American metalcore heavy hitters Fit For A King are set to drop their newest record The Path on Friday. The band premiered the first taste of the record on March 12, with their first single Breaking The Mirror and from there would set off to release three more singles in preparation for the release of the album on September 18. As time went on and the band released the singles showcasing the sounds of The Path, fans started to become distrustful of the band and if they were starting to go down a road to being softer in their music. But the unheard tracks of The Path show a different story and put those worries to rest.
Fit For A King are:
Jared Easterling
Ryan Kirby
Ryan “Tuck” O’Leary
Daniel Gailey
The Path is a powerhouse through and through, from the vocalist duo of Ryan Kirby and bassist Ryan “Tuck” O’Leary showing off range, force and beauty in each and every track to gut punch guitar riffs/breakdowns with crisp and clean drumming.
I was beyond excited to jump into The Path as I always am when it comes to new music from Fit For A King. The track that really got me excited was their second single God of Fire feat. Ryo Kinoshita of Crystal Lake. I remember giving it a listen when it officially released and my jaw dropped while listening to it. Starting with some glitchy effects and the teasing of guitars in the left ear and then into the right, once Ryan Kirby jumps into the track we are piledrived into the ground with instrumentals that just grab your attention instantly. The duo of Kirby and Kinoshita in this track is a force to be reckoned with, both vocalists get their own verse and a breakdown to share. Each verse, while short, brings a lot of energy into the track and allows each vocalist to get their moment in the spotlight leading to one massive breakdown they share. God of Fire is a song that just brings the punches quick and with ease.
Breaking The Mirror, which was the first single to be released and the second featured on the album feels like the Fit For A King we’ve grown so accustomed to over the years. It follows a pretty similar pattern of modern metalcore songs, which isn’t to say it’s a bad thing in any way. In fact, I think this is an amazing example of the modern metalcore formula done right. The chorus is always fun to hear and easy to catch on to with those wonderful cleans from Tuck, the verses are filled with uplifting and passionate screams. This is a track where the instruments really showcase one another, each listen of this song I really couldn’t help but listen for something new to love. The drumming is fast but still bouncy adding onto the bouncy guitar riffs that just make you want to bang your head. And the guitar solo in the song is a nice surprise as well, Breaking The Mirror keeps you guessing the entire time.
But I feel the non single tracks of this album deserve to be talked about, it is those that really bring the feeling of older sounding metalcore to light. The album starts off with The Face of Hate, which begins the album with a smash. Opening with some eerie sounds and a nice bit of drums and bass, we are then thrown into The Path full force with a long high scream from Ryan Kirby that will be sure to give you goosebumps. The song is just headbang city from there on out, the riffs of this track are like a train heading towards you at top speed and the chorus is filled with power. Ending with a breakdown that just gets you hyped for what’s to come, The Face of Hate is the best way to enter the world of this album.
Perhaps the biggest highlight of this album comes with the title track itself, The Path will surely be among the top favorites of the album. This track has some the most noticeable OG sounding metalcore influences in it, especially in the chorus. If you were to tell me that this song came out in 2006/2007 without knowing the band already, I would’ve believed you. The Path is Fit For A King at their best, everything in this song is so perfectly written, from the guitars having what I think is the catchiest riff on the album and REALLY showcasing the skills of guitarist Daniel Gailey. The drums from Jared Easterling are always a pleasure to hear, the drumming from Fit For A King is always top notch. The vocals just drive the song even further and add so much strength and range. From even the little details such as the Church Bell that sounds off quite a bit in the song, and in the album that is, the title track is metalcore perfection.
Some other notable tracks of the album are Prophet and Louder Voice. Prophet comes right after the title track and just really shines, bringing to spotlight Tuck’s cleans with Ryan’s screams. Tuck has some of the best clean vocals in metalcore currently, his voice knows how to hype a crowd up and knows how to silence a room, Prophet shows us the moment of him silencing the room. All eyes and ears should be on him in those moments, along with emotion filled screams in the chorus, Prophet should not be slept on. Louder Voice is one of the more emotional songs on the album, beginning with a piano and the speaking voice of Ryan Kirby. This is also a track where we get Ryan Kirby’s incredible clean singing voice as well. Along with another nice addition of a guitar solo, Louder Voice is a nice way to ease us into the closing of the album as it comes right before the final track.
The dullest moments on the album still don’t take away much from the album, these aren’t bad tracks either, just a little dull compared to the rest of the album. Such as the radio friendly Locked (In My Head) which is by no means a bad song, being the softest song on the album, it is still filled with an incredibly catchy chorus that is sure to be stuck in your head. And Annihilation which stands as the song with the most repetition in it. We still get a circle pit worthy riff and drum beat from this song and even with the song being repetitive, it is still headbang worthy and fun to listen to.
Fit For A King have evolved with each release they’ve put out, each album sounds different from the last and The Path is no different. Channeling more of an older metalcore sound from bands like As I Lay Dying and Parkway Drive, it’s no wonder Fit For A King has been hyping the release so much. You can find The Path on the bands Spotify, Solid State Records Youtube or physically on September 18. I highly recommend this album and listening to it all the way through.
