‘…one of those rare listening experiences that can truly illicit a physical reaction. It’s unsettling, but it’s also exhilarating.’ Metal Rules
‘Perfect blend of majesty and misery.’ Teeth of the Divine
‘A fine, poignant start to the year indeed. 8.2/10.’ Ave Noctem.
‘….simultaneously devastatingly brutal and preciously delicate.’ The Razor’s Edge
‘…Dirges captures something of the cold wet misery and understated beauty of the British isles.’ Invicta Magazine
Atmospheric/Depressive Black Metal from The Fenlands (UK)
Hailing from the scenic, expansive and open landscapes of rural North Norfolk (UK), And Now The Owls Are Smiling is an atmospheric/depressive black metal project from the fascinating mind of Nre. Using nature, grief, solitude and desolation as his inspiration, he fills his sounds with such tangible darkness that the listener is inevitably wrapped up within them. Where bands such as Winterfylleth and Fen have established themselves amongst the most well-known UK atmospheric black metal artists, it is And Now The Owls Are Smiling that brings further intrigue and a deeply honest, raw approach to the genre.
The bard known as Nre emerged from his solitude back in 2018 with ‘Desolation’ which was the debut full length from And Now The Owls Are smiling. The follow-up ‘The Comforting Grip of Misery’ was released through Clobber in 2019 and brought a brand of black metal at its most emotionally charged and magically bewitching, steeped in an atmosphere of solitude and sombre reflection.
In 2021, Clobber once again released the third full-length entitled ‘Dirges’, a new collection of songs for the heavy-hearted who shield their sorrows from the world like a flickering flame in a storm, to whom the sadness is a treasure, a pathway of memory, a gift never to be relinquished. Dirges is the distilled essence of that deep melancholy, a bleakly beautiful landscape of tears painted in shades of grey.
As time gently draws a pall of velvet darkness across the closing eyes of this broken year, Nre, the bard of And Now The Owls Are Smiling, emerges from his solitude once more. He brings with him Dirges (2021), a new collection of songs for the heavy-hearted who shield their sorrows from the world like a flickering flame in a storm, to whom the sadness is a treasure, a pathway of memory, a gift never to be relinquished. Dirges is the distilled essence of that deep melancholy, a bleakly beautiful landscape of tears painted in shades of grey.
Dirges is a landmark release for And Now The Owls Are Smiling, an album that will touch the fractured hearts of the lost and alone. Both ‘Dirges’ and ‘The Comforting Grip of Misery’ are available on CD digipak and a number of cassette colours.
In 2022, Nre decided that he wanted to draw some closure to the pain and the hope of And Now The Owls Are Smiling. This saw him craft the exquisite beauty of ‘Epitaph’ – and within it lies both a tearful farewell and an unbridled release and liberation. And Now The Owls Are Smiling will take it’s final walk into a moonlit landscape on September 2nd 2022.
