Fen - Elemental Part One: Mourning Earth (2026)

As one of the most awaited releases of 2026 for us, “Elemental Part One: Mourning Earth” marks the return for Fen and their interesting mixture of Atmospheric Black Metal and more melancholic proclivities. Featuring six tracks and around 46-minutes of music, the band goes a bit back into their more mellow and dreamy sound, after the heavier and harsher 2023 release “Monuments to Absence”. Balancing both sides, Fen delivers one hell of a release filled with elegant atmospherics and a hearty dose of aggression, keeping the listener both engaged and entranced with their music.

Opening with “Glacier”, we have a very interesting progression from dreamy guitars and crafty percussions into heavier territories with additional intensity. With mastermind The Watcher handling guitars, we get a very diverse and engaging mixture of dreamy melodic interludes and harsh BM riffs, creating a very contrasting and yet intoxicating sound as “Tectonic” and “Massif” weave back and forth between styles and tempos. This latter track having an excellent progression from mysterious and ethereal to headbanging harshness.

The dreamy “Abyssal Plain” brings back some Agalloch memories as well as some of the band’s older style, as it slowly builds up alongside ethereal clean vocals, suddenly turning into all-out aggression in a very engaging way. “Barrow” showcases some elegant guitar work that is both playful and very melodic, allowing the release to explore different directions and yet having a very cohesive core style.

Saving the best for last, “Moor” is one hell of a closer, a complete tour-de-force that showcases Fen at its best: creating bleak and intoxicating ethereal music that also has a very raw and visceral side to it. More than satisfied with “Elemental Part One: Mourning Earth”, we can’t help but wonder what else the band has in store for us, as this is a part one of something seemingly larger. If you like Atmospheric Black Metal but are tired of all those bands with over-the-top synths and classical instruments and just want gritty and punishing compact core music, look no further and get a copy of this release.

Rating: 98/100