It’s always a journey when diving into a band for the first time. For a long time, I had come across Fen, but never really had the inclination to pick up an album to listen. Considering that the band has been around since 2006, the fact that they have been making music for almost 17 years in a genre that has become saturated and bloated in recent years is nothing short of impressive. Now, with their seventh album, Monuments to Absence, Fen brings fresh intensity to their brand of post-black metal that highlights their expansive volatility.

Monuments to Absence hits the ground running, as first track “Scouring Ignorance” starts with an intense cacophony of guitar and blast beats that doesn’t give the listener room to get comfortable. However, not all is aggressive blast beats that sears the brain – at around the halfway point of the song, the music becomes more melodic and veers into what I can only describe as progressive death-like territory. Fen also devotes more time to their blackened side, and it shows – the blackened aspect of “post-black metal” is overt, especially when the music picks up tempo and both the drumming and the vocals change to fit that tempo. However, not everything can be an onslaught of sound. Fen has a tendency of adding these progressive, melodic overtones that give the listener cues as to where they are within the song. Whether this is to add levity or more texture to an abundant layer of blackened post-metal (or post-black metal, if you will) is left unclear, but it works to give the listener a moment to take a break from the musical onslaught, and it gives them a moment to appreciate the heavier moments better. What also works in the band’s favor is that each track is a different vignette – the themes on each song, both lyrically and musically, vary from song to song.

However, even with my praise, there are two glaring issues that Monuments to Absence has, and it boils down to both its production and run time. To address the latter of the two, the album is 67 minutes long, which, objectively, falls within their usual run time. For context, their previous two records, Winter and The Dead Light, have running times of both 75 and 57 minutes, respectively. Even though the music is ferocious, melodic, and dynamic, the fact that it waits until the fourth track to pick up means that the album drags. Depending on how one chooses to approach this album, a new listener would not make it past the halfway mark. This, along with a specific leitmotif confined to each song, adds to the idea that the music is dense, and that can make Monuments to Absence a bit of a chore to get through. As far as their production goes, it sounds muddled. For example, vocals are not as clear as they should be and sound as if they were recorded as an afterthought. Because of this, the instrumentation is prominent. While this works for the overall thematic concept – anger and despair towards humanity’s self-destruction – I am not sure if that was their intention. Regardless, a cleaner production would be beneficial in the long run, allowing some of their longer songs to shine.

All in all, Monuments to Absence is a diamond in the rough, an album that lacks polish but still shows off an immense potential for future classic status. I want to like this album, but the issues, especially the running time, might put off someone who is starting to get into post-black metal and finds this record. However, once this album clicks, Monuments to Absence can be an extremely rewarding experience. If you are looking for expansive, aggressive black metal that speaks to your aggrieved soul, then this album is for you.

— Hera

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Monuments to Absence will be available July 7 on Prophecy Productions / Lupus Lounge. For more information on Fen, visit their Facebook and Instagram pages.