The Fierce And The Dead haven’t had it easy in recent years, but they’re ready to put all that behind them with their fourth album, News From The Invisible World. It’s striking in many ways – not least that, for the first time, they’ve recorded with vocals. Guitarist Matt Stevens and bassist Kevin Feazey join Prog to lift the lid on how the quartet are enjoying a new lease of life.

Words: Chris Cope Images: Paul Mockford

The Fierce And The Dead are loving life and loving their band of brothers.

A cancer diagnosis, that pandemic, a broken arm… the odds were stacked against The Fierce And The Dead’s new album, News From The Invisible World, from the get-go.

“Everything that could go wrong did go wrong,” guitarist Matt Stevens reflects. “But in many ways it gave us a focus and gave us time to really put things under a microscope. And I think the music became a thing that gives a bit of hope for the future, and something that really meant a lot to all of us.”

There was not just change in the genre-defying quartet’s personal lives, though. The album – their fourth – features vocals; yes, after more than 10 years of instrumentals, The Fierce And The Dead are now stepping in front of the microphone. That job has landed on bassist Kevin Feazey (no pressure then). It’s such a natural fit to the sound of the record, though, that you wonder why it’s taken so long for them to give it a bash. But more on that later.

The London-based group have grown over the last decade or so into perhaps the epitome of a cult band, with dogged determination, ear-catching yet experimental tunes and a loyal fanbase resulting in their stock steadily rising. But News From The Invisible World should see new doors opening for the uninitiated. Stevens once described it as the group’s “Kid A moment” – anod to the 2000 Radiohead record that saw the indie demigods diverge from rock music and indulge in different sounds. It’s proggy, heavy, melodic, dark, light; some moments slathered in soundscapes, some painted Crimson, some fit for the radio. The band continue to defy pigeonholing.