{"id":79325,"date":"2025-09-22T18:52:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T18:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/79325\/"},"modified":"2025-09-22T18:52:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T18:52:10","slug":"ael-fierlen-all-is-far-away-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/79325\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00c6l-Fierlen – All Is Far Away Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Like a specter emerging from the mist, \u00c6l-Fierlen<\/strong> is a brand new post-black metal act that materialized in Southern England in 2024. Their name comes from an Anglo-Saxon phrase meaning \u201call is far away,\u201d making their debut something of an eponymous record. This phrase resonates with me because, despite living so close to many wonderful outdoor locations, I don\u2019t make nearly as much time as I ought to experience them. As if beckoning to me, \u00c6l-Fierlen<\/strong> sums up their sound with the simple declaration, \u201cWe are what the woods sounds like.\u201d If you long to become lost in mystic marvels, come take a walk through the metaphorical trees.<\/p>\n

Just as a forest has both light and dark spots, so does the music of \u00c6l-Fierlen<\/strong>. In this way, they sound very much like a sister group of Helga<\/strong><\/a>, weaving elegant post-rock together with strands of black metal. There is also a discernible folk tinge akin to cousin groups Kalandra<\/strong><\/a> and Suldusk<\/strong><\/a>. \u00c6l-Fierlen<\/strong> mainly sticks to the brighter style of Kalandra<\/strong>, like a well-lit clearing near the outskirts. But sometimes the compositions dare to venture into darker Suldusk<\/strong> territory with ominous whispers and guitar strumming that erupt into blast beats and shrieks without warning. What these three related groups have in common is a captivating female lead vocalist, and \u00c6l-Fierlen<\/strong> is similarly rooted in Stephanie Moffatt\u2019s enchanting voice.<\/p>\n

\ufeffAll Is Far Away by \u00c6l-Fierlen<\/a><\/p>\n

A lot hinges on Moffatt\u2019s vocals and she comes through in a big way. Her singing has an otherworldly, spectral quality, yet is also warm and inviting. Then, in the final verse of \u201cTo Sleep Eternal,\u201d she shifts to a higher octave which heightens the drama for a flourishing finish. However, much like Sylvaine<\/strong><\/a>, she is not confined to ethereal tones, adopting a piercing bite when the occasion calls for it. \u201cE\u00f0e\u201d is the prime example of her masterful mixture of chilling rasps and guttural growls, and it also happens to be the song with the most black metal influence. Her coarse whispers cast a menacing shadow over \u201cPulrose,\u201d just enough for an underscoring effect without being overused. All in all, Moffatt\u2019s versatility is one of \u00c6l-Fierlen<\/strong>\u2019s most important assets.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Examined holistically, though, All Is Far Away seems a little thin in both sound and content. This is partly because the instrumental side often takes a stripped-back form, likely to accommodate the vocals. The other band members do have their moments to shine; I particularly enjoy it when Rob Melville\u2019s guitar tremolos intertwine with drummer Ginger\u2019s knotted double bass drum rhythms in the back half of \u201c\u00c6llmiht.\u201d It\u2019s just that these moments aren\u2019t as pronounced or developed as I\u2019d prefer. This might not have been much of an issue if there were a bit more to chew on. Clocking in at 33 minutes across only four tracks, All Is Far Away is barely longer than an EP. To \u00c6l-Fierlen<\/strong>\u2019s credit, even though most of the songs are in the 8-11 minute range, they flow silkily and hardly feel their length. One more such song would have been perfect.<\/p>\n

\u00c6l-Fierlen<\/strong> has a keen sense of grace and beauty. If, like me, you find it hard to set aside time to be physically present in nature, All Is Far Away offers a charming aural jaunt through the woods. Stephanie Moffatt\u2019s delightful and multifaceted voice perfectly suits the evocative atmosphere. Each of the four tracks has its own distinct character, one leading into the next like a gently flowing brook. All Is Far Away is a cohesive and convincing first effort from a nascent group, albeit a tad on the lean side. While this may be more of a foundational work, I look forward to hearing what \u00c6l-Fierlen<\/strong> builds atop it in the future.<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: 3.0\/5.0
DR:<\/strong> 8 | Format Reviewed:<\/strong> 320 kbps mp3
Label:<\/strong> Self-Release
Websites:<\/strong> ael-fierlen.bandcamp.com<\/a> | facebook.com\/AElFierlen<\/a>
Releases Worldwide:<\/strong> September 19th, 2025<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Like a specter emerging from the mist, \u00c6l-Fierlen is a brand new post-black metal act that materialized in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":79326,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[264],"tags":[1135,1136,53344,53345,7740,48314,18,117,27666,53346,19,17,53347,337,53348,1142,1143,53349,31249,53350,53351],"class_list":{"0":"post-79325","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-1135","9":"tag-3-0","10":"tag-all-is-far-away","11":"tag-ael-fierlen","12":"tag-black-metal","13":"tag-british-metal","14":"tag-eire","15":"tag-entertainment","16":"tag-folk-metal","17":"tag-helga","18":"tag-ie","19":"tag-ireland","20":"tag-kalandra","21":"tag-music","22":"tag-post-rock","23":"tag-review","24":"tag-reviews","25":"tag-self-release","26":"tag-sep25","27":"tag-suldusk","28":"tag-sylvaine"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79325\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}