(written by Islander)
This marks our second encounter with the Swedish black metal band Fayenne. The first occasion (and one not soon forgotten) was their 2019 demo Ancient Womb of Mercury, about which I frothed at the mouth thusly:
“In these three tracks, Fayenne come for your throat, teeth bared and blood boiling. But while the light-speed drum blasting, beautifully vibrant bass, wild, spinning riffs, and howling, hate-filled vocals burn like a wildfire out of control, there’s a lot more going on in the songs than a soundtrack to the Wild Hunt.
“The reverberating leads (both darting and sinuous) are exhilarating, and have the sorcerous feel of black magic incantations, and there’s both classic heavy metal bombast and blood-pumping thrash in the riffing. The songs also manifest rhythmic dynamism as the momentum turns from racing to d-beat-like gallops or the stateliness of a grim but solemn procession.
“Ancient Womb of Mercury is a great blend of styles, black metal being only one of them, and even at only three tracks it will kick your adrenaline into overdrive.”
I and many others hoped for more Fayenne tirades, but we’ve had to bide our time. At last, however, Fayenne are returning, and with a debut full-length that’s now set for an MC release on February 26, 2026, by Void Wanderer Productions. The album’s name is The Calling From The Depth.
Here is how Void Wanderer introduces the album:
Uppsala based trio Fayenne creates black metal that visually and lyrically alludes to the sea, chaos, alchemy and female world destruction. Inspired by bands like Dissection, Morbus Chron and Thorns, Fayenne aim to create a melodic but still raw approach to the genre and mix complex riffing with intense tempo changes that never rests.
The upcoming album is the full length debut which mixes old and new material with a wide spectrum of influences but with the same theme – Leviathan as the creator and destroyer of the world. The album’s sound blends raw intensity with atmospheric depth, drawing inspiration from both classic second-wave black metal and more experimental, modern approaches.
As an explosive sign of what the new album holds in store for us, today we’re premiering a song from it named “Primordial Surface“.
Many things stand out about this new track. The riffing is violently ecstatic — blazing in sound and wildly roiling in its frantic contortions but also glorious as it spins and dances. The fretwork is remarkably fast yet controlled, and includes vivid blasts of sound, like fiery fanfares of triumph.
The drumming is equally remarkable, also fast and relentlessly dynamic in its rapid pattern-shifts, providing a well-calculated match to the changing riffs but always driving the song’s pulse-pounding groove, and the nimbleness of the bass is well in line with the eye-popping dexterity of the guitars and drums. Meanwhile, the reverberating vocals are as wild as the riffing, unchained in their scorching intensity.
The song really is breathtaking from start to finish, and a spectacular display of what makes Fayenne’s music so… spectacular.
FAYENNE is:
Guitar & Vocals: Andréa Hillgren
Drums: Martin Wahlberg
Bass: Mikaela Åkesson
The new album was mastered by Lawrence Mackrory at Rorysound Studios. It features artwork and logo by Andréa Hillgren, and layout by Påhl Sundström. For more info and to pre-order, check out the locations linked below.
VOID WANDERER:
https://voidwanderer.com/product/fayenne-the-calling-from-the-depth-mc/
https://voidwandererproductions.bandcamp.com
https://www.Facebook.com/voidwandererprod
https://www.Instagram.com/voidwandererproductions
FAYENNE:
https://fayenne.bandcamp.com/
https://www.Facebook.com/fayenivol
https://www.Instagram.com/fayennebm