The Wise Man's Fear - Atlas Ruinica

The Wise Man’s Fear are what is dubbed as a Fantasycore band, back in 2023 with their 4th full length album. The only other band that comes to mind when I see that sort of genre is The Gloom In The Corner, but it’s proof that it can be pretty tasty stuff. “Tailspin” starts us off well with a little bit of this and that, but at its heart is a heavy beast with crushing drums and twangy bass.

“Where The Sky Is Empty” has such a familiar sound, like a metalcore base with heavy verses and gentle choruses laced with thick riffs. They have indie group Whale Bones help them out on “Sun Chaser” which retains a bit of angst but the primary focus is on the soothing and gentle vocals which is d certainly the tracks distinctive edge. “The Strength to Bury a Friend” as you can imagine is a very sorrowful piano based ballad, very effective with the powerful lyrical themes they’re trying to convey. “The Absence of Light” is one for those with heavier taste, there a sense of tenseness and unease, I like how they utilise an almost tribal sounding style at times. The true neck snapper though is “Sea of Fire” when it drops its got such a thick sounding riff it’s a delight alongside those crushing screams and towards the end there’s this deep gutteral demonic almost squeal and it twists your face up all kinds of strange ways.

[6/10]