Band:	Fit For An Autopsy
Album:	The Nothing That Is
Style:	Deathcore
Release date:	October 25, 2024
A review by:	omne metallum

01. Hostage
02. Spoils Of The Horde
03. Savior Of None / Ashes Of All
04. Weaker Wolves
05. Red Horizon
06. The Nothing That Is
07. Lurch
08. Lower Purpose
09. Lust For The Severed Head
10. The Silver Sun

What the future held was... good.

Having reaped the rewards for their risk-taking on their last release Oh What The Future Holds, it is unsurprising that Fit For An Autopsy continue to experiment on their latest album The Nothing That Is. While not as adventurous as their last outing, Fit For An Autopsy still push the boundaries on this new release. The Nothing That Is may not be the immediately rewarding dopamine hit that Oh What The Future Holds was, but it rewards those who give it repeated listens and a chance to grow, with songs that hit harder as you process the intricacies that go into making them.

Despite being one of the most consistent bands in the genre, Fit For An Autopsy have yet to break into the upper tier of deathcore acts, banging loudly on the glass ceiling that seems to separate them from the Thy Art Is Murders of the genre. The Nothing That Is may hit less hard on the glass, but it certainly presses against it, demanding your attention. With lead single and opening track "Hostage" kicking off proceedings with a slow dirge that will get the pit moving, the band unleash another strong batch of songs.

While The Nothing That Is lacks songs that immediately sear themselves into your mind, it does have "Weaker Wolves", whose Pantera-inspired groove will hardwire itself into your brain after only one or two listens. It's not that the rest of the album is bad, but no other tracks will grab your attention immediately, instead requiring multiple listens to really evaluate and enjoy the qualities of a track like "Lower Purpose".

Badolato makes a strong case for being one of the more overlooked vocalists in the genre, with his performance across the album, such as on "Red Horizon", highlighting his set of pipes. Balancing guitar and production duties, the MVP award once again goes to Will Putney, with guitarwork on tracks like the djent-influenced "Lust For The Severed Head" being a consistent highlight. As a producer? Well, The Nothing That Is is a good showcase of why so many bands see him as their go-to producer, thanks to his ability to balance an organic sound with industrious precision and sonic perfection.

While the album is certainly a grower, its ceiling is lower than that of Oh What The Future Holds: a solid addition to their discography, but one that seems destined to be the forgotten middle child should the band find their groove again on a prospective follow-up album. While tracks like the title track and "The Silver Sun" don't lack in execution, they seem thinner on ideas compared to some of the other songs on the album; while not bad, they just lack much in the way of anything of note.

The Nothing That Is never quite steps out of the shadow of the success of its preceding album, with the occasional ray of light soon flickering in and out of existence as the band continue to wage an aural assault on your hearing capacity. Enjoyable, but not their best work.