This is the fourth album from US black metal band Fauna.
Containing members of Echtra and Eigenlicht, Fauna play Cascadian atmospheric black metal. Ochre & Ash is the unexpected follow up to 2012’s masterpiece Avifauna, so to say I have high expectations for the 70 minutes of Ochre & Ash is an understatement.
Of course, it’s unfair to have such lofty expectations really, as I knew before I listened to this new record that no matter how good it turned out to be, how could it possibly compete with 13 years of listening to its predecessor? No, better to approach Ochre & Ash as a new, unrelated album, as far as that’s achievable to do, in order to allow it to stand or fall on its own merits. Let’s see how we get on.
There are six tracks on Ochre & Ash. Three run from four to six minutes in length. These are ritualistic ambient mood pieces. They’re rich in atmosphere and dense with primal energies. Although these sorts of tracks will never be my favourite, they do contribute to the overall tone of the album well, and are more immersive and hypnotic than you might expect. Given the band’s pedigree, I should have expected no less, of course. Femoral Sun is the best, and especially eerie, and leads into the following song Labyrinths well.
The remaining three – including Labyrinths – are all between 14 and 23 minutes in duration. These are expansive tracks of atmospheric black metal, played in the classic Cascadian style that Fauna helped to establish. They’re unpolished, uncompromising, visceral, and majestic. Interestingly too, each song is not only longer than the last, but also stronger, more multifaceted, and richer then the last too – culminating in the epic Eternal Return.
Fauna have a presence that’s their own, and each song is a sprawling exemplar of expressive black metal. The music is played with a passion that comes from a love of the art, rather than anything else. Fauna are doing this for themselves, in an atavistic display of esoteric worldbuilding; we’re just lucky enough that they have shared it with us.
Raw blackened fury is counterbalanced by a keen understanding of how to build and sustain atmospheric depth. Each song is a journey, carefully planned and executed in such a way that it feels unforced and natural. Fauna’s ability to craft black metal seems intuitive, as if every part of these lengthy compositions couldn’t have possibly been any other way. Paradoxically however, I also get the impression that should I ever be lucky enough to witness the band live, I imagine that each song would manifest a little differently, taking on a new form as it’s breathed into life by its creators. I doubt I’ll ever get to find out, but fingers crossed regardless.
Ochre & Ash has been well-worth the wait, even though I never expected to have any new release from Fauna. I’m very happy to have been mistaken in my assumption that there would be nothing new coming after Avifauna. I genuinely look forward to getting to know Ochre & Ash more and more over the next 13 years, and more, just like I had the pleasure of doing with its predecessor.
Essential listening.
Wonderbox Metal 