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The Fierce And The Dead (Part One)
Every week we pick tracks from the East Village Radio and The Wired’s regular bandcamp shows along with our own staff picks. For more information see this article. We’ve had a lot of feedback about the featured artist slots and so from now on we’ll go more in depth with the artist features.
The Fierce & The Dead: Deep Cuts & Early Sparks
If you’re only just discovering The Fierce & The Dead (TFATD), the four tracks I’ve picked—Flint (2016 Remaster), 666…6 (live), Spooky Action, Magnet—offer a strong cross-section of what makes this London-based outfit so compelling: restless genre-blending, raw dynamics, and a sense of both atmosphere and muscular riffing. Below is a look at each track, some background, what works (or doesn’t), and how they map onto the band’s evolution.
- The Fierce & The Dead formed in London in 2010. Core members are Matt Stevens (guitar, loops), Kevin Feazey (bass / later vocals), Steve Cleaton (guitar / effects) and Stuart Marshall (drums).
- Initially instrumental, steeped in post-rock, stoner rock, prog-rock / math-rock territory, with space rock, psychedelic, stoner fuzz etc.
- They’ve released several full albums, EPs, live albums. Notably Spooky Action (2013), the Magnet EP (2015), The Euphoric in 2018, and more recently News from the Invisible World.
- They have a willingness to mix “atmospheric / ambient / looped” guitar parts with heavier riffing, sudden shifts, almost abrupt transitions between moods.
Here’s how the four tracks stack up, what they reveal about the band’s strengths, and how they hint at where the band was headed.
Flint (2016 Remaster)
Originally from their debut If It Carries On Like This, We Are Moving To Morecambe (2011), remastered in 2016.
Flint is a kind of litmus test for TFATD’s early power: driving guitars, dirty bass, tight rhythms. It has that post-rock propulsion but also a grit—there’s less polish, more raw edge. The remaster helps sharpen the highs and tighten the low end, bringing out details (guitar texturing, interplay) that maybe were a bit buried in the earlier pressings. It shows how even early on the band had compositional ambition—not just walls of sound, but interlocking guitar work, spot-on drum fills, and tension in the transitions.
666…6 (live)
Live version from Field Recordings (live) (2017) – “666…6” is one of their older tracks, reinterpreted live.
Live versions are where TFATD shine: you get that sense of urgency, unpredictable energy, breathing space for improvisation. In 666…6 (live) they lean into dynamic contrast—quiet moments, then crunch, then feedback, then sparser textures. It’s a snapshot of how their instrumental work works best in a live space: raw, heavy, but not just for brute force—there’s nuance.
Spooky Action
Title track from the Spooky Action album (2013). Also representative of the album’s style.
Spooky Action (the album) is often cited as a turning point: more ambitious in layering, more adventurous in shifting between moods—from almost ambient or psychedelia to heavier, more aggressive rock textures. The title track (and others) showcase clever interplay between guitars, effects, rhythmic experimentation, and dynamic shifts. The technical proficiency is evident, but not at the cost of emotional punch. Rock-A-Rolla, among others, praised its “pulsing motorik drums; chiming, interlocking guitars … shockingly brutal bursts of math-metal.”
Magnet
From the Magnet EP (2015), which includes new material + a re-recorded Flint, and rehearsal/live takes.
The Magnet EP shows the band pulling together their earlier experiments but tightening them: Magnet In Your Face is short but effective, a raw burst. Palm Trees adds weight with groove and heavier riffing, while still giving space for atmosphere. The inclusion of the re-recorded Flint shows the band reflecting on their past but reinterpreting, not merely replaying. Part 6 (The Eighth Circuit) reveals some of their more ambient/electronic leanings. Reviewers have noted “Magnet is darker and denser, with more of a focus on the post-rock and electronica side of their music.” Trebuchet Magazine
From these tracks, several through lines emerge:
- Dynamic Contrast: Switching between loud / quiet, dense / sparse, aggressive riffing / ambient or looped parts. This contrast is central—not just for effect, but so that the heavier moments land more precisely.
- Texture & Effects: Loops, FX, delay, sometimes electronics or synth-like ambient washes. The guitars are not always “just guitars” — there’s layering, sometimes interwoven with noise, feedback, or washes of ambience.
- Energy vs Space: They know when to unleash full power, and when to pull back and let space do the work. Even in more riff-driven pieces like Flint or Magnet In Your Face, there are elements that breathe.
- Live Performance as a Lens: The live versions (e.g. 666…6 (live)) show that the band gets a lot of its identity from performing—it’s not just about studio precision but about energy, audience interaction, raw edges. Some tracks seem almost built for a live blow-out.
- Gradual Expansion: Over these early / middle works, you can hear them pushing beyond just instrumental math / postrock into more varied territory: longer ambient spans, more texture, more nuanced interludes, suggesting that they wouldn’t stay “just instrumental rock” forever (which we know they didn’t).
Flint remaster is a good gateway into their back-catalogue; it’s raw but listenable, and the remaster helps clarify some earlier murk.
For fans of instrumental rock / post-rock with bite, Magnet EP is compelling: short bursts, big riffs, moments of beauty. Spooky Action holds up as perhaps their most mature early album work in terms of writing and production. The live version of 666…6 gives a visceral understanding of what TFATD can deliver on stage.
The tracks featured are a mere snapshot of the earlier works from TFATD. They have certainly produced more commercial works latterly and we’ll dive into those in part two. These early / middle tracks show the building blocks: atmosphere + heaviness + texture + live show energy. Magnet in particular suggests a band that’s not afraid of experimenting with sound and production (electronics, loops, space) without giving up their roots in riffs and dynamic contrast.
Indeed, when later albums (such as The Euphoric) came along, critics noted that the band became “master[s] at head-locking this hipper, artsier end of heaviness” and that they stretched out with more synths, more downtuned guitars, more ambient passages. Louder
So, these tracks aren’t just artifacts—they map out the trajectory: from raw instrumental foundations to more layered, ambitious works juxtaposed with a hint of commercialism (News From The Invisible World). For fans of the heavier side, there’s a promise of crunch; for those leaning to post-rock, there’s melody and space; for those who want both, there’s TFATD.
From Power of Metal on Spooky Action:
“Stuart Marshall adds oomph … ‘Spooky Action’ … is technically proficient, but the personality is what really sets this album apart … They can switch from folksy to metallic to rockin’ all in the blink of an eye.” Power of Metal
From Trebuchet Magazine on Magnet EP:
“The big dirty riff of ‘Magnet In Your Face’ … Spooky Action on steroids. But from then on it chances tack … ‘Flint’ marries electronic effects and a dub-like bass riff with delicate chiming guitar … Part 6 (The Eight Circuit) begins with bass drones and effects-laden guitar …” Trebuchet Magazine
Metal Bandcamp On Field Recordings (live) and 666…6:
“While taking obvious cues from later era King Crimson, the band’s improvisational, often jammy sound also recalls Television, Kyuss … Each song is a multi-part journey that takes the listener from swirly looped melodies to insistent, skronky noise … all wrapped around a driving rhythm section that remains consistent in the midst of the controlled chaos of the guitars.” Metal Bandcamp
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