“To fight against the shadow you sacrifice the light from your heart.“
With What Slept Beneath Tarvos, The Wise Man’s Fear pivot from their autogenic Fantasycore to a sci-fi cosmic horror tale, and from their typical full-length structure to EP. The record is the sextet at their most confident and heavy, wrought with pure brutality in “Obsidian Blade” and the titular single. The storytelling format, too, is the most explicit to date, interspersed with narrative interludes in the form of recorded expedition logs. While Paul Lierman’s historic lyrical prowess has always sufficiently conveyed their tales, the diegetic exposition really drills the story into the listener, which is useful for the sci-fi horror affectation — I also appreciate that the interludes are divided into their own tracks, unlike STARSET.
After the rather auspiciously titled “The Black Glass Incident” sets the scene, the EP dives in headfirst with the shortest track, “Obsidian Blade”. Rife with evocative imagery, it is a relentless offering, with an ominous orchestral motif overtop crushing guitars and some pure filth laid down by Joe Dennis and guest vocalist David Simonich (Signs of the Swarm); while I did not initially fully jive with the CORPSE-esque bridge, mirroring the opening of the title track, it slots extremely well into the piece, offering a new texture which would have been entirely out of place on any of their prior material.
“Carry On” returns to the more melodic approach the group are known for, allowing for Tyler Eads to show off his soaring and ever-improving cleans without abandoning the atmosphere and frenzied energy which permeates the record. Featuring Cody Jamison, the track captures the theatricality, purposeful compression, and moody, albeit toned-down, electronic accents of Until I Wake and early The Fallout-era Crown The Empire to great effect.
Oh, a birthright of fire
Wrung from the land that time had forgot
Oh, a deep-seated terror
The road to oblivion is paved with those lost
Named by the fans, “Emberwrought” kicks the aggression back up a notch. Blending melody and heaviness is something The Wise Man’s Fear have always excelled at, but this track is one of their most artistic showcases yet: Eads’ cleans are layered overtop a menacing electronic hum, punishing percussion from Lierman, and disgusting bass drops; they trade places in the mix with the uncleans throughout, until the last section when Dennis and Jake Wolf (Reflections) are uncaged, producing what can only be described as vicious, inhuman, and perhaps Geneva-convention transgressing noises.
Each song enlists the talent of vocalists from across the -core spectrum – perfect selections for their respective tracks – but the haunting singing contribution from Tyler Tate (Hollow Front) in the title track, which for the most part can otherwise be summarised as ‘disgusting,’ is downright entrancing; the almost ethereal delivery makes the surrounding brutality hit all the more.
So pull me into a death that we deserve
The dying leaves falling to earth
I lift my eyes up to a mourning sky
That’s not good enough
That’s just not good enough
A million angels weep blood for my crimes
That’s not good enough
It’s just not good enough
Informal closer and lead single All I’ve Known, featuring Tyler Ennis (Of Virtue), is a little more standard fare for the band, just with a fresh cosmic sheen, but that still leaves it firmly in the ‘very good’ category, and the small late-track measure of acoustic guitar proves one of my favourite sections. As a classical instrumental offering, “Calm and Disquiet” is perhaps going to be an appreciate-once-and-forget track for many, but I found it the perfect epilogue, capturing (in a single take) the lonely, onerous atmosphere of the EP whilst remaining an interesting and captivating piece in its own right.
Tight and polished and released only a little over a year on from their previous album, Atlas Ruinica, What Slept Beneath Tarvos is an uncompromising and innovative addition to the group’s superb discography. All-around impressive performances – I maintain Dennis and Eads are among the genre’s greatest, and Lierman’s lyricism is top-tier – and Lee Albrecht’s and Nathan Kane’s expertly tailored production (from the orchestral to the electronic) brings the group’s latest vision to life.
8.5/10
What Slept Below Tarvos is set for independent release this Friday, February 16th, and you can pre-order it here. Check out our interview with the band here.