If I’m being honest, it’s quite remarkable to see how Fen has developed over the years. I still remember when Ancient Sorrow came out twenty years ago (!), and just how groundbreaking The Malediction Fields was. The band has maintained its high level of atmospheric black metal throughout the years, standing in the same league and sharing a category with prominent bands such as Agalloch, Ulver, and even Alcest. All of these bands are somewhat similar in certain ways, but Fen was always something a little different, and they’ve managed to maintain that niveau for the past 20 years.
“Glacier” opens the album with that infamous ethereal feeling the band has managed to perfect over the years, combining it with a swirling storm of drum passages and constantly shifting melodic guitar work. The post-rock moments have also been given more attention this time around, becoming an element that presents itself time and again throughout the album.
The second track, “Tectonic” takes a different approach to the same structure, making it work with a much faster tempo, all the while being dictated and led by swift guitar melodies that drape the music in a lighter layer. Some moments in the song are also among the fastest the band has ever written.
It is not the case with “Massif”, that pulls an acoustic first half, dominated by light-sounding melodies that carry over into the more aggressive second part, which is angry enough to stand apart, yet still works its melancholy to sound as loyal to the band’s sound as ever.
The earthly sounds that close the song also serve as the opening notes for “Abyssal Plain”, the fourth song, which is also the shortest on the album with “just” five and a half minutes, yet shines as one of its more shapeshifting moments. The band also always showed their flare for rock anthems, which are also visible here, with a sprawling groove that shows up to wrap this versatile track.
The sense of speed turns itself up even further with “Barrow”, where the ethereal and atmospheric characteristics make room for more straightforward tunes, ruled by riffs that constantly wink towards classic Heavy Metal, and thrown in a pot with consistent double bass.
The album closes with the almost-thirteen minute Opus that is “Moor”, where basically every little fold and effort the band has put into their music comes to light. Like the album as a whole, it is an angry piece of music that balances the harsh, the melancholic and the beautiful altogether without one overshadowing the other, like a coat of darkness being pierced by sunlight, creating holes in the blackness, making the picture whole and far more interesting.
The England-based group do not necessarily try to reinvent themselves with “Elemental Part One: Mourning Earth”. If anything, they simply build another floor onto the mighty tower they’ve already constructed. It’s not a bad thing, but if you’re expecting a 180-degrees turn in musical direction, you’re going to be disappointed. Having said that, in a genre like this, it’s quite enough that they do what they do; while being some of the best at it.
Label: Prophecy Productions
Release Date: August 2026
Rating: 8/10
Tracklist:
- Glacier
- Tectonic
- Massif
- Abyssal Plain
- Barrow
- Moor
