paulregister
Saw Fen perform at HRH Vikings III in Sheffield and was extremely impressed. I love bands that have a connection to their own histories or nature. Love the complexities to be found on this album too. They really do remind me of a Black Metal version of Rush! And that's not just a superficial comparison with their being a three-piece. Some of their music just "feels" like it has some of the creative ambition and drive behind it that Rush had in the 70s. Superb album nevertheless.
Favorite track: Labyrinthine Echoes.
Stéphane Gallay
The Dead Light est plus à appréhender comme un voyage au long cours que comme une régate. Il y a certes des passages plus brutaux – des grains, quoi – mais dans l’ensemble, l’atmosphère est plus à l’honneur que la performance. (Chroniqué sur alias.erdorin.org)Favorite track: Witness.
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Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
2CD hardcover book (18x18 cm, 36 pages) with faux leather binding and gold foil embossment, incl. bonus CD with three bonus tracks (500 copies available)
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On "The Dead Light," Fen explore the beauty that comes from destruction. Representing the vanguard of contemporary UK post black metal, the band offers its heaviest, most direct album to date. It is the sixth full-length in a career of less than 15 years and marks another recalibration for the three-piece that, while always daring to use unconventional structures, found that the predecessor "Winter" (2017) was the apex in this respect. "This time, we took on the creative challenge to say more in less time," says co-founder The Watcher.
That does neither mean Fen lost their trademark sweeping melodies and atmosphere, nor does it suggest less progressive structures. If anything, the material shows the group at its most British. "I'm kind of old school, I love heavy metal," the guitarist and singer explains regarding his more riff-oriented, straightforward approach that goes along with some more "outlandish" influences , ranging from Voivod circa "Nothingface" or "Angel Rat" towards latter-day Enslaved.
The result is a sound best described as "spectral, colder, sharper" according to the front man, which also translated into lyrics that revolve around the search for knowledge, symbolized by our upward look to the stars . "When we watch the sky, we basically travel into the past and literally see dead light - nuclear fire from exploded planets, annihilated civilisations."
Wiped out celestial bodies notwithstanding, with tunes like the twopartite, angular title track or the wistful 'Nebula,' which has already become a favourite among at the trio's concerts, Fen in 2019 are luminaries that could not burn brighter.
"The Dead Light" is available as Digipak CD, 2CD book edition (faux-leather hardcover, 18x18cm, 36 pages with preface, exclusive artwork and three bonus tracks) and gatefold 2LP (black and ltd. violet).
: Formed in 2006 as a studio project by Grungyn, Theutus and The Watcher, and inspired by the windswept, desolate
landscape of England’s Fen region, the band set out to fuse the cold rage of Black Metal with more reflective influences, creating a deeply intense and atmospheric sound which speaks of loss and melancholic yearning...more
supported by 183 fans who also own “The Dead Light”
PSA: if there was an album you heard a couple years ago and thought it was ok, listen to it again and you might love it.
That's what happened to me with this album. I cannot fathom why it didn't stick with me back then. Same thing happened with Decoherence's Unitarity for that matter. Matten
supported by 176 fans who also own “The Dead Light”
Powerful, plaintive expression of the fathomless sorrow of our suffering cetaceans and their depthless home, together with the indescribable loveliness of their distant blue-black realm. I feel as much interstellar space here as I do deep ocean, equally crushing and buoying. Dave Aftandilian
36 choice cuts - one from each 2015 LP, plus music from new signings on the mighty and 25-years-strong Relapse label. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 4, 2015
supported by 170 fans who also own “The Dead Light”
It's haunting. It's chaos. It's energy. It's fatigue. It's happiness. It's sadness. It's love. It's hate. This is close to the perfect black metal album for me. Marcello Velasco