Fell Harvest Premiere “Thy Barren Fields”; Pale Light in a Dying World out July 16
Posted in audiObelisk on June 30th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
Wyoming-based doom metallers Fell Harvest will self-release their debut album, Pale Light in a Dying World, on July 16. It is a ferocious, entrenched-in-death and metallic style of doom the trio foster across the six-track/40-minute offering, neither shy about tapping to elements of thrash or melodic death in “Titanicide,” the rampaging opener that launches the record. Songs vary, as one would hope, but Pale Light in a Dying World never quite lets go of that bite in its tonality, and as bassist/vocalist/main-songwriter Joseph Fell, guitarist Liam Duncan and drummer Angel Enkeli — plus Alexander Backlund on keys; he also mixed and mastered — move through the subsequent eight-minute title-track, with its cleaner-Novembers Doom/Paradise Lost vibe and acoustic-led break in the midsection leading to a build in the tempo and intensity leading to its apex, that quickly becomes apparent.
After sampled night winds (I assume it’s night; sounds like night) and howls and other obscure sounds finish the bookend on “Pale Light in a Dying World,” “The Lark at Morning” picks up directly with a slower unfurling and about two words of growled lyrics before the cleaner line picks up that’s just enough to make me think the melodic singing that features throughout here is a conscious decision on Fell‘s part. Nothing against it for that either way, but “The Lark at Morning” offers just that hint of harsher death-ness — even before the blastbeats — that hints at the shift in direction not only from Fell‘s Fell Harvest predecessor outfit Thorns of Acanthus, but Fell Harvest‘s own 2020 self-titled debut EP as well.
That balance may adjust over time, or it may be that Fell is done entirely with screams and growls — I suspect it will ultimately depend on what he’s more comfortable
with doing and what’s called for in the songs — but making that choice on a debut album becomes a part of Pale Light in a Dying World‘s character and sense of purpose. It’s fitting that the crescendo of “The Lark at Morning” should be so melodic, and that it should lead to the acoustic beginning of “The Wind that Shakes the Barley,” which would lead off a vinyl’s side B and works in direct contrast initially to “Titanicide.” Its second half moves through harder-hitting fare, but the four-plus-minute piece closes acoustic as well, so Fell Harvest don’t lose sight of the songwriting or the overarching atmospheric and emotional mission of the album either when they let loose.
Crashes and weighted chug begin the penultimate “Thy Barren Fields,” which also offers a hint of a growl — again, quick and it’s gone — before embarking on the march of its verses. There’s hints of progressive metal in Duncan‘s later solo and in some of the twists brought up throughout, but “Thy Barren Fields” holds to its central meter and rhythm and might be all the more doomed for that, finishing with a flourish of lead guitar that cuts again to outside-noise from whence the finale “The Ghosts of Scapa Flow” — named for a body of water in Orkney, Scotland, with suitably drowned verses — and a steady supply of double-kick drum from Enkeli that breaks in the acoustic part before resuming. They tip hat to largesse of chug in what’s clearly a peak intended for the album as a whole, and a sample there is a curious but not incongruous inclusion, the final minute emerging to draw out a series of heavy last hits that gives way to waves.
Attention to detail being one of the assets that works in the band’s favor, Pale Light in a Dying World is a strong first full-length from a trio willing to push on either side between doom and metal. Not quite as morose as some, not quite as furious as others, they make their identity in these places between, and it’s from those places that their sonic persona will continue to emerge and grow as it does here, fostered by the strength of craft and performance on display throughout.
“Thy Barren Fields” premieres below, followed by some comment from Fell and PR wire info.
Please enjoy:
Fell Harvest, “Thy Barren Fields” official track premiere
Joseph Fell on Pale Light in a Dying World:
‘A snapshot of the plague year’, so much of this record was shaped by the pandemic, from deciding to record when and how we did, to tracking parts with a 103-degree fever and the discovery that I couldn’t sing the same way anymore because COVID damaged my lungs too badly. While it’s ultimately about more than just this one, unique moment in the modern zeitgeist, it’s also impossible to separate from the things happening around us when we created it.
Fell Harvest grew out of a former project of Joseph Fell (bass/vocals); which found its completed form as a trio with the additions of Angel Enkeli (drums) and Liam Duncan (guitars). The name Fell Harvest came from a dream Fell had where he was walking through a deserted vineyard with every vine bearing bleached bones and rotting flesh. He woke up and wrote a short poem called “The Fell Harvest” about the images and feelings.
Track Listing:
1. Titanicide (4:36)
2. Pale Light In a Dying World (8:23)
3. The Lark at Morning (7:10)
4. The Wind That Shakes the Barley (4:32)
5. Thy Barren Fields (6:40)
6. The Ghosts of Scapa Flow (9:08)
Album Length: 40:32
All songs performed by: Joseph Fell, Liam Duncan, Angel Enkeli
• All songs written by: Joseph Fell
• Produced by: Joseph Fell
• Mixed by: Alexander Backlund
• Mastered by: Alexander Backlund
• Album Artwork by: Sam Nelson/Stigma Art
• Album Recording Band Line Up:
Joseph Fell – Bass, Vocals, Additional Guitars
Liam Duncan – Lead and Rhythm guitars
Angel Enkeli – Drums
Synths and programming by Alexander Backlund
Live Band Line Up:
Joseph Fell – Bass, Vocals
Liam Duncan – Lead and Rhythm Guitars
Angel Enkeli – Drums
