Vancouver’s Fen Create A Massive Buzz Over Latest Album, Trails Out of Gloom

written by MVRemix Rock

Since it’s release a little over a month ago, Trails Out of Gloom has burrowed it’s way into the hearts and minds of practically all who have lent ears to the album, and Fen are slowly creeping their way into the social conscious. Fen’s ability to weave gorgeous melodies with heavy and abrasive tones while soothing the listener with subtle ambient passages have endeared themselves with fans of progressive metal and rock, alternative rock, and even the more extreme metallic movements, making their music the ultimate cross-over phenomenon. The music has been compared to Porcupine Tree, Anathema, the more ambient moments of Tool, and the softer sounds of Opeth, becoming an almost addictive listen in that most who have heard the album simply don’t want to stop. Here’s what a few have had to say:

“Fen delivers a different type of “heavy” with Trails Out of Gloom. one that is dank and opaque, with plenty of texture and substance that requires complete digestion for your optimum pleasure. This is very much a classic ’70′s Prog Rock record that contains immensely crafted songs with excellently well written lyrics that also allows for the musical interludes to not be self indulgent, but rather an integral piece of the pie. There are no 12 minute overkill pieces here, but rather 6 minute voyages into remarkableness. And remarkable this CD is. This CD will impact you immediately, but the true brilliance of Trails Out of Gloom comes from further absorption. This is a stellar release.” — Sea of Tranquility

“Each note, beat and word that Fen create all have a purpose and as a listener you will feel that. They are great at constructing and building these simple pieces together to make fantastic songs that unfold like masterful stories. Indeed this album is a grower. I liked it on the first play, but definitely like more on each play. With each play I discovered more and more reasons to enjoy Trails Out of Gloom.” — Heavy Metal Time Machine

“Trails Out of Gloom is absolutely phenomenal, even with around seven albums in my queue to review, I still don’t want to take this album out of my stereo.” — Imagine Echoes

And if all of these great words about the album isn’t cool enough, Trails Out of Gloom and the albums first single, “Find That One,” have been picked up on a number of radio stations and specialty shows, including WVBR 93.5 (NY), WKGB 92.5 (NY), WEOS 89.7 (NY), WKZQ 96.1 (SC), WCHZ 95 Rock (GA), WRN (NE), CILU 102.7 FM (ON), SRN Media Works (ON), MetalNetRadio.com, KHTR 104.3 (WA), KFEB 107.5 (MO), WJZJ 105.5 (MI), WPNH 100.1 (NH), KLHI 92.5 (HI), KOTO 105.5 (CO), WRN Network, WRIR (VA)

Finally, the lads in Fen haven’t stopped working their creative magic as Doug Harrison and Sam Levin are hammering away at the details, story boards, and set designs for a video for the track “Miracle.” Fen have enlisted the talents of the folks at Mind of a Snail Co. (www.mindofasnail.org) to create and control miniature puppets, which should add a somber and haunting effect, to help convey the story of the song. More information will become available in the near future as production begins to unfold.

www.fenmusic.ca