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It's hard for me to come across bands that play metal like this. Atlas Pain have all against them to sound (and look) ridiculous, as they play a brand of Folk Metal that, while it can easily be traced to cool and serious acts like Wintersun, Ensiferum and Equilibrium, it also has similarities to less respected bands like Turisas or Korpiklaani. Thankfully, the similarities to the latter bands' elements—often obnoxious—stop in the ludicrous aesthetic and don't infect the sound or the songwriting.

These dudes are Italian, though, so I would be lying if I said they aren't cheesy and pompous. Theatrical, larger-than-life moments are plenty here—especially in songs like "Hagakure's Way" and the opus "Homeland"—but these are done organically and with passion, not sounding forced or mechanical in any way. Tales of a Pathfinder, at the end, is an extremely fun album with an actual sense of sincerity and somberness, a rare feat when dealing with these new "epic as hell folk, nature-loving, medieval-nostalgic" bands travestied as real folk metal. Recommended.