Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Take them Trails Out Of Gloom with FEN!

FEN – Trails Out Of Gloom
Ripple Music
Written by:
Let me tell you about this band named FEN – they are pretty good. They can straight up trip me out at times, then easily move into such a precise aggression that I almost feel like I’m walking through these trails out of gloom. Okay, pun intended, because FEN’s latest art rock / heavy metal release, Trails Out Of Gloom, released via our homedogs at Ripple Music, is quite the mysterious release in its own way. The star on this album is definitely vocalist / guitarist Doug Harrison, as he seems to innovate to each melody with either a spooky or straight rockin’ feel – I’m telling you, the man has quite a good range. At times I hear Opeth, at times I hear Porcupine Tree, at times a little bit of latter day Pink Floyd, and about a million other things too, but FEN surely strives to expand the mind.  And with music these days, that's a gooooood thing.  Did I even mention these guys can shred?  Not shred to show off, but shred when its necessary in their music, or I meant they show off when it's necessary.  Wow, butchered that - anyhows.

The album opens up with the title track, “Trails Out Of Gloom”, and I love both the acoustic and aggressive parts of FEN. Like a simple math equation (1 + 1 = 2), both equal FEN, and I think they really start to grasp the listener on the opener. Follow on, my friend… “The World Is Young” is a down tempo monster! This song is heavy, and while it may not be obviously heavy to the average person, those guitar tones and the tempo itself are enough to drown a person in the Atlantic Ocean. “End of the Dream” brings out a kick ass classic rock vibe, where the FEN vocalist Harrison [Doug] even hits some falsetto pitches, and while the whole vibe of the song is indeed rock, I raise my horns! I even hear a tad bit of a Tool influence with the palm muted guitar riffs, and the next moment I’m bombarded into prog glory. Yeah that’s right FEN, play the fuck outta those instruments!

The band has really found a great balance here. I admire bands that aren’t afraid to mix it up, and especially on a progressive scale like this, FEN seems to understand how music has no boundaries. And so does their label, Ripple Music. If you don’t know much about upstart label Ripple Music, you had better familiarize yourself with them now, bitch!  These veterans are bound to make more than ripples, I’d say tidal waves! For now, make sure you pick up a copy of Trails Out Of Gloom if you are one of the open minded.