FEN - Epoch" - reviews

http://www.zwaremetalen.com/recensie/18178/Fen-Epoch.html

Het vorige album, The Malediction Fields, van het Britse Fen was een debuut om u tegen te zeggen. Hoewel velen de gebrekkige productie laakten, was er een consensus over de kwaliteit van het gebodene: de mix van black metal en post-rock was zondermeer sterk! Er moet dus behoorlijk wat druk op de schouders van deze veenbewoners hebben gelegen bij het maken van Epoch. En zie, de nieuwe plaat is er een om vingers en duimen bij af te likken.
Epoch verenigt al het sterke in zich wat het debuut zo sterk maakte: sfeervolle songs die zich gestaag naar een climax toe werken, uitgesponnen en dromerige passages, emotionele uitbarstingen en breekbare weeklachten. Het is een combinatie die bands als Agalloch, Alcest en onlangs nog Gallowbraid middels een eigen draai ook gebruiken. Fen klinkt alleen net wat dreigender dan voorgenoemde bands. De sfeer is ook weidser.
Fen is het wat mij betreft het ultieme bewijs dat er wat broeit in de Britse underground. We hadden eerder al Scaldic Curse, Winterfylleth, Eibon La Furies en The Old Corpse Road. Fen voert wat mij betreft het rijtje van nieuwe muzikale helden uit Albion aan.
Epoch is een juweel van een album geworden. The Malediction Fields dook al her en der op in verschillende jaarlijsten. Ik ben er van overtuigd dat we Epoch veel frequenter gaan tegenkomen in die lijstjes. In het mijne heb ik alvast een plaatsje gereserveerd.

Score: 92/100
 
http://www.ondarock.it/recensioni/2011_fen.htm

È ormai consuetudine tra addetti ai lavori codificare sotto la stramba dicitura shoegaze black metal tutte quelle esperienze musicali che, partendo da un solido retroterra black metal, impreziosiscono la propria proposta musicale attingendo a piene mani da generi apparentemente distanti come post-rock, post-core e ambient music. Alcest, Amesoeurs, Wolves In The Throne Room sono i nomi più celebri ascrivibili a questa famiglia, alla quale aggiungiamo, con piacere, gli inglesi Fen e il loro ultimo lavoro "Epoch".

Un'opera polarizzata tra il richiamo a una nobile tradizione - in alcuni momenti si avvertono certe somiglianze con i Novembre di "Classica" - e un istrionismo che non disdegna l'interiorizzzione di alcuni input cari a tradizioni musicali apparentemente distanti dal black metal come potrebbe essere certo post-hardcore (in più di un episodio si coglie lo spleen che ha ammantato lavori come quelli di City Of Caterpillar).

Esteticamente perfetti i crescendo esplosivi caratterizzanti la title track "Epoch", gli squarci emotivi in apetura di "Carrier Of Echoes", le introspezioni autunnali di "Of Wilderness And Ruin", le sospensioni dark-wave di "Half-Light Eternal" che richiamano da vicino This Empty Flow. Episodi che comunque faticano a cancellare certe inguenità che permangono negli arrangiamenti di Fen: ci si riferisce a certe stucchevoli pacchianerie che ancora risentono del radicamento del gruppo albionico in seno alla tradizione black metal e che, nell'opera in questione, mal si coniugano con l'esplorazione di territori musicali altri dal metallo nero (a questo proposito in più di un episodio le evoluzioni ritmiche di Fen stonano con la struggente delicatezza del contesto). È come se questo "Epoch" si dimostri, nella sua complessiva bellezza, refrattario a lasciarsi alle spalle le colonne d'Ercole che separano l'ortodossia metallica dalla contemplazione di un orrizzonte scevro di cliché e quindi autentico.

(21/02/2011)

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http://www.teethofthedivine.com/site/reviews/fen-epoch/

It’s 2011, and more than two decades after black metal first slithered out of the darkness, it’s still shifting and changing into surprising and unexpected new forms. Recent mutations include the rambling, crystalline majesty of Pacific Northwest acts like Agalloch or Wolves in the Throne Room, or the unexpected fusion of black metal and shoegaze, as heard in bands like Alcest, Amesoeurs, Svarti Loghin and Sorgeldom.
The UK’s Fen started off as the former, with 2009’s Agalloch-like release The Malediction Fields. And now they’ve metamorphosed into the latter with their newest, Epoch. Maybe it’s a British thing – it’s where shoegaze originated with seminal shoegaze acts (and precursors) like Slowdive, Cocteau Twins and My Bloody Valentine. Regardless of what motivated the shift in Fen‘s sound, I think it’s definitely a welcome evolution, as Epoch is one of the most successful examples to date for this new ‘blackgaze’ genre.
While black metal usually scrambles forward with jagged guitars and equally frantic drumming, here the aggression is mostly handled by the drums and vocals alone, leaving the guitars to melt into the keyboards, creating a lush, amorphous atmosphere. Couple that with Fen’s long, progressive songwriting, and you have an album full of immersive, haunting epics with a unique sound and character.
“Ghost of the Flood” explodes like a summer lightning storm, but one that’s diffused and blown-out through a curtain of misting rain, so that the overall effect is one of both savage and shimmering violence. The follow-up, “The Gibbet Elms,” reverses the effect – it’s a largely slower and more relaxed song, but it’s shredded by harsh, screamed vocals. Sometimes the blurring is even handled by song structure. “Half-Light Eternal” seems like it’s the album’s one classic shoegaze track (the clean vocals are much improved from Malediction, but still a touch too tremulous), but by its midpoint it too explodes into fury.
In fact, given the strength of these various sonic and structural juxtapositions, I’d say the album’s most furious moments are sometimes also their weakest and most unnecessary. “Carrier of Echoes” piles keyboard bloom atop a post-punk bassline for its first few minutes, but when the song cranks to a traditional black metal bash-fest, the riffs lose their clarity and focus. “Of Wilderness and Ruin” also has some problems when the drumming takes over and explodes into a frantic spasm – it’s simply too untamed and imprecise compared to the decadent ebb and flow that Fen has mastered on the rest of the album. I simply don’t think Fen needs these violent moments anymore, because the rest of the texture and experience here is so compelling.
It’s still amazing to me that these two odd bedfellows – black metal and shoegaze – managed to mate and create such interesting results in the first place. However, so far it seems like many bands – Alcest included – have been content to merely alternate between darkness and light, raging one moment and soothing the next. Epoch takes everything to the next level by successfully isolating and then blending the key elements of both genres in a balanced and organic way. And that’s why, despite a few jarring missteps, Epoch is a really fascinating evolution – not just for Fen, but for this new blackgaze genre in general.
 
http://www.chroniclesofchaos.com/Articles.aspx?id=2-6231

Fen - _Epoch_
(Code666, 2011)
by: Kostas Sarampalis (8 out of 10)


I like being pleasantly surprised. Even more so, I really like coming across a band I had never laid ears before and speedily falling for their output. Such is the case with Fen. Just before the release of their sophomore _Epoch_, I stumbled upon their debut _The Malediction Fields_, a pleasant (if a bit lacking in maturity, which is fair enough for a debut) foray into a medley of black metal and post rock. _Epoch_ is definitely a more mature and complete effort than the first album. Combining the two styles together successfully is not an easy feat, however. What is a cross between Wolves in the Throne Room and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, could easily have been the ugly bastard child of DHG and Amy McDonald (though, on second thought...).Fen's music can best be described as exploratory soundscapes with sudden and prolonged moments of focused aggression. The listener can comfortably slip in and out of the experience, meaning that the eight songs in the album can be as demanding as the audience wishes them to be. Pay enough attention, and you will find interesting nuances and details for a good number of listens before the album sinks in. Opener "Epoch" builds up on the calmness of the first minute and a half before very surprisingly turning into a tribal affair not too far off what Primordial did earlier in the day. Quite frankly, the song feels like an orgasm that almost never reaches its climax and is a very effective album opener.
Jumping immediately into the deeper end, "Ghosts of the Flood" starts off as a blistering black metal hurricane before later slowing down considerably and settling into an atmospheric mid pace that characterises a good chunk of this album. And so the album continues to unveil, not just alternating but merging the styles and paces, often abruptly (though rather skilfully and effectively). There are plenty more moments that stand out. The guitar riff towards the end of "Of Wilderness and Ruin", backed by repetitive but engrossing drumming and the final sang words of the track is sublime. "Carrier of Echoes" reminds me of sounds I fail to pinpoint with a name, yet surfaces a delicate feeling of nostalgia, before it picks up pace and offers a rather grandiose riff and then yet again turns its gaze into post-rock territories.
Personally I like _Epoch_ much more than I liked Agalloch's latest release (the albums tread similar trajectories). Perhaps Fen are still a young enough band (as in, a band still in it's early stages of development) that enthusiasm and ideas are still flowing strong in their collective. The clean vocals might not be to everyone's taste, but they are used appropriately, whereas the harsh black metal vocals are very emotive and at times agonisingly brutal. As the album wraps itself up perhaps it could have used a little bit more energy in its closing half, but I wish for this because I truly enjoyed the fast black metal bits in the album a great deal. The band need to focus their energy and songwriting a little more to produce a tighter result that balances effortlessly between the two genres and rid the occasional awkwardness. Overall, _Epoch_, while not yet a breathtaking effort, is a very good album and it makes me await the band's follow up in anticipation. Hopefully that one will leave me breathless
 
http://noiz.wordpress.com/2011/03/03/fen-epoch-2011/

4,5/5

“The band is named after a region in England called The Fens. The Fens have very flat and mysterious landscapes, with many marshes and wetlands. The band members grew up in this area, and find much of the inspiration for their music and themes from the atmosphere of this area”. I think after the listening of the new album of Fen, I should agree with the above statement. As I said 2 years ago for the previous release ‘the Malediction Fields’ the band combines atmospheres from both post-metal and post-rock soundscapes. The sound is not for old school black metal fans [even if you can find great black metal parts], but is not also (only) for post/modern music fans [even if the fresh ideas are spread in the compositions. This album is recommended to people that like atmospheric (old fashion) metal with dark atmospheres and a noisy violence that provides a black smell and dirty evil marks. Aggalloch, in the woods…, My Dying Bride, Wolves in the Throne Room, Alcest, Lantlos, Amesoeurs, Altar of Plagues, A Forest of Stars and Solstafir are some names that sound close to Fen. I have to say that this kind of music the British produce, we have only found it in older Ulver albums! It is beautiful and deeply artistic metal under a black prism. There is a scream of sickness and a glance full of tears. Growls and death. Dark, grey… Black . The Limited “Artbook Edition” (limited to 799 copies) contains two exclusive
acoustic bonus tracks:1. The Wind Whispers Of Loss (08:19)2. …From The Mists (04:38)
 
from Progarchives

Conor Fynes
Prog Reviewer
5stars.gif
'Epoch' - Fen (9/10) Following hot on the heels of their acclaimed debut album 'The Malediction Fields', UK- based black metal act Fen's second work 'Epoch' promises to deliver the same powerful blend of raw atmosphere and beauty that has made the band among the most promising of the up-and-coming metal bands. Combining post-rock, folk and black metal in much the same way as established bands like Agalloch and Drudkh have done, these young Englishmen may have released the best album I have heard so far this year.
The style Fen plays is not largely unfamiliar for a fan of atmospheric black metal, but the way that Fen does it deserves all possible praise. Although a raw album at first glance, several deeply engaging, almost spiritual listens of 'Epoch' really lift the veil to show the grace and dynamic of the music here. As can be heard on the album's first truly brilliant song 'Ghosts Of The Flood', Fen have quickly established themselves as masters of the dark/light contrast. Heavy and blistering guitars will erupt under the powerful rasps of The Watcher, before lowering into a smooth, equally melancholic but more melodic and beautiful quieter moment. Then, the black metal elements return once again, creating an absolutely enchanting wave of sound. While this formula has been made famous by such acts as Opeth a good twenty years before this, Fen's adoption of shoegaze and overtly atmospheric mellow sections makes the dynamic really work for them, feeling much more than a mere gimmick to sound artistic.
From a largely instrumental and slowly building title track, 'Epoch' eases the listener into their magical world through a title track that works more like an introduction to the rest of the album, moreso than a legitimate song of it's own. Building intentionally to 'Ghosts Of The Flood', the title track makes the second song hit the listener like a slug from a railgun, but all in all, 'Epoch' does drag on a bit longer than an introduction should. The fact that the album is a tad slow to get going is this masterpiece's only real weakness. While the use of clean vocals here is generally used beautifully in the context of Fen's shoegazer elements, they do sound a bit weak and amateurish when compared to the epic growls the band displays on the heavier front.
While this is an atmospheric black metal album first and foremost, the album is made only more powerful and more evocative through its mesh of less aggressive sound. With such absolutely gorgeous depressive epics as 'Half Light Eternal' and 'Carrier Of Echoes' to grace my ears, I can only say that 'Epoch' is a masterpiece, despite its small blemishes. Although the beginning of a new year usually feels void of truly excellent albums, I would not be surprised if Fen's 'Epoch' is seen near the top of the best metal albums released in 2011.
 
http://www.rockfreaks.net/index.php?page=albumreviews&id=3755

One of my highlights from 2009 was Fen's "The Malediction Fields", a stunning effort from an underground British band melding black metal with progressive and atmospheric elements to create a deep and meaningful record worth repeated listens. Two years on and we have the release of their sophomore record, "Epoch", but how does it compare in scope to it's illustrious predecessor?

Opening with the brooding and understated title track Fen clearly have no desire to blow your head off with scything black metal from the first instance, instead choosing to gently welcome listeners in with their sombre, moody inclinations before "Ghost Of The Flood" kicks off, The Watcher's screams knocking towards a Wolves in the Throne Room/Wodensthrone-esque tempo, however it is not long before Fen's Agalloch-ian tendencies take hold and the song slows to a more relaxing and progressive tempo. In many ways, this theme, which typifies Fen's songwriting across the 8 lengthy tracks on "Epoch" (six being 8 minutes or longer), holds them at odds with the great many of BM's characteristics but the authenticity with which Fen meander between varying elements at free will is the thickest string in the bow. The under-used clean vocals of The Watcher, which first peak their head in "The Gibbet Elms" and "Half-Light Eternal", reflect further progressive tendencies in Fen yet despite all of this they remain best when really letting go of the brakes and bounding forward with their dark, WITTR vibe, as evidenced in parts of "Of Wilderness And Ruin" and "Half-Light Eternal". Ten-minute "Carrier Of Echoes" pushes the use of keys and acoustic guitars further to the fore while "A Waning Solace" drifts along more serenely than anything since the opening title track.

Closer "Ashbringer" picks up the pace from where earlier proceedings left off to recall a harsher, Wodensthrone edge to their atmospheric riffing and hammering but these moments never last long enough, invariably being reduced to a mid-speed before their full effectiveness has really been felt. Eventually "Epoch" finishes as a record that doesn't quite meet it's potential but Fen's natural artistry flourishes enough to secure "Epoch" as a more than decent record, though I can’t help but feel a tightening of the songwriting is what separates it from some of the other records in their atmospheric black metal field
 
http://metalofdeathzine.blogspot.com/2011/04/fen-epoch.html

Full-length, Code666, 2011
Genere: Atmospheric Black Metal/Post-Rock

Secondo full length per i britannici Fen, esponenti della corrente post Black Metal che, in questi ultimi anni, sembra fornire linfa vitale ad un genere poco presente nella terra di Albione. Spaziando in un panorama che contempla sonorità riconducibili al black, al post rock, sconfinando a momenti nell'indie ma che convergono inesorabilmente in un genere noto sotto la stramba dicitura di shoegaze black metal, i Fen, sembra abbiano trovato la loro strada, proponendo un suono personale che li accomuna a gruppi come Alcest, Agalloch e Wolves in the Throne Room.

Quello che appare evidente ascoltando quest'album è il notevole miglioramento della produzione e del livello tecnico, ma quello che in assoluto lo rende speciale è il ruolo del basso, poco più di una comparsa nel genere black, ma in questo caso protagonista in connubio con la batteria, arricchendo di conseguenza la parte ritmica. Anche l'abbondante uso delle tastiere, grazie alla new entry, Aedelwhal, ex membro dei Wodensthrone, contribuisce a creare sensazioni più oscure ed atmosferiche. Altro cambiamento determinante è l'uso vocale; nella precedente opera della band, The Malediction Fields, le critiche più feroci caddero sull'uso poco convincente della voce in clean, facendo tesoro di queste osservazioni negative, in Epoch l'utilizzo del clean vocale è più sfumato, sussurrato mentre la parte del leone è nella quasi totalità affidata allo screaming.

Otto sono i brani contenuti nell'album, uno su tutti, Carrier of Echoes, 8 tracce tutte piuttosto lunghe; abbandonata la ferocia tipica del genere, Epoch ci trasporta verso lidi più onirici e delicati, più intimi e malinconici, e questo la dice lunga sul fatto che non è un disco dedicato ai duri e puri, ma, sicuramente, a tutti quelli che ancora riescono ad emozionarsi dinnanzi alla nebbiosa bellezza delle pianure britanniche, da cui i Fen traggono il nome, a tutti coloro che come sognanti paladini, si perdono in un romanticismo crepuscolare.

Recensione a cura di: She-Devil
Voto : 75/100
 
http://kronosmortus.com/node/29650

10/10 !!!!!!!

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Kiadó

code666


Weboldal

myspace.com/fenband


Kiadás éve

2011


Stílus

Post Black metal


BRIEF SUM: Post-rock, folk and black metal in an effective combination of effective grinding and depressive movements. Epoch is a huge swamp which the listener steps into without realizing his/her surroundings. This swamp then drinks and consumes the listener. Masterpiece!
A 2009-ben megjelent The Malediction Fields által kitaposott úton halad tovább a brit banda Epoch című munkájukkal. Nevüket a Fens néven ismert mocsaras, lápos területtől kölcsönözték, saját elmondásuk szerint ez a hely inspirálta őket a dalszerzésben (nekem is látnom kell azt a mocsarat!).
Az Epoch egyfajta nyers atmoszférát hoz el nekünk, ami a debütáló album fontos részét képezte. A post-rock, folk és black metal vegyítése egy különleges hangulattal megáldott anyag képét vetíti elénk. Ez a kombináció nagyon jól sült el, az Agalloch és Drudkh munkásságához hasonló. Ebben a kategóriában az utóbbi idők legjobb lemeze. Nem áll messze az atmoszférikus black metáltól, kellőképpen nyers, mélységekbe vonszoló, elsősorban spirituális oldalról nézve nem ereszt szorításából. Nem tesz mindent a kirakatba, egyszerűségében és tisztaságában találjuk meg azt az energiát és erőteljes mindenséget, amelyet ez az album kínál nekünk. Mint ahogy az album második dalából, a „Ghost of the Flood-ból” is kiderül, gyorsan megalapozzák a sötétség és fény párhuzamát; ez mesteri. Erős és pattogó gitárok törnek elő az erőteljes The Watcher gitártechnikájának köszönhetően, mielőtt egyenletesen visszavesznek a tempóból és melankólikus, dallamos elegyet hoznának létre. Majd a black metal újra előtör és a hangok egyfajta abszolút elvarázsoló hullámaival körbeölel. Ez az Opeth-re emlékeztető recept húsz éve ugyanolyan hatásos volt, mint most. A shoegaze elemek felhasználása egy szinte kézzelfogható atmoszféra kialakításában is szerepet játszanak. A lassan, fokozatosan építkező és főleg instrumentális címadó dal lazít a hallgatón és nem érzékeljük azt, hogy egy intróval lenne dolgunk: már az elején elvezet minket egy varázslatos világba, tehát úgy érezzük, ez nem „csak” intro, hanem szoros részét képezi az album koncepciójának. Szorosan kapcsolódik a Ghost of the Flood dalhoz, a második szám kezdetén mellbe marja a hallgatót. A tiszta vokál használata a shoegaze elemek kontextusában nagyon szép, viszont a hangzás kicsit gyengének és amatőrnek tűnik, főleg amikor ezt kombinálják az erőteljes és epikus károgással. Abszolút pompás depresszív hatásokat produkál a „Half Light Eternal” és a „Carrier of Grace”, melyek ajándékok a hallójáratoknak.
Annyit mondhatok, hogy az „Epoch” egy igazi remekmű, nem lepődnék meg, ha az élvonalban végezne az év legjobb metal albumáért való versengésben.
 
http://www.metalfan.nl/reviews.php?id=6845

Met zijn curieuze mengelmoes van sfeervolle, aan Agalloch herinnerende black metal en uitgesponnen postrockpassages wist de relatief jonge band Fen met The Malediction Fields een veelbelovend – ware het wat inconsistent – debuutalbum af te leveren. De muziek van deze Britten kwam, zeker voor een debuutalbum, bij vlagen bijzonder sterk uit de verf en deed veel fans van experimentele black metal en aanverwante genres uitkijken naar de opvolger. Met het in een schitterende digibook gestoken Epoch is die opvolger een feit.

Na een flink aantal luisterbeurten kan ik in ieder geval concluderen dat Fen het de luisteraar niet makkelijk maakt. De muziek is esoterisch en in zekere zin abstract: meer gebaseerd op sfeervolle klanken en passages dan op coherente, samenhangende nummers. Hierdoor is het – zeker bij de eerste luisterbeurt – lastig om specifieke elementen uit de nummers te pikken. Tegelijkertijd leert de ervaring dat dit zich juist vaak tot de beste albums ontpoppen, zoals het laatste Agalloch-album Marrow Of The Spirit vorig jaar maar weer eens bewees. Met andere woorden: Epoch vergt het nodige geduld en inspanning van de luisteraar, maar is het ook de investering waard?

Met het kalme titelnummer begint het album zeer fraai, met akoestisch gitaarwerk dat natuurlijk is verweven in de structuur van het nummer en vervolgens naadloos overloopt in het vurige en chaotisch beginnende Ghosts Of The Flood. Het zijn vooral deze fellere, meer op black metal-leest geschoeide nummers waarop Fen de meeste indruk maakt, zoals ook A Warning Solace laat horen. Het is echter moeilijk om echt nummers op Epoch eruit te lichten, aangezien het album meer aanvoelt als een muzikale reis dan een verzameling individuele nummers.

Op sommige momenten wil Fen zich echter nogal eens verliezen in te langdradige nummers die net iets te veel ‘zwabberen’ en daardoor de aandacht niet volledig weten vast te houden. Voorbeelden hiervan zijn Carrier Of Echoes en Half-Light Eternal, maar eigenlijk geldt dat ook een beetje voor de twee akoestische afsluiters The Wind Whispers Of Loss en …From The Mists. Uiteindelijk levert Fen de beloftes van het debuutalbum dus nog niet helemaal in. Net als zijn voorganger laat Epoch echter ook schitterende momenten horen. Als de band erin slaagt om die momenten te structureren in sterkere nummers, zou het derde album wel eens een voltreffer kunnen worden. Epoch is vooral een lekkere wegdroomplaat geworden, die echter niet zo goed is als hij had kunnen zijn.

Score: 76/100
Reviewer: Rik
 
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