Fauna - Ochre & Ash (2025)

Creating one of the most harrowing and primal releases ever, today we have Fauna and their long awaited “Ochre & Ash”. Thirteen years have passed since the release of “Avifauna”, and fans have been craving for a new album from this Pacific Northwest duo. More than worth the wait, this release unleashes nearly 70 minutes of crushing music that creates discomfort and hands out punishment from the opening atmospherics all the way to the closing riffs.

Opening with the ritualistic “A Conjuring”, the band sets a very feral and Heilung/Wardruna-esque atmosphere that masterfully transitions into the crafty drumming and dissonant riffing of “Nature and Madness”. Shifting gears, the duo unleashes hell with great intensity and violence. The drumming and screamed vocals remind us a bit of Mike Rekevics in Vanum/Fell Voices. As the dense atmosphere dissipates a bit, the track moves into a cavernous direction with enthralling atmospherics and a wall of distortion.

Proving a transitional respite, “Femoral Sun” brings back that primitive ritualistic ambiance, just before the hypnotic and slowly progressing “Labyrinths” builds up its cathartic and cavernous progression. This track has more of an old-school Funeral Doom vibe that efficiently escalates into some blistering Black Metal onslaughts. The release closes with the monumental “Eternal Return” and its droning funeral dirge nature, with a few hectic tempo changes and a plethora of hellish vocal arrangements.

As a whole, “Ochre & Ash” is one truly demoralizing release that grabs the listener in the first minute, and never lets go. Fauna have managed to crush expectations and masterfully continue their legendary scene status with a release that embodies nature and ritualism alongside some nightmare-inducing rawness and harshness. If you are looking for something truly unique and memorable, be sure to check out these guys and their gargantuan sound.

Label: Lupus Lounge / Prophecy Productions

Release: September 26th, 2025

Genre: Atmospheric/Ambient Black Metal

Country: USA