“What will they say in the face of Armageddon?”
Recent years have seen metalcore unit Fit For A King undergo quite a number of changes, as well as rising to become a forerunner in today’s scene. Headlining vast number of tours in the past few years and settling in with a new line-up, the band has undoubtedly reached new heights.
With all this has come many sonic shifts. From their classic, almost deathcore-adjacent metalcore style, Fit For A King have shifted towards a more accessible sound that’s very suited for the large venues they play. Previous albums The Path and The Hell We Create have seen the band’s efforts to find their place in this new style to mixed results. With their latest effort, Lonely God, the band teams up with Dan Braunstein to hopefully shift the trajectory of their sound in a different direction.
The band’s collaboration with Braunstein saw yet another shift sonically; the djentrification of Fit For A King, if you will. Braunstein’s signature style definitely has a hand in the sound of Lonely God, leaving behind the band’s melodic metalcore-influenced style for something more modern. Opener “Begin the Sacrifice” carries a weighty and cinematic ambience that complements its low-tuned, djenty guitars. The standout feature of the track, and most of the album by extension, is frontman Ryan Kirby’s vocal performance. While he’s always been known for the brutality of his harsh vocals (and they are ever consistent here), it’s his improvement in clean vocals that deserves a proper shoutout. The chorus of “Begin The Sacrifice” is one of the band’s best in a while. Kirby displays a scream-sung chorus that’s truly not easy to pull off in addition to his signature screamed vocals, showing a clear advancement in skill. The track’s destructive breakdown sees drummer Trey Celaya lay down a filthy flurry of kicks, and his influence is definitely written all over it. “Begin The Sacrifice” in some ways feels like a callback the band’s roots while also introducing new elements for the band.
This also extends into second “The Temple”, which takes a synth-layered approach to build on its desperate atmosphere. Celaya lays down yet another impressive set of double kicks on the chorus as Kirby delivers yet another effective chorus. Celaya’s drumming really is the star of the show on the track, with his precision and nuance fully present. This and “Begin The Sacrifice” definitely hits classic Fit For A King strides; the most I’ve heard from them in a while. The track ends on a properly crushing breakdown, layered with backing choir vocals and synths as it slows into an epic, cathartic release.
Since The Hell We Create, Fit For A King’s music has taken on an apocalyptic identity thematically, and Lonely God doubles down on this. From its brooding ambience to its use of synths and electronics, the album builds emotion in a way that’s both familiar, yet different for the band. “No Tomorrow” takes a melancholic approach to this theme with its wistful nature. Kirby yet again surprises us with an ethereal, airy performance on the chorus unlike anything he’s ever showcased. The track features a lot of the band’s signature heaviness, fitting well into the album’s themes.
With the new strengths Lonely God displays come a rather confusing set of inconsistencies for the band, however. In particular, it seems the heavier tracks on the album lack the same substance as the rest of the album. While tonally consistent and sonically cohesive by way of Braunstein’s production style, they lack the sort of flair that Fit For A King once possessed with their heavier tracks. The album’s title track presents a rather ferocious start, with Celaya yet again bringing the impact with his drumming. The track unfortunately starts to get rather repetitive with its over-reliance on its hook and an overall lack of variety with the guitar work; and issue that has plague a lot of the band’s recent heavy tracks. While the band doesn’t play an overly technical style, the more nuanced guitar work they display on the rest of the album feels strangely missing. The track ends rather anticlimactically with a fade out and despite Kirby’s genuinely impressive performance, the track feels rather bland overall. Similar criticisms apply to “Monolith”, where the song’s guitar work consists of the same repeated patterns without much variance. Lochie Keogh of Alpha Wolf makes an appearance on the track, and while that provides some interesting vocal contrast, the track again feels rather flat. “Blue Venom” is the shortest track on the album, yet it suffers from the same issues, causing it to feel rather redundant. While the tracks mentioned are undoubtedly heavy, they lack the impact they promise, especially against what the rest of the album offers in terms of new directions.
For what it’s worth, “Extinction” and “TECHNIUM” fare much better. The former features a disgustingly low guitar tone that make its chugs feel much more impactful, especially layered with the ominous sounds of sirens and dissonance in the background. Kirby puts forth a truly menacing performance with a much more feral, enunciated quality to his usual guttural screams. TECHNIUM” contains the variation in guitar work I was hoping for from the other heavy tracks, with guitarists Dan Gailey and Bobby Lynge crafting a set of riffs that complement the sound better. Landon Tewers of The Plot In You had a hand in the production of the song, as well as making a vocal appearance, and his unhinged approach to heavy music is apparent in both these aspects. He simultaneously adds a layer of chaos to the track’s composition while laying down the truly untamed vocals that we know and love from him.
While it’s clear that the album’s strengths lay mainly in its melodic elements, there are points where it plays them a bit too safe “Shelter” and “Between Us” are by no means bad, they do feel safe in a way that sticks out in contrast to the rest of the album. Where tracks like “Begin The Sacrifice” or “No Tomorrow” do also lean heavily into their hooks, they offer a lot more than their choruses, be it new elements to their sound or just a nice contrasting heaviness. “Shelter” for example has well-crafted vocal and lead melodies and “Between Us” has bassist-vocalist Ryan ”Tuck” O’Leary take the stage with his iconic cleans, and it’s clear that’s their intention. This isn’t to say that melodic, cleans focused tracks have no place on the album; I just would have hoped for more of a punch.
The true standout moment of the album is its grand, cinematic closer, “Witness The End”. A true return to form for Fit For A King, it takes the album for a symphonic, deathcore-leaning ride as blast beats and weighty chugs lay the backdrop for Kirby’s high screams. Melodic leans throughout the track are utilised in a way that feel purposeful and add to the symphonic impact of the song. Chris Motionless of modern metal giants Motionless In White makes an appearance, lending his intimidating shriek signature clean vocals to the apocalyptic theme of the song. Gailey, who is also from Phinehas, finally gets a chance unleash his full prowess with a delectable solo on the track’s bridge. Amidst the numerous failed attempts at a melodic metalcore sound, “Witness The End” stands as one of the band’s most successful executions of the style by bringing back the brooding heaviness of their previous work in extravagant fashion. This is potentially one of the best closing tracks the band has ever written. That being said, I do wish that the deathcore influences, especially the symphonic portions, had been present much more throughout the album. I also do wish that this wasn’t released as a single as its impact would have been much greater as a surprise.
Even with its inconsistencies, Lonely God stands as a marked improvement from the last album. Fit For A King have settled into a sound that is a much-needed mould breaker for them, and even though some of it still leans too heavily on convention, the album nonetheless displays new strengths for the band. While themes of Armageddon and the heavily stylised production style give the album a sense of cohesion, there is definitely room for improvement in terms experimentation of structure and instrumentation. As it is, Lonely God is a glimpse into a new Fit For A King; one that could turn out to be sharper than before with subsequent releases.
7.5/10
Lonely God releases on the 1st of August via Solid State Records. Pre-order and merch links for the album can be found here.