Eighth album and, unanimously, one of the peaks of the Englishmen’s career. First instalment of an elemental concept, Mourning Earth is also their shortest record — 47 minutes, six tracks, partly recorded live to keep things organic. Angry Metal Guy (4.0/5) doesn’t mince words: « Mourning Earth stands uncontested as my favorite Fen album to date », the work of a band « harnessing a vast reach of styles and influences and fusing them into a vision uniquely their own ».
Dead Rhetoric drives it home with a 9/10: « powerful, yet gentle… cold, yet inviting… somber, yet emotionally alive » — atmospheric black metal’s paradoxes held from start to finish, suggesting « a higher order of songwriting ». No Clean Singing concludes that « Fen are still the kings of their spectrum of black metal » and is already asking for part two.
The dossier’s only reservation comes from AMG: a busy mix that could use more breathing room on dense tracks like « Tectonic » and « Barrow ». A sound engineer’s quibble amid a chorus of praise — at an 8.5 average, the English fens have never worn mourning so well.