Although I’d ideally love to be able to conduct hard-hitting, in-depth interviews, who has the time these days? In lieu of this, I’ve thrown together the below question template, hopefully to gather some interesting and informative results, without taking up too much of anyone’s time.
Introduce yourself – who are you and what do you do?
I am The Watcher – I play guitar and perform vocals.
Tell us about your latest release and why people should listen to your music
Monuments to Absence is our seventh album and showcases Fen at our most intense, focused and angry. Our records are always shot through with a sense of bleak despair, however in this instance, this sense of overwhelming futility and hopelessness has been projected outwards in cold fury. Nevertheless, whilst this is clearly our most overtly black metal release so far, we have gone to great lengths to ensure that complexity and dynamics are weaved into the very fabric of the songs themselves – so within each piece, there is a very real ‘ebb and flow’ to the music.
We worked extremely hard on both the composition and recording process for this record. As the songs evolved, so too did the message we needed to deliver regarding the fundamental hopelessness at the core of humanity’s existence – and therefore we needed to ensure it was delivered as well as it could possibly be.
As to why people should listen to our music? If someone is seeking out a meticulously-crafted musical journey through various facets of black metal soundscapes – from searing aggression to frozen reflection and full-throttle riffing – whilst confronting many of the existential woes that we all as human beings experience, then you just might find some solace in what we do.
What’s the most important thing to you about your music? What meaning does it give you and what purpose does it serve in your life?
The sheer, unbridled sense of creative freedom and intrinsic voice that it provides me with. Having spent so long forging the identity of this band, it represents my way of communicating in the most ‘pure’ fashion that I can. When Fen creates music, it gives genuine expression to the reality of myself, invoking a sense of completeness that is hard to recreate in any other facet of existence. The fact that this communication resonates with a few people from places all across the globe is a continual source of wonderment to me.
It may sound melodramatic, but the music I create is the only purpose I perceive I have – and Fen is a big part of that. I genuinely don’t believe I add much value to the cosmos other than by crafting this material and looking to bring it into the world. There are times when I am working on piece of music where it feels almost as if it is writing itself, that I am simply there to stumble across something timeless, something that has always been there just waiting to be discovered. It is at these moments where a real sense of oneness descends – as if this what I was always meant to do. I can’t imagine existence without being able to do this.
Tell us a lesser-known interesting or funny anecdote about your band or music
Something lesser-known may be that we never really intended for Fen to be a ‘full band’ when we started – it was just intended to be a rehearsal project for three guys jamming out some atmospheric black metal ideas with each other, putting some post-rock, shoegaze and post-metal into the mix and doing it for our own entertainment. We had no idea what a journey lay ahead for us.
As for funny anecdotes, I once accidentally set fire to my hair in a bar in Belgium and had to run around the place beating the flames out by essentially punching myself in the head. Not sure if that makes the grade? Also, when on tour in 2013, myself and a member of Agalloch decided to basically draw a massive dick on the side of the tour bus by sticking slices of meat we found in the fridge to the side of the bus when everyone else was asleep. We got told off about that the next day. Fair enough (we had been drinking as you might guess) but then again, the meat had basically spoiled anyway so at least we put it to some use.
Finally, what are you listening to at the moment that you especially enjoy and wish more people knew about?
In terms of new music in 2023, one has to mention the new Dødheimsgard – a superb piece of work. Enveloping, moving, cosmic, progressive – it is ticking a lot of boxes. Also, the new album by the epic/power metal project Sacred Outcry is a great listen, primarily due to the return of Lost Horizon vocalist Daniel Heiman. Seriously one of the best metal vocalists of all time, his performance here is phenomenal. In a similar vein, the new Gatekeeper kicks all sorts of True Metal backside as well, excellent stuff.
Meanwhile, in terms of classic stuff, I went to see Iron Maiden the other day so as well as revelling in their works, I’ve been digging into other NWOBHM classics like Elixir’s Son of Odin. I’ve also been revisiting the back catalogue of UK rockers Magnum as well – the songwriting quality and epic power of their mid-80s run from Chase the Dragon to Wings of Heaven is hard to beat!
Wonderbox Metal 