- Country: UK
- Style: Post-black metal / Atmospheric black metal
- Label: Prophecy Productions
- Release date: 6 December 2019
Fen have always been at their best when the songs breathe, and The Dead Light breathes properly. It’s the trio’s sixth full-length and noticeably tighter than the sprawling Winter, eight tracks that land just under the hour mark. The Watcher’s guitars shimmer and bite in equal measure, Grungyn’s bass is actually audible, and Havenless keeps everything moving with a drummer’s sense of when to hold back.
“Witness” opens with a rush of tremolo and cold, wide-open melody, and the two-part title track moves from bleak blasting into something almost tender. “Nebula” is the obvious single, all spacey clean passages and a chorus that hangs in the air, while “Labyrinthine Echoes” stretches out to nearly ten minutes without losing its grip. Then “Exsanguination” and “Rendered in Onyx” finish the record darker and heavier, with real weight behind them.
English fenland gloom has rarely sounded this focused. A late-year gem that deserves more ears than it got.
Best tracks:
Witness
Nebula
Labyrinthine Echoes
Rendered in Onyx
Author’s rating: 8.7/10
