For quite some time now, Fen has been a name that is to be absolutely respected in the world of post-black metal or whatever style it is you feel they fall into. It truly does not matter for they are damn good at their craft and have been proving as such virtually since day one without so much as a weak link to be found in their magnificence yet. Sixteen years after their debut, Fen is still going immensely strong with their reputation and power having only increased exponentially since those early days, and its finally after four years since their last effort, Fen’s seventh creation stands as a new mark for the band when it comes to intensity and, especially, potency.

It could be so easy for Fen to have gone in any given direction given how diverse and well-done their sound has always been. They’ve long pulled from different areas of the sound to deliver a dynamic yet nonetheless powerful effort that always hit home. For album seven, “Monuments to Absence”, the frustrations of our physical realm have clearly taken their toll upon Fen as this is effortlessly the band’s most aggressive creation to date. Even going as far as to show it in the cover art with the massive amount of red, this is a creation that seeks to obliterate and purify by whatever means necessary for much of what has come before cannot be considered as anything other than a stain upon what could have been. And, yet, there are moments through “Monuments to Absence” that are passages devoted to those small moments where life lives up to its own glories and majesties, however little they may come. It all comes crashing together in a dynamic and evisercating blend of black metal that would be incredibly tough for any lesser act to pull off to any significant degree, but its through the dense atmospheres, gripping melodies, and unyielding intensity that Fen shows us yet again why they’ve been a name to respect all these years.

Every album has been a performance to take heed of whenever one comes about, and that proves to be no difference with “Monuments to Absence”. This is a record that seeks to set a torch to what is out of disgust for all that it has become, but there is hope that what rises embodies the best of what was but too few. Mesmerizing and unapologetic, anyone would be remiss to insinuate other than another obvious victory for Fen.

“Monuments to Absence” releases on June 25th via Prophecy Productions!

LISTEN to advanced tracks from “Monuments to Absence” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Fen on Facebook here.