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Fen: The malediction fields

16/12/11 || The Duff

Fen hail from the UK and are a grey metal band in the same vein as Wolves in the Throne Room, Alcest and Altar of Plagues. Oh, and Agalloch. These guys slurp the ball sweat from Agalloch. If you’re unfamiliar with grey metal, then picture black metal mixed with folk/atmospheric cleans and post-rock of the Mogwai/Isis ilk, meaning distorted, soaring sections that are like clouds and orgasms. I would advise first you start with Agalloch if completely in the dark as far as grey metal goes; if you dig it and want more of the same then by all means come to Fen where Wolves in the Throne Room are more like Burzum, doom and early Enslaved, Altar of Plagues more post-rock sided and Alcest more atmospheric, poppy and clean. Sorry, I thought this was a Fen review?

Fen’s “The Malediction Fields”, the band’s debut on Code666 (home to Aborym, Negura Bunget, Ephel Duath, Konkhra, Axis of Perdition and Amesoeurs among others), is an exhilarating affair that is catchy, simultaneously uplifting and downcast with a very pure atmosphere evoking thoughts of still landscapes, serenity and travels wit’ sword and shield, provisions and die. It’s not as if their inspiration is entirely Agalloch-borne; the vocals have a major part to play in my assessment, where the emotive rasps run very similar to John Haugm’s. There are musical similarities too, although the production is a lot less high-value as with Agalloch’s “The Mantle” or “Ashes Against the Grain”, leaving a raw edge that renders the overall tone of the music more abrasive, less of birds pecking seeds through snow-covered, majestic scenery but more Winter-caves and your dying ginger-haired maiden lover in your arms. Goodbye sweet pussy! But then such woods are rarely traversed… Such is the contrast of light and shade, the purity of love and fucking the corpse in fields of ice that will preserve that shit for a long-assed time.

Is forumer Ryan Samuel still saying GD is nothing but bad sex jokes?

“Malediction Fields” presents a mixture of warm, bathing hues of echoe-y cleans, folk-y, peaceful strums and ripping black metal riffs. Also, synthesizers in the primitive style of earliest black metal where the notes aren’t necessarily distinct but instead act as a sweeping backdrop to mysticise (not a word, don’t go adding it to your lexicon) the rhythmic, swirling guitars – a stripped down variety of keys more complementary to the repetitive style of Burzum despite Fen’s riffs more ambitiously structured to form verses, choruses, bridges.

Where the album falls flat is with the clean vocals (as with track “Colossal Voids”, especially), not so much the background chanting which is an invaluable asset to such a style of music (a touch of sarcasm there but you get the drift), more with the singing with lyrics and stuff where The Watcher simply doesn’t have the croon or control of Haugm but rather the drab meander of Neige (Alcest) – with Alcest it works because the vocals fit the sugar-coated music, but here the vocalist’s weaknesses are made glaringly obvious. It reminds me quite a bit of the meandering, juvenile style of maudlin of the Well, but with such a band it had a place within the ethereal, childlike dreamscape qualities of the music.

The desired effect is conflicting, where the amateur tone kills the atmosphere dead in the water like inviting a tranny stripper to a bachelor party; you know you’ll always have the one friend who’ll get down with it even for less shots of Jaeger than he so obstinately insists, but in the end it still sounds like a straight man’s limp penis forcing its way into an asshole with baggage.

R-… Ryan?

To conclude, this band is a solid grey metal band; I’m not the biggest of fans when it comes to this style of music, seeing as it’s typically very drab to my ears, and I would recommend Alcest and Altar of Plagues before these guys as it doesn’t quite feel like they’re offering anything new, but “Malediction Fields” is a good effort nonetheless that ticks all the right boxes.

7,5

Information
Released: 2009
Label: Code666 Records
Website: Fen MySpace
Band
The Watcher: vocals (lead & backing), guitars, guitars (acoustic), keyboards, ebow
Grungyn: bass, vocals (backing)
Draugluin: keyboards, vocals (backing)
Theutus: drums

Tracklist
01. Exile’s Journey
02. A Witness to the Passing of Aeons
03. Colossal Voids
04. As Buried Spirits Stir
05. The Warren
06. Lashed by Storm
07. Bereft

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