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| #FOR FANS OF: Atmospheric Black/Folk |
Felled is an interesting project founded in Oregon in 2014. The band was born from the ashes of Moss of Moonlight, a project previously located in Washington, where Jenn Gruningen and Cavan Wagner sang about a hypothetic independent Cascadian land. Felled, now relocated to Oregon, has become a four-piece band, and continues similar conceptual paths, but with a broader connection to nature and paganism. Felled combines black metal with some neo-folk influences, which is not an unknown combination in that area of the country. These neofolk influences usually come in the form of melancholic melodies, making this sort of bands to have a certain somber atmosphere.
In its seven years of existence, Felled hasn´t been particularly prolific, releasing a demo in 2017 only, but the band has finally signed a deal with the respected underground label Transcending Obscurity Records, and releasing in these days the debut album 'The Intimate Earth'. As soon as the album begins with the first track "Ember Dream", we have a clear picture of how Felled sounds. Aggressive rasped vocals domain accompanied along the song by guitars with a raw tone, yet melodic when its needed. The pace varies constantly between fast and slower sections, creating an interesting piece of music. But what stands out is generous use of the violin, an instrument I personally love and that has a brilliant participation in this album. Tiffany’s mournful melodies add the expected neo-folk touch to Felled’s music, not sounding straightforwardly depressing, but with this melancholic tone that a genre like neo-folk usually has. The second track "Fire Season on the Outer Rim" follows similar patterns, even though it adds a greater contrast between the heaviest parts and the calmer ones, including some short atmospheric and folk interludes, which serve as a bridge between the different sections of the song. The addition of occasional clean female vocals, usually done by Jenn, with the help in the backing vocals by Tiffany, also enriches the compositions, which are tastefully composed and executed. As mentioned, the mixture between the raw guitars, which include also melodic riffs, and the violin, create a truly hypnotic atmosphere, which makes you feel the profound connection to nature, specially to the vast and beautiful landscapes that can be found in Oregon and Washington states. The album contains only five songs, but their length is quite long as they have an average of almost seven minutes. This length usually works well with this genre as the compositions need time to expand and create the wanted absorbing atmosphere. Its hard to pick a favourite song, but the album closer "The Salt Binding" is a wonderful way to close this excellent debut. The feeling is strong in this track as the melodies are truly outstanding. The mournful beauty of the riffs is captivating, the violin is as beautiful as you can expect, but the novelty here is related to a more presence of clean female vocals in the first half, which gives a truly unique touch to this song. They sound like a farewell song sung in the middle of distant forest. Moreover, when they are combined with the raspy vocals in the heavier second half of the song, they sound like a storm suddenly appearing in the horizon. This is indeed a classy song to leave the listener totally satisfied with this album.
In conclusion, 'The Intimate Earth' is the remarkable debut album by Felled, which has created a quite emotional release full of great melodies, where the violin has a predominant role, though the rest of instruments, and obviously the excellent vocals, help to create a very recommendable album. (Alain González Artola)
In its seven years of existence, Felled hasn´t been particularly prolific, releasing a demo in 2017 only, but the band has finally signed a deal with the respected underground label Transcending Obscurity Records, and releasing in these days the debut album 'The Intimate Earth'. As soon as the album begins with the first track "Ember Dream", we have a clear picture of how Felled sounds. Aggressive rasped vocals domain accompanied along the song by guitars with a raw tone, yet melodic when its needed. The pace varies constantly between fast and slower sections, creating an interesting piece of music. But what stands out is generous use of the violin, an instrument I personally love and that has a brilliant participation in this album. Tiffany’s mournful melodies add the expected neo-folk touch to Felled’s music, not sounding straightforwardly depressing, but with this melancholic tone that a genre like neo-folk usually has. The second track "Fire Season on the Outer Rim" follows similar patterns, even though it adds a greater contrast between the heaviest parts and the calmer ones, including some short atmospheric and folk interludes, which serve as a bridge between the different sections of the song. The addition of occasional clean female vocals, usually done by Jenn, with the help in the backing vocals by Tiffany, also enriches the compositions, which are tastefully composed and executed. As mentioned, the mixture between the raw guitars, which include also melodic riffs, and the violin, create a truly hypnotic atmosphere, which makes you feel the profound connection to nature, specially to the vast and beautiful landscapes that can be found in Oregon and Washington states. The album contains only five songs, but their length is quite long as they have an average of almost seven minutes. This length usually works well with this genre as the compositions need time to expand and create the wanted absorbing atmosphere. Its hard to pick a favourite song, but the album closer "The Salt Binding" is a wonderful way to close this excellent debut. The feeling is strong in this track as the melodies are truly outstanding. The mournful beauty of the riffs is captivating, the violin is as beautiful as you can expect, but the novelty here is related to a more presence of clean female vocals in the first half, which gives a truly unique touch to this song. They sound like a farewell song sung in the middle of distant forest. Moreover, when they are combined with the raspy vocals in the heavier second half of the song, they sound like a storm suddenly appearing in the horizon. This is indeed a classy song to leave the listener totally satisfied with this album.
In conclusion, 'The Intimate Earth' is the remarkable debut album by Felled, which has created a quite emotional release full of great melodies, where the violin has a predominant role, though the rest of instruments, and obviously the excellent vocals, help to create a very recommendable album. (Alain González Artola)
(Transcending Obscurity Records - 2021)
Score: 85
https://felledblackmetal.bandcamp.com/album/the-intimate-earth-folk-black-metal
Score: 85
https://felledblackmetal.bandcamp.com/album/the-intimate-earth-folk-black-metal