Welcome back, Vanguard.
It has been a long march since our last dispatch. No excuses. Only results. And there are many.
The mists have not been idle. Neither have we.
🜁 Victory Brew: Unleashed
On 8 May 2026, the second signal from the Fen broke through.
Victory Brew is out now on all major platforms: Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp, and beyond. If you haven’t heard it yet, correct that immediately.
Where Vanguard announced our arrival, Victory Brew plants the banner. It is heavier, tighter, and forged from the momentum of everything this band has become over the past year. The response has been everything we could have asked for.
🎧 Stream it now. Share it. Let the Fen be heard.
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube | Amazon Music | Bandcamp
🜃 The Campaign: A Report from the Field
Since January, Shadow Fen has refused to stand still.
We opened the year at The Six Six Bar in Cambridge, a fierce night alongside FireFall, Last Bastion, and Of Concrete Gods. Then in March, we took to the airwaves for a live session on PCRFM 103.2, reaching ears across Peterborough.
April was relentless. We entered the Cambridge Band Competition and won Heat 5 at The Portland Arms. We then fought through to the Final at The Junction, one of the finest rooms in the city. We did not take the crown that night. But we left our mark on it.
The very next day, we crossed to Lincolnshire for the Boston Original Bands Initiative at The Black Sluice Lock. Three nights. Three stages. One weekend.
Then came Strawberry Fair on the 6th of June. An open air stand in front of a crowd that had no reason to know our name, and yet they roared back. That moment, more than almost any other, confirmed what this is becoming.
Full history of shows lives at the website.
🜄 Metal 2 the Masses: The Road to Bloodstock
This needs its own section. Because this is the one that matters most right now.
Shadow Fen entered Metal 2 the Masses, the proving ground that separates those who talk from those who fight. We fought through Heat 2 at Club 85, Hitchin in April. We came back and fought through the Semi Final at the end of May.
We are in the final.
📍 Club 85, Hitchin
📅 20 June 2026
🏆 Winner earns a slot at Bloodstock Open Air
This is the door. The stage beyond it is one of the most important in British metal. We have earned our place at the threshold.
We do not intend to stop there.
If you can be in Hitchin on the 20th, be there. This is not a request. The Vanguard fights louder with its people at the front.
🜁 What Comes Next: Battle of Shadow Fen
The track forged from the fires of our Battle of the Bands victory is coming.
Battle of Shadow Fen will be released in July 2026, professionally recorded and accompanied by a full music video, built in part from the prize we earned that December night.
This is the most ambitious thing we have put our name to. The video is in production. The track is devastating. You will not be ready, and we are fine with that.
More details to follow. Watch the channels.
🜃 The March Continues: Upcoming Shows
Beyond June, Shadow Fen has already begun plotting the next assault on the mortal realm.
Confirmed so far:
July 24th Get Twisted with Fyzz Wallis Band at The Osterich Inn, Peterborough
October 18th Billy Bootleggers, Nottingham (Free Entry)
December 18th with Thaumblast and Pagan Sword at The Metal Monocle, Leicester
Dates and details are being updated as things develop. For the latest, always check shadowfen.co.uk.
🜄 Stand With Us
The Vanguard grows because of you: the ones who share the posts, show up to the gigs, and wear the sigil.
The most direct ways to support what we are building:
- Come to the M2TM Final on 20 June and make some noise: tickets here
- Stream and share Victory Brew and Vanguard on every platform you use
- Grab merch from the shop, one of the only ways to put resources directly back into the Fen: shadowfen.co.uk/shop
📡 Signals from the Fen
The Fen does not rest. Neither should you.
June 20th. Hitchin. Be there.
The Vanguard rises.
– Shadow Fen
