Æl-Fierlen – All is Far Away
Release Date: 19th September 2025
Label: Self Released
Bandcamp
Genre: Blackgaze, Folk.
FFO: Sylvain, Myrkur, Deafheaven.
Review By: Paul Cairney
As I write this review for the debut album by English ‘blackgaze’ outfit, Æl-Fierlen, it is 10:35pm on the night before release. In fact, All is Far Away, the title of the album, will be available in less than an hour and half.
The stone-cold fact is that I have listened to this album more times than any other this year before taking the time to extol its virtues. All is Far Away is just shy of exceptional. A meaty line for a debut album.
Throughout the 4 tracks, Æl-Fierlen deliver an album that is full of emotional depth. It blends black metal and shoegaze, but its main driver, the main thrust of the album, is rooted in a dark folk. The female vocals of Stephanie Moffatt accentuate the melodic nature of the album, but at its heart is the musicality they deliver.
Opener, ‘To Sleep Eternal’ is a delight. It is dreamy, ethereal vocals are matched by welcoming guitars until it grows into a dirty, growled vocal beast that wants to harm you. Closing track, ‘Ællmiht’, opens with a beguiling guitar, taking its time to welcome you into the depths of despair, lost in a forest ‘after the forest grows dark and the way is unclear’.
At almost 11 minutes long, it almost takes a third of the albums run time, but it is worth it. ‘Ællmiht’ develops and expands, and the riff at the end is sublime as Moffatt chants urgently.
This is the reason why this review is so late in the day.
This is the reason I urge you to check out Æl-Fierlen.
(4.5 / 5)
