#AlbumReview: Fief – VII
Artist: Fief
Album: VII
Label: Out of Season
Release date: June 26th, 2026
Country: USA
Format reviewed: High-Quality digital recording
#AlbumReview: Fief – VII via Out of Season by Ioana
Dungeon synth is a genre I have long been enamored with, but never really sat down to actually think as to why that is, much less write about it. It mostly existed in my life as the soundtrack to long nature walks, reading and painting session, long travels and other such instances. However, inbetween contemplating which black metal album I should dive into for this particular review, one part of my mind that was, perhaps, simply sick of my mind’s ceaseless ramblings, led me to remember that Fief, one of the dungeon synth projects I have been keeping up with the longest, had just released an album over a month before. Problem solved, and, well, another great album added to the inventory, specifically an album that would not demand my last vestiges of power in order to be understood, while still displaying clear artistic vision and compositional skill.
Fief is, as all genre enthusiasts know, part of a latter branch of dungeon synth, less concerned with the gloomy, ominous mood of projects such as Depressive Silence and early Mortiis, and more with warm, open, almost pastoral soundscapes drawing heavily on medieval and fantasy music, more often from the latter outright. This serves the purpose of creating an escapist atmosphere in which the listener can immerse themselves with ease. Think of it as the soundtrack to a romanticized past that never really existed ( as described by Pseudiom in his video essay “Dungeon Synth, A Long Introduction”).
VII is a very interesting album when compared to the rest of Fief’s discography, specifically for how it blurs the border between the very fantasy adjacent, almost hobbit-music style of its predecessors, especially something like II, and actual medieval, specifically liturgical music. The atmosphere remains consistent, as in, the music doesn’t become colder or more bleak in any way shape or form, as there are still tracks such as “Fool’s License!” which carry that signature sound the project has become associated with. “Echoes of the Apse”, however, tells a rather different story, the focal point of the album being a sample of a catholic choir, with a faint amount of fuzz placed on top, along with minimal string-like synth effects. Placed in the middle of the album, it provides a rather stark tonal shift between tracks, but I wouldn’t call it out of place. If I were to ponder upon the meaning of its placement, I would say that its purpose is to both expand the possibilities, or better said, already established boundaries which characterize the sound of Fief to perhaps allow for more such experiences in the future. Whatever the reason may be, it certainly enriches the sound of the album.
Another shift happens in the themes of the music, reflected in the song titles, as well as the album cover. Tracks such as the previously mentioned “Fool’s License!” and “Peasant’s Vigil” hint towards worldbuilding more similar to that of a medieval folk tale, such as the parables of Chaucer, when compared to, for example, the titles on VI: “Glowing Amulet” or “In the Glass of the Wizard”. This is also confirmed by the album’s use of samples from various medieval songs and cinematography inspired by the Middle Ages.
All that being said, I am rather fond of VII, new direction included. I always found the music of Fief to be both calming, wholesome, as well as rich and a great soundscape for reflection and deep thought, and this album delivered just that. It may also just have become an album that gets me excited about new releases, and, in consequence, going back to my old style of reviews (aka the chronicle format). But for the sake of everyone’s listening experiences, I will stop spoiling it and allow you all to enjoy this record properly, preferably while sitting in shade with a novel and a cold beverage. 9.5/10
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9.5/10 Epic Storm
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