Ten years ago, Fit For A King was started in Dallas and Tyler, Texas and now they are a well-known name in the Christian metalcore scene. In 2008 they released their first self-titled EP and the EP Awaken The Vesper came out in 2008. They released their first full-length album called Descendants in 2011. At that point, they began to rise in popularity. In 2012 they signed to Solid State Records. This label is known for their preference of metalcore. A few well-known bands that signed to this label are Demon Hunter, Norma Jean and Becoming The Archetype. Their first release at this label was a great success. The studio album Creation/Destruction sold more than 3,100 copies in its first weeks of sales.
While the band was playing in Germany, terrorists gunned down a music venue. 128 people died, which left the members of Fit For A King angry, but also scared. Bobby Lynge, the guitarist, said that there was “a big chunk of time” after the attack he was still looking over his shoulder. He said that “Nobody should have to contemplate going to concert because they’re going to get mowed down by a guy with a machine gun. It’s infuriating that that’s a thing.” Four days before the attacks they played in Paris and at that point they realized the reality of death. Ryan Kirby, lead vocalist, couldn’t stop thinking about “Fragile life is, and how deeply death affects you.” The remainder of the tour, he, Ryan O’Leary and Jared Easterling started writing what would become Deathgrip. This record represents not only the inescapable nature of death, but also it’s grip on how we live our lives. This becomes clear if you read all the titles of the songs on this album. Titles like Pissed Off, Stacking Bodies and We Are All Lost sound very dark , but these are most of the time very hopeful if you listen to the lyrics.
The album begins with The End’s Beginning; a little intro. It starts off soft, but the deep tuned guitars fall in quick. It really sets the mood for the rest of the album and flows over in the second song called Pissed Off. It immediately starts of strong. The deep sound of the guitars and bass guitar, grunting and the build up to everything coming together really makes me happy. Even though the lyrics sound a bit hopeless, there is a positive message. They are so sick of all the terrorist attacks. The lyrics of it are so good. Every day is another war/ We live and die in an hopeless world/ Laying waste to the innocent/ With no regret I’m sick of it. It sounds a bit depressing, but takes a positive turn. This is my favorite song on the album. The third song of the album is called Dead Memory. It sometimes sounds a bit more melodic than the previous song, but keeps the whole feeling of their music. The difference between verses and chorus is amazing and reminds me a lot of the band For Today. The whole album sounds fast and this type of music makes me very happy.
I really like this new album of this band. I’m a big fan of metalcore and this is a band that really embraced this genre. The lyrics and the music go really well together. The whole theme of this album is a bit different of what I expected, but it is good to have some music about this topic. I always like it when bands make music with a deeper meaning. It shows me again and again that metal music is a music style with a lot of emotions and isn’t always about violence. If you listen to bands like For Today, Demon Hunter, The Devil Wears Prada and Oh, Sleeper and haven’t heard of this band, you should really try it out.
Rating: 9/10
Written by Joshua
Track Listing:
01. The End’s Beginning
02. Pissed Off
03. Dead Memory (Feat. August Burns Red’s Jake Luhrs)
04. Cold Room
05. Disease
06. Shadows & Echoes
07. More Than Nameless
08. We Are All Lost
09. Unclaimed, Unloved
10. Stack Bodies (Feat. Miss May I’s Levi Benton)
11. Deathgrip
Discography:
“Fit For A King” EP (2008)
“Awaken the Vesper” EP (2009)
“Descendants” (2011)
“Creation/Destruction” (2013) [Review]
“Descendants (Reissue)” (2013)
“Slave To Nothing” (2014) [review]
|Record Label: Solid State Records, Oct. 2016
Band members:
Ryan Kirby: vocals, clean vocals
Bobby Lynge: Guitar, co-producer
Ryan “Tuck” O’Leary: bass, clean vocals
Jared Easterling: drums
Weblinks: Facebook / Twitter / Itunes
Buy the album here:
Holland: First Paradox
Norway: Nordic Mission
Video for ‘Dead Memory’ (feat. Jake Luhrs)
Video for ‘Deathgrip’