English newcomers Æl-Fierlen have crafted a beautifully haunting and intense black metal meets blackgaze sound that they describe as “ethereal, atmospheric and dark.”
The band, based around the southeast of England, started with guitarist and composer Rob Melville being introduced to vocalist Steph Moffatt by a mutual friend. They discovered drummer Ginger via a post on a music festival forum then completed the band with bassist OB, who’d seen them play live and knew Steph from their local scene.
On the sound they’ve crafted, the band told us: “We borrow from a few genres; mostly black metal, shoegaze and folk. Our drummer says, ‘we are what the woods sound like.’ We hope the music can be both dramatic and comforting.”
Our latest taste of this is Æl-Fierlen’s debut album All Is Far Away, released last month. The four-track album kicks off with lively guitars and drums kicking introducing the epic eight-and-a-half-minute-long To Sleep Eternal, which was the band’s debut single last year. Steph’s echoey vocals take over alongside ascending guitars, which flows into a chorus of “Messages have chosen you, All goes dark mystical, Sleep eternal always comes, Don’t wish the Infernal.” The pace drops with light guitars and a laid-back lick, before the heavier guitars and lively drums kick back in, joined by Steph’s dreamy, echoey vocals. That gives way to a cool high-pitched guitar solo that flows into a piercing guitar, teeing up a huge dramatic conclusion led by intense high-pitched vocals.
Next up is Pulrose, the shortest track on the album at five-and-a-half minutes. It starts out with light guitars before whispery vocals set a mystical tone. Steph’s delicious flowing vocals take over, dropping back into the whispers before laid-back vocals over a little guitar lick. That’s followed by Èðe, which clocks in at just under nine minutes. It begins with light guitar and drums, before exploding into life with wild guitars, pounding drums and a huge screams. The vocals intensify with gruff screams through an intense first verse, which gives way to Steph’s contrasting clean vocals. It takes a dark turn with Steph’s haunting cries, heavier drums and piercing guitars that end with a wild scream, and flows into atmospheric clean vocals. Dramatic guitars take over and continue under high-pitched guitars, before a mellow guitar solo brings the track to a close.
The word epic certainly applies to the album’s closing track Ællmiht, which comes in at a few seconds under 11 minutes. It starts out with light repeating guitars that give way to Steph’s delicious vocals over laid-back instrumentals. The intensity builds and it drops into heavier guitars under the dramatic vocals. The pace drops around halfway through with light guitars, with a heavier guitar line creeping in under whispery almost chants as the atmosphere grows. A brief pause gives way to big guitar chords and intense drums under a piercing guitar lick under Steph’s atmospheric vocals. That continues into cool layered vocals that give way to funky little vocal flurries over powerful instrumentals to bring this huge album to a conclusion.
On the album, the band said: “The reception has been so much more than we could ask for. As a small, independent band, we are blown away by the reach we’ve had in our first year of gigging. We had a launch show in London to celebrate the release, which was our first-ever headlining show, and people really showed up for us, which still feels totally surreal. Listeners can expect long songs with atmospheric builds. We hope they get lost in the tracks and enjoy the overall themes of night and nature throughout the lyrics and sound.”
And on their favourite tracks from the album, they add: “There’s only four tracks on the album, so can we say all of them? In all seriousness, our climactic final track Ællmight is the song we get asked about the most when people hear it live, and we think it is a song with two distinct halves that descends from dream to nightmare. It’s the longest and grandest of the tracks (10.53) and really takes the listener on a journey.”
The Æl-Fierlen sound has been influenced by bands in the black metal and blackgaze space. Rob draws inspiration from the songwriting of Ne Obliviscaris and Xanthochroid, especially the latter’s two-part concept album Of Erthe And Axen, which he considers “the pinnacle of coherent writing in metal,” as well as film soundtracks. While Steph draws on blackgaze bands like Sylvaine, Suldusk and Darkher, as well as Myrkur’s recent release Spine.
And on what inspires them to write music, Rob said: “It’s trying to convey an atmosphere and intense emotions sonically. Inspiration often comes from something evocative I’ve seen in nature that I am trying to capture the essence of.”
And Steph added: “Sometimes I hear the instrumental version of a song and immediately know what kind of vocal melody it should have, almost like walking into a house and instantly sensing it’s haunted. Other times, there are more opportunities for collaboration. I always hope the final sound will bring the listener to an emotional place we’ve carefully designed.”
You can catch Æl-Fierlen playing at RabidFest 2025 next month, after which they’ll be playing their first gig to feature a new, unreleased song. They’re also hard at work on album number two, with a few bookings already in the calendar for next year.
And the band added: “We are so grateful for all of the people who have given us a chance by listening to our music, booking our band, or deciding that we can fit on lineups, playlists and spaces both in and out of traditional black metal. It’s been great to meet so many different people who have enjoyed our shows. We could not have asked for a better first year as a band.”
You can follow Æl-Fierlen on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music and YouTube.
Image credit: Robin “Dobbin” Thomas
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