Exclusive Interview: Æl-Fierlen talk “All Is Far Away”!

Back in September Post-Black Metal act that are Æl-Fierlen unveiled their debut album “All Is Far Away“, a record that brings together elements of Black Metal, Shoegaze and Folk quite like no other. Hailing from the South of England the quartet then went on to mesmerize at Oxfords finest Metal Weekender Rabidfest and so with a run of shows lined up for the start of 2026 it only seemed right for us to have a chat with the band. This is the first of two conversations, the second being about the writing and recording of the album…

What brought vocalist Stephanie Moffatt, guitarist Rob Melville, bassist OB O’Brien and drummer “Ginger” Will Taylor together to create Scandinavian inspired Post Black Metal? How did the Æl-Fierlen journey begin?

“The Æl-Fierlen journey largely began because of UK Tech Fest. Steph and Rob were introduced by a mutual friend they both knew from that festival scene. Steph and OB previously met at that festival, and Ginger was found after posting the need for a drummer in the Tech Fest Facebook group”

Rob: “I was previously making more traditional atmospheric black metal as a one-man project (Clarion) but after seeing Sylvaine at Damnation Festival and hearing her album Nova I was inspired to start combining more clean vocals with the harsh music and adding more of the post-rock elements.“

You’ve received critical acclaim for your debut album “All Is Far Away” from a good number of Underground Metal reviewers. How did you find the process of sharing your music and what did you think of the feedback?

Steph: “It’s a bit like reading your diary aloud to everyone or inviting people inside your head. But we couldn’t have asked for better feedback!“

Rob: “People have been making extremely flattering comparisons to several bands that we absolutely adore. Having people say it’s one of their favourite releases of the year (in such a strong year for black-ish metal releases too) is absolutely wild“

You’ve played 25 shows in the past twelve months sharing stages with everyone from Ghosts of Atlantis to Beyond Extinction. What are some of your fondest memories of the past year?

Rob: “The release show for All Is Far Away was absolutely surreal! We’ve played a lot of shows this year, in support and opening for other really great artists, but being the main event and having people turn out specifically for us was just such a totally different experience. I find it very validating and humbling when I still think of us as a little band I started that I hoped a few people would like“

Steph: “Winning Metal 2 The Masses semi-finals was also a dream, because we were a very new band still who had only played 4 shows in East Anglia prior to that. That really boosted my confidence in us. My mum also happened to be in town from America that weekend to see the win!“

If we’re the product of our genes and our influences, who are your influences and what are in your jeans? What made you choose to cover the Myrkur classic “Like Humans”?

Rob: “Listing influences is always a dangerous question, because there are so many. Specifically, Sylvaine’s Nova was the direct inspiration to start the band, and then there’s kind of three stylistic strands that go into our sound: post-rock shoegazey stuff like God is an Astronaut, Alcest, A Light on the Dark; the gloomy, atmospheric stuff like Darkher, Suldusk and AA Williams; and then the more (black) metal stuff like Winterfylleth, Saor, Abigail Williams and Ne Obliviscaris. And then underscoring everything is my love of Hans Zimmer’s film scores, the man is a genius!

Steph also grew up singing in choirs and performing in musicals. Early in the formation of the band, Steph and I went to the release signing of Myrkur’s Spine album and met her there, so the band has had a really strong connection to that album from the off, with the idea to harken back to Mykur’s earlier material with a more blackgazey edge”

What are your aspirations for 2026? Touring Europe? Playing a major festival? Gain an endorsement? Appear on the cover of Metal Hammer Magazine?

“Lots of shows hopefully! We’d love to play some bigger festivals, and to support some other big artists! We are already very lucky to have supported Hulder and Sylvaine in 2025. Touring is something we’d really like to start doing, as all our shows this year were individual, and we actually have our first 3 day run scheduled in support of Thy Catafalque coming up in May!“

What’s next for Æl-Fierlen?

“Our first show in 2026 will be headlining The Black Heart on 16th January. We’ll be supporting Thy Catafalque on their UK tour in May, we’ll be trying our luck again at Metal 2 The Masses, and we are already writing album two!”

You can witness Æl-Fierlen live as follows over the next few months:

16/01 – London, The Black Heart
06/02 – Southampton, Heartbreakers
07/02 – Bristol, The Gryphon
08/02 – Brighton, The Pipeline
14/02 – Norwich, Brickmakers
07/03 – London, LVLS – Haunted Echoes Fest (Free Entry!)
18/04 – Brighton, Daltons, Hammerdown Unplugged Fest
03/05 – Bridgewater, The Cobblestones, Southwest Heavyfest
12/05 – London, Oslo w/Thy Catafalque
13/05 – Leeds, The Lending Room w/Thy Catafalque
14/05 – Glasgow, Audio w/Thy Catafalque
24/05 – Norwich, Brickmakers, Slayfest 2026