REVIEW: The Wise Man's Fear - Valley of Kings [2020]

Artist: The Wise Man’s Fear

Album: Valley of Kings

            When PatrickRothfuss began writing his series of novels known as the Kingkiller Chronicles,he probably didn’t expect the cult hit he would soon have on his hands. Withthe (heavily) rumored third installment, Doors of Stone coming inAugust, its only fair that the band titled after the series’ second book, TheWise Man’s Fear, break their silence with Valleyof Kings, a whimsical, fantasy-tinted metalcore record that runs the gamutbetween earth-splittingly heavy and ethereal and atmospheric. Valley of Kings sees the bandincorporating more of the aggressive elements that made their debut release hitso hard, all while still having a heavy hand with the more melodic and “fantastic”elements that give the band their “fantasy-core” moniker. With Valley of Kings hitting on most of thethings a solid metalcore record shouldhit on, the question is truly this: does the record truly feel kingly?

            Valley of Kings has songs that feel asthough they could be B-sides to a contemporary deathcore record, songs thatfeel almost post-hardcore or alternative in nature and songs that run right inthe middle of that somewhat striking divide. Sounds good, right? It is—with percussionthat sounds like booming cannons, especially on record heavy-hitters “Firefall”and “Tree of Life.” Meanwhile, “The River and the Rock” and “Breath of the Wild”see the monstrous percussion serving as an anchor for the otherwise etherealnature of the high-flying guitars and symphonic elements that transport thelistener into a faraway paradise. The middle is found in songs like the leadsingle, “The Relics of Nihlux,” where catchy choruses trade off with crunchybreakdowns. Here, thick, rumbling bass keeps the elements tight, allowing forsmooth transitions in and out of bone-snapping bouts of heaviness. With allthis said, the stand-out segments are often found in the record’s heavier cuts.Take “Tree of Life” for example—perhaps the only song I can off-the-cuff recallthat contains a breakdown led by a woodwind instrument. Meanwhile, “Firefall”is simply vicious, stopping at nothing to end the record on a ruthless note.Here, the leads sound like something double-dropped out of an Oceano record,with vocals to match. These are in stark contrast to much of the record—even well-balancedcloser, “Valley of Kings,” which, despite confidently striding the metalcoremiddle-ground, feels choppy and somewhat disjointed, lacking many of thetransitions that makes the rest of Valleyof Kings flow so well.

            Vocally,The Wise Man’s Fear are archetypal for their genre—with harsh, grating screamsthat segue smoothly into soaring cleanly-sung segments. Songs like “Breath ofthe Wild” lean more heavily towards singing—featuring them in near-entirety,while “Firefall” is as grisly as the instrumentation would have one expect.Those songs, along with “Tree of Life” and “What Went Wrong” are excellentexamples of vocal dynamism and range, but as a whole, much of the vocal elementis simply nondescript. The Wise Man’s Fear’s vocal component neither hindersthe band, nor does it massively help the band, other than some moments ofexception. One of these is the patterning and candor towards the end of “Treeof Life,” or the sheer power within “Firefall.” Another element worth notingthat truly makes The Wise Man’s Fearwork as well as they do conceptually would be the lyrical component. Withoutsounding or feeling like you’re reading a book on tape, The Wise Man’s Fearexpertly provide a loosely literary, immensely fantastical atmosphere and conceptto their music, setting them apart from the droves of modern metalcore actsabusing the heavy-soft dynamic.

            Valley of Kings is a solid record. Withsome truly exceptional bits adding replay value, a strong concept andexcellently crafted lyrics that convey a sense of powerful storytelling, TheWise Man’s Fear do a lot right. However, much of the record is somewhat bland,leaving little to separate many of the songs that crowd the record’s middlestretch. It might be prudent to assert that cutting several of the middle songsand leaving the first and last three might have made a stronger EP than theexisting full length—however, none ofthe record is truly bad, and much of it sees The Wise Man’s Fear really gettingincreasingly comfortable in their “fantasy-core” role.

8/10

For Fans Of: Like Moths to Flames, From Atlantis, Confide

By: Connor Welsh