same league, this puts Fen way above them in the tables. This surpasses my expectations and I hope it sees Fen get the recognition they deserve. Still, I have a feeling there’s better to come from them yet.
http://www.myspace.com/fenband
