The RMR crew received a message from a guy in Romania. Erwin Weber wrote about his project Pâenil Era. At first, confusion reigned. Romania, the band’s funky moniker, and the artist’s name just didn’t sync. Half of the crew here speak German. So, judging by the sound of the artist’s name, this should have been a Teutonic act, in our minds at least. Well, no, of course not. Pâenil Era are hailing from the vast Romanian lands alright, and reached us through Weber‘s very own vanity label Neuronoir.
And now that this crew’s neuronal missteps have been cleared up, let’s get to A Wilting Fountain at last. More Transylvanian musings straight ahead? Not quite. Welcome to the broken filter.
The RMR crew expected some harsh, down-in-the-pit Black Metal of the harshest kind. Something akin to the dark forests and saga-ridden lands this country is famous for. But we didn’t really count on yet another one-man show featuring live musicians to appear on our roster. But we stand corrected. A Wilting Fountain pretty heavily leans into the Forest Metal gang and most notably navigates the backwaters left by earlier concoctions of Ellende brought to our turntables. And that is a compliment, by the way. More often than not, the most pig-headed jack-of-all-trades in music-making won’t master all of those pesky details that make up a good record. In contrast, the more savvy ones will seek assistance whenever needed. And this with often astonishing results. Pâenil Era’s latest record is living proof of that.
Once past the ubiquitous opener, The Scene greets you with some dyed-in-the-wool Black Metal. For exactly 36 seconds, after which the first prog-esque breakdown happens. Weber‘s snarls do fit the scene to a point, though. In other words, once, for 30 seconds or so, you feel safe in the dark, steamy womb of the beast’s realm. Until A Wilting Fountain throws you a few curveballs, that is. And similar to the aforementioned Forest Metal gang, Pâenil Era slickly slips from trve metal brutalization into Post Black Metal mood and garnishes its soundscapes with an abundance of ambient elements and acoustic interludes. Almost gothic melancholy is neatly woven into the fabric of the record as well. And that lands you with an ever-changing, moody soundscape that includes frequent clear-voice interludes in between bouts of harsh metal.
In the end, instead of a barrage of harsh metal extremes, A Wilting Fountain delivered slightly different wares. Meaning, the grapevine had it all wrong. The RMR crew found nuance, a crafty way to express a storyline. Effortless switches from pitch-black and often atmospheric harshness, moving seamlessly into prog-laden interludes filled with dreamy ambient parts and acoustic sections. Or, as the band so aptly stated, the record – and I quote – “…shines a light on the earthly, the liminal and the spiritual.” And it is the liminal part that spoke to us the most. A theme that seems to permeate this strange year of 2026. Funny how the promo text sometimes works perfectly with what we actually hear.
In short, the record’s very crisp 32-minute airtime turned into something of a surprise of the year. A Wilting Fountain delivered a richly embroidered and quirky assemblage of ideas, expressed through an equally rich smorgasbord of style directions. None of which collided with each other, which speaks to the actual quality of the record. And as I said before, Pâenil Era leans a lot into the fare the aforementioned Ellende or – to a lesser extent – Waldgeflüster usually deliver. Not the same, but similar enough to be noticed. Meaning, the lands surrounding the artist’s abode finally took their toll on the metal on offer. There, the filter’s finally unclogged. At least for this crew.
Great record.
Record Rating: 8/10 | Label: Neuronoir | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 9 September 2026