Fen - Monuments to Absence (2023)^{Release ID: 45818}

My initial listens to Monuments to Absence saw me struggling to come to terms with the aggressive and pummeling assault that presented itself upon the likes of Scouring Ignorance which opens the album in such a furious fashion. At the same time, I found myself somewhat at odds with the cleaner vocal sections that permeated the album with what I initially deemed to be a near uncomfortable abundance. It had been a while since I had span Winter, which had impressed me enough to warrant a CD purchase when that got released back in 2017, and I could not recall the band being this aggressive sounding for some odd reason.

Having now worked my way through several listens, I now am much more at peace with what I am hearing. This is mainly because that additional listening has led to me to understand just how complete an experience Monuments to Absence is. Despite its inherent violence, there is an underlying benign attentiveness to the foundations of some of the tracks that stray away from any common black metal ethics and instead are more comfortable to root the playing in a post-metal or even post-rock mentality. Listen to the bass and the percussion at times and they play indie/alternative passages also. I have had to listen hard to pick this up, but this is one of the true successes of this album for me, it rewards with repeated visits.

The scathing black metal that sits atop this unexpected restraint is much less subtle of course (otherwise I doubt I would be reviewing this release). The punishing drums and grim vocals serve as ample reminder of where Fen’s heart lies when it comes to the driving force behind the band, it is just that there is plenty of room on this album to accommodate so much more musical direction as well. Monuments to Absence is a big sounding record, albeit one that never quite achieves a Drudkh level of expansiveness. It still successfully marries the intensity of black metal with the relentless beauty of nature though and steers the listener down some different avenues of exploration.

I still cannot get on with those cleaner vocals though. They are more like pagan chants as opposed to any heartfelt crooning, yet they somehow miss out on feeling like they have any relevance to what is going on around them. This, coupled with a slightly longer than ideal runtime keeps the record away from the top mark range. However, this is still a great record and one that I sense will receive many repeat visits in the coming weeks and months.

I've gotten really lucky this month when it comes to discovering high quality black metal. It started when I selected Tómarúm's unbelievable record from last year Ash in Realms of Stone Icons for the feature release in the Infinite, and now we finally have the return of one of my favourite and unsung heroes in the modern black metal scene, Fen. 

When I originally listened to 2017's Winter, I was taken for a ride that went far beyond a typical atmospheric black metal album. This record left me shaking in my boots since it was the first extreme metal album I heard in quite some time that really resonated with me. The pure raw sound of the black metal was paired wonderfully with the post-rock/shoegaze elements and while the album was long, it never felt liked it overstayed its welcome. Paired with a concept that was bleak and depressing and it had all the makings of a classic.

While I did enjoy 2019's The Dead Light, something about it did not hit the same way. I feel like it must have been the added attention to the progressive elements as it kind of held the album back from reaching a true apex as the last record did. Well in 2023, Fen's newest album, Monuments to Absence is another quality release from the band and an easy lock for one of the best albums of 2023!

So what changed? Well the album certainly sounds a lot angrier than The Dead Light and it results in a return to the pummeling sounds that made Winter so great. When the album commences with huge power chords on "Scouring Ignorance" that do not stop, I knew I was in for a treat; and it looks like most others agree with me. That seems to be why many are praising "Truth is Futility" not only as the albums best, but also one of Fen's best individual songs. And I must admit that song is pretty great.

Monuments to Absence is a refined album that manages to split the difference between it's black metal intensity and the progressive elements that felt out of place on the last album. This record has very little (if any) of the uncommon time signatures and wacky song forms with guitar solos that run rampant throughout progressive music. The guitar leads are well incorporated into song structures and do not take away from The Watcher's incredible vocal performance. The one gripe that I have with this new album is that while Winter had an incredible sense of pace, the back half of Monuments to Absence does not hit the mark quite the same as the beginning. The Dead Light did experiment with shorter song's and some of that is passed on at the beginning of this record, but the record does take a little too long to get to its conclusion and may drain you on repeated listens.

But that is such a minor nitpick on what is quickly becoming an elite discography. Fen create a smokey kind of atmospheric black metal that is right up my alley, but unlike Panopticon or Saor, this smoke is because everything is on fire! Not to mention the stellar production work and impressionist storytelling and this band continues to impress with no sign of slowing down.

Best Songs: Scouring Ignorance, Monuments to Absence, To Silence and Abyss we Reach, Eschaton's Gift, Wraked, All is Lost