FEN — Epoch (review)

FEN — Epoch album cover Album · 2011 · Atmospheric Black Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
Warthur
Fen's second album greatly impressed me on my first listen, on which I thought they offered a deft mixture of shoegaze, post-rock and black metal comparable to a more melancholic version of the better Alcest releases. Sadly, on subsequent listens I found my attention wandering more and more. The thing about the band is that they seem to be relying on the genre mashup schtick to cover for the fact that they haven't quite mastered either genre, rather than to make use of a practised mastery of both crafts. Take out the black metal and you'd have mediocre shoegaze; take out the shoegaze and you'd have mediocre black metal. Add them together and you have novelty and regular changes of pace, but you don't actually have any material which truly excels at being shoegaze, black metal, or blackgaze for that matter. Stylish, worth a quick listen, but they don't excel.
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bartosso wrote:
more than 2 years ago
What I mean, to give an exemple is that: what does it mean "if you take black metal out, you get mediocre shoegaze"? It's not Lego where you can take stuff out. If it works as a whole, it means all elements are inseparable and mutually dependent. That kind of arguments. Just felt I needed to clarify what I meant.
bartosso wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Music ain't a craft, brother. No need to say that I don't agree with you, which is completely fine. Still, I also think there's no solid basis to your arguments (which, I think, is less fine IMO).
J-Man wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Interesting perspective! I haven't really heard from too many people who weren't blown away by this release (myself included) - always nice to hear the other side! :)

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