Je teste Fen.
"Aside from depressive black metal sub-genre that has dominated the underground scene for the last few months, this new fusion of black metal and post-rock is beginning to find its feet in the world of extreme music. I cannot pin point exactly where it began, but I can safely say I know where its at its strongest and that is here, on ‘The Malediction Fields’. Though this record, and this band, may be comparable to certain other pioneering acts, Fen certainly maintain their own style with dignity and poise. The level of musicianship present here is top notch and you’re unlikely to find another band, in the world, let alone the United Kingdom, who has the strength to take this band’s crown. Though Fen’s ‘The Malediction Fields’ isn’t the ultimate highlight of the glittering genre that is black metal, one feels that it may yet serve a greater purpose in the industry than those pioneering acts of the first, and even more notorious second wave bands, including the iconic Scandinavians who developed the genre considerably in the early to mid period of the 1990’s. I have no doubt whatsoever that Fen’s debut isn’t the biggest success story of all time, but it’s one of the most important steps in the move towards experimentation for black metal. This band, this record and this sound will continue to grow in stature, displacing some of the olden day traditions and allowing other bands, of a similar nature, to take their levels of experimentation to the next level. Having been a fan of Skaldic Curse for a while too, I can safely say that this is no fluke. Fen possess talented musicians who’re capable of using high levels of experimentation for their own gain. Fen had a much maligned task on ‘Ancient Sorrow’ as the production was almost unprofessional, by their high standards. It wasn’t clean enough to allow our full appreciation to not be hampered by the littered path that was the heinous production job. Thankfully however, Fen have done things professionally this time. I am by no means suggestion the production was a draw back to the old days where blenders furiously swiped at the positive traits with its noisy mechanical and menacing approach to life. Although the production gives Fen a dark and almost doom-esque feel to it, that by no means acts as a limitation of the instrumentation present as it is top drawer.
Take ‘Bereft’ as an example. The slow residual nature of the song glorifies the production. The darkness descends over the instrumentation like nightfall and cloaks the elements in obscurity that is mysterious and frighteningly effective. The bass is a consistent outlet, but the best aspect of Fen, to me, is in the dual vocals. The rasps are clean and concise, most words can be made out without having to resort to looking up the lyrics, but it’s the dual impact of the rasps alongside the eerie clean vocals that suit the style ever so well that make me enjoy Fen as much as I do. This style was becoming a force on the debut EP and is now in full flow. Like a river, the emotive elements wash over the listener and hits them hard in the face like waves of sadness. ‘Bereft’ successfully manages to maintain the original black metal epic feel, but also coats it in a new lick of majestic paint. Having heard ‘Pathogen’ from Skaldic Curse, and loving it, I knew that Fen were capable of achieving great things. Although Fen and Skaldic Curse may have two completely contrasting sounds, both bands still have ties to one another and are good examples of how visionary the band’s leading men are - The Watcher, in particular. His possessive performance is one that sparks much emotion from the listener. Not only does he control the main source of vocals, but he also performs exceedingly well on guitar and, more importantly, on keyboards which are responsible for a fair amount of the symphonic tones that lay underneath the crust that is forged by the black metal material. Fen seek a higher ground on which to showcase their talents and their material. The band takes great strides up the mountain through their majestic soundscapes that invokes the holy grail of images that black metal usually represents - desolation and isolation coated in pain like the soundscapes are cereal and the imagery is sugar. Fen scales the summit that many bands perish on, falling to the depths and into the obscure shadows that mask whatever positive trait’s the band in question might have. I do rate Skaldic Curse highly, but its evident from both the EP ‘Ancient Sorrows’ and this debut full-length ‘The Malediction Fields’ that Fen have a more successful career in front of them.
Having recently seen Fen live for the first time in March, my admiration for the band has grown tenfold. The atmosphere that the band carries constantly with it, like a fashion accessory, comes across incredibly potent live. This English band has something which most bands, all over the world, wish to possess - atmosphere. Whether its on the record, or even in person, Fen maintain their performance and achieve the best possible atmosphere in doing so. There are several key elements as to how this is achieved and perhaps surprisingly, these elements are the least raw aspects. Nowadays, its becoming more and more common for black metal acts to succeed largely based upon the subtle elements that the band portrays in their instrumentation. Take the bass, for example. Most black metal bands seem to omit this pivotal aspect of the soundscapes immediately due to the fact that they use repetitive guitar styles that are consumed by distortion. Fen don’t necessarily do this, the approach is more experimental than that. I’ve noticed a common trait of ‘The Malediction Fields’ and that is, both in terms of the instrumentation and the vocals, how Fen like to ignite the performances of one or two sections, drawing them into the frenetic foreground, whilst obscuring other aspects into the background. This is a consistent approach and key to the eventual outcome of the material. Of course, Fen do not limit themselves in their approach. No, its more accessible than that. The band may highlight the bass in the slower sections, whilst taking note of the subtle symphonies that digest the raw emotions and spit out a sense of painful loss. When the band aren’t doing this, they highlight different sections, so no matter what your interest is, in terms of instrumentation and such, Fen are always likely to give you your fix because they have an affirmative and assured ability of being able to pull the strings behind the scenes as they chop and change their approach from highlighting bass, alongside the emotive clean vocals, and then the harsh raps, alongside the tremolo bass and heavy guitar distortion. Subtle aspects soar through the soundscapes and hit hard. This debut is one of the best you’ll find within the new generation of black metal bands."
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