1. Hi, how are you doing in the New Year? If I don’t speak about releasing debut album (that we are going to talk about later), what is the weather like in England now?
Cold, fairly miserable. Quite typical for this time of year.
2. The reactions to your debut album are very diverse. Although it is the first album in history of this band there were some expectations - at least from what I have heard around. What kind of reactions are you facing? From your friends, reviewers etc.? Are you getting more concert offers now?
Reactions have been pretty positive more or less. Most people seem to enjoy the album – of course, there have been plenty of negative responses but in these internet fuelled times, everyone is an instant critic. I am fairly satisfied with how the album has been received but if I’m honest, I have been involved in the underground for a long time now and craving approval from people is not my highest priority. Still, to have received praise from sources we highly respect such as members of other bands is certainly heartening and has given us an increased sense of validation as to what we are doing.
3. The first thing that came up in my mind while listening to "The Malediction Fields" was that you had some similar features with Negura Bunget. This feeling is very strong in some parts of the album. You have been on tour with them, haven't you?
We have played with Negura Bunget two times now and they are certainly a band that shares a similar approach to ourselves. I’ve spoken several times with Huppogramus from Negura Bunget and I think there is a definite connection there, that we both are coming from a similar perspective. Musically, I guess there are similarities in terms of a more reflective, progressive approach to black metal – however, I think Negura Bunget are less rooted in depressive atmospheres, instead opting to create a more esoteric, angry soundscape. There is a lot more jagged discordance in their sound whereas we tend to opt for a more spatial, less angular approach. They are a fantastic band and one I would hope to play with again before too long.
4. The album has a quite dirty sound which certainly not everyone likes. The album’s mastering has been done by you, right? Then it is obvious that you made it just exactly the way you wanted it. And - the world is receiving it just like that, and not just like some „unfinished job“. Why did you decided to do so? Was that to show off this uncertain atmosphere?
We are essentially playing black metal and, in my mind, black metal has never been about achieving a ‘perfect’ sound. To me, the ideal black metal production should be a balance between power, clarity and mystery. This album was recorded entirely on my own equipment which I guess, by modern standards, is pretty primitive. Nevertheless, the only people who truly know how this album is supposed to sound is us and for me personally, we have come reasonably close to achieving that. It is an organic sound that we have deliberately gone for with much of the instrumentation – particularly the drums and bass – being recorded completely live.
We want to ensure that a sense of something ‘real’, something organic is created. I deplore a lot of modern recording techniques with editing, quantizing, cut ‘n’ paste, sound replacement e.t.c. available to even the smallest bedroom studio. This has no place in Fen – ours is a sound born from honesty, from a genuine attempt to communicate an emotion and atmosphere rather than impress some studio geeks. It’s not a dirty sound to me – it’s a natural sound.
5. What I can hear is that strong emotions are coming out of the debut. Was it your intention, or were you changing priorities for composing music according to how you were felt? Is the album some kind of a mirror to your soul and emotional situations?
Absolutely – emotion in music is fundamental. If an artist is not investing an element of themselves in what they are creating then the end product is little more than that – a product. The music of Fen is born almost from an instinctual drive to create, to channel and catharsise emotions, concepts and atmospheres into a sonic form. As to what comes first – the sound or the feeling – it is a circular arrangement. Sometimes one comes up with a riff that embodies a particular feeling and a song is developed from there, its direction defined by the tone of the riffs. At other times, I will be overwhelmed by a particular sensation and the guitar acts as almost a channeling device, a way of sonically expressing this feeling. Ultimately, the album is very personal.
6. The next question is what led you to mix two of the strong music styles such as black metal and post-rock? I feel that people quite often have been using this variant of mixing these two styles of music recently. And I am afraid that it can turn out as a poor music trend. I hope that you can explain this for me, hehe.
From the very beginning, our intention was to fuse the more atmospheric and reflective elements of black metal with musical styles that also embraced a more expansive approach. We are all enthusiasts of so-called ‘post-rock’, post-metal and shoegaze and to my ears, there are many aspects of these genres that can easily sit side-by-side with the forward thinking elements of the black metal genre. Think about it – how much difference is there really between latter-day In The Woods and Mogwai? Both stylistic approaches are typified by a highly-developed deployment of mood and texture – layers of effects-laden guitars, a sense of ebb and flow with the dynamics, climaxes and reposes, all elements common to both genres.
Of course, more and more bands are utilizing such an approach these days – Alcest, Wolves in the Throne Room and Caina spring immediately to mind – however, when we started we had no awareness of such a ‘movement’. We simply went about our business and it is only now that the whole ‘post-black metal’ scene seems to be reaching wider recognition. I find it interesting you regard it as a poor trend – for something that has arguably been around since 1994-95 (Ulver’s ‘Vargnatt’ being possibly the earliest example), it is an approach that has been intrinsic to the more progressive side of black metal and isn’t what I would term a trend at all. For a genre that has in many ways continued to evolve and experiment far more readily than many other forms of extreme metal, it feels completely natural to me.
7. Do you think the next album will be more like black metal or maybe even more progressive?
It is very difficult to tell. The newest material we are working on has been much more jam-based with many songs being built up from studio improvisation. The songs will be longer, more layered, less ‘riff-based’ and focus on weaving hypnotic atmospheres. This is the mood that is currently surrounding the band right now and is the direction we feel ourselves moving in – however, a new record is a little way off at the moment and things may well change before then.
8. Let us now talk a bit about the album's lyrics. Some topics can be easily understood, for example from the names of the songs. But, although I haven’t read the texts, it’s impossible to understand every word by listening to the record, so I wonder, what is the main thought of the lyrics on the album?
Lyrically, landscape and history are utilized almost as an analogy to personal suffering – depression, isolation, sorrow and loss. The subjects dealt with are ruminations on the fundamental trial of existence, the suffering that is intrinsic to our own humanity. Of course, we are all inspired by nature and many of the lyrics focuses on the awe of the unblighted landscape and the sense of tranquility that stems from twilit solitude – however, while this can be taken literally, these experiences and descriptions can also act as metaphors for deeper, more personal issues. ‘Lashed by Storm’ for example is on one level a literal account of being caught in the howling wind & rain of a punishing storm and this alone is a powerful image – however, it also acts as an analogy to an enduring spirit, of a soul punished by adversity, overcome this and emerging strengthened as a result. This is just one example of the way in which nature, landscape and emotion become entwined.
9. What does bother me a little bit, and not only me as I know so far, is a clear vocal that is unfortunately quite often very out of tune. Have you noticed this already during the final mastering or do you prefer it the way it is? Honestly, I like the black metal vocal very much, anyhow when it turns to other voice positions the sounds is being…. not so good. And that is why I cannot enjoy the album as much as I would like to.
We have received plenty of criticism for our use of clean vocals on the album which we were certainly expecting. I think that a number of listeners have misinterpreted what we are trying to achieve or indeed, have completely failed to grasp the atmosphere of the band. The clean vocals are an expression of the reflective, human element of the band. We are influenced by shoegaze and gothic vocals when using clean vocals on the record to create something wounded, imperfect and fragile. This approach does seem to have alienated/upset a number of listeners which we make no apology for.
Most of the recordings on the album were completely improvised, first take and have been left in this raw form as it captured a mood at that precise moment in time. Technical perfection stripped of all emotion is the antithesis of this – none of us in the band are David Coverdale for example and rather than try and fake it, we have delivered something real. I would suggest that those who prefer to hear a succession of concacented takes pro-tooled together and autotuned until they barely sound human to head to the Dream Theatre section of their nearest record store.
10. The songs are relatively long tracks, (7, 8 and 11 minutes for example). So it might look like that you take pleasure in long and slow music, but it is not so. FEN’s music is slow also fast. And I think the music you play goes from music you listen to. Tell us something about the bands you listen to, about your favorite music styles etc.
As you may expect, I tend to listen to a wide variety of metal – mainly black metal, including a lot of the newer, more progressive bands (Deathspell Omega, Mortuus, Ondskapt, Wolves in the Throne Room, Leviathan, stuff like that), more ambient side of things (Walknut, Drudkh e.t.c.) as well as the classic early-90s stuff from Mayhem, Darkthrone and Emperor. Classic metal, hard rock & thrash also features – Judas Priest, early Rainbow, Saxon, Manowar, all that kind of stuff as well as a number of early prog records from Yes, Rush and King Crimson.
I’ve also been spending a great deal of time listening to shoegaze, goth, post-rock and new-wave stuff including Slowdive, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, The Cure and Fields of the Nephilim as well as the more ambient side of electronica such as Boards of Canada.
11. Is FEN your only band? And what about the other members? Are you taking part in other projects, with different music styles?
Myself and Grungyn both play in the discordant, progressive black metal band Skaldic Curse. The music there is much more aggressive, hostile and alienating. If Fen represents the sorrow and confusion that arises throughout human life, Skaldic Curse embodies the destructive, malicious rage that ends it.
12. Thank you very much. That was all from us. I hope your answering the questions was not boring :). And I really believe that you have a great future ahead of you!
Thanks for the interview and your support guys.
