Old Music Tuesday: Fit for a King in concert

I was able to re-live a little bit of my youth this past weekend. I was in attendance at an intimate, local venue for a show (not a concert) for the first time in probably ten years. For this Old Music Tuesday, I’d like to briefly share my experience.  The headliner was Iowa’s For Today, but I went to see Fit for a King. Fit for a King is a metalcore band from Tyler, Texas currently signed to Solid State Records. Their style of metalcore is not unique, and is in fact very popular right now. What sets this five-piece apart is their technical proficiency and dark vocals. Their latest album, Creation/Destruction, is currently the highest selling album on Solid State’s roster. (Buy it by clicking the Amazon link.)

I attended the show with my friend Jeremy. He is a metal/metalcore lover like me, but for some reason we had yet to go to a show together. We both figured it was long past time to correct that oversight. The venue was a small warehouse in one of the business districts in Simi Valley, California. This made for a very isolated yet simultaneously intimate setting. When we walked in, I was pleased to not be the oldest person in attendance, and I probably annoyed Jeremy with my “old man” jokes. I still didn’t go in the most pit, though. Mosh pits are a younger man’s game, a lesson I learned the hard way last year. We were standing right on the perimeter, though, so I took a few shots to the arms and shoulders. I tried to keep my right hand clear of any flailing limbs because if I hurt my hand, I can’t draw. (What a difference ten years makes.)

I was surprised when Fit for a King played second, as I expected them to be the headliner. (I’m glad we didn’t show up too late.) They were fantastic, despite the sound guy’s horrible mixing and the fact that they only got to play five songs. As I mentioned, their outfit is very tight, technically, and the vocalist’s screams punch you in the gut. The clean singing is heartbreaking, too. This is definitely a band I’d like to see again, hopefully as a headliner so they get to play a longer set. The bands that came after them were a mixed bag, and only For Today and Like Moths to Flames came close to matching Fit for a King’s technicality. One of the bands was a rap metal group; neither Jeremy nor I cared much for them. I’d have to say that of all the bands that played, Fit for a King stole the show, although the headliner (For Today) came in at a close second.

I’ve included their music video for the song Ancient Waters, taken from their newest record. If you like it, check out their albums and go see them live. You won’t be disappointed. Enjoy!

Concert Reviews

2013

• Tomahawk (feat. Retox)
• Coheed and Cambria (feat. BTBAM & Russian Circles)
• Palms
• Black Sabbath (feat. Andrew WK)
• Vampire Weekend (feat. Beirut)

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2014

• Fit for a King & For Today
• ††† (Crosses) (feat. Omniflux & Spirit in the Room)
• Soundgarden & NIN 2014

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2015

• Dr. Octagon (feat. Avalon, Gap Dream & No Parents)
• Faith No More (feat. The Urinals)
• Mastodon & Clutch (feat. Graveyard)
• Coheed and Cambria (feat. Seahaven)
• The Appleseed Cast (feat. Adjy & Coaster)
• The Smashing Pumpkins & Marilyn Manson
• Danzig (feat. Cancer Bats & Saviours)
• Imagine Dragons (feat. Halsey & Metric)
• Between the Buried and Me & Animals As Leaders (feat. The Contortionist)
• Deftones & Incubus (feat. Death from Above 1979)
• 2015 Summer Rankings
• Blindside (feat. Hearts Like Lions)
• Puscifer (feat. Luchafer)

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2016

• The Black Queen (feat. Drab Majesty)
• Joe Satriani
• Coheed and Cambria (feat. Glassjaw, I the Mighty, Silver Snakes)
• Killswitch Engage (feat. Memphis May Fire, 36 Crazyfists, and Toothgrinder)
• Andrew Bird (feat. John Grant)
• Lamb of God (feat. Clutch and Corrosion of Conformity)
• At the Drive-In (feat. Le Butcherettes)
• The Dillinger Escape Plan (feat. Author & Punisher)
• Guns N’ Roses (feat. The Cult)
• Animal Collective (feat. Stuart Copeland)
• Alice in Chains (feat. The New Regime)
• Temple of the Dog (feat. Fantastic Negrito)
• Giraffe Tongue Orchestra (cancelled)
• Metallica
• 2016 Concert Rankings

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2017

• August Burns Red (feat. Protest the Hero, In Hearts Wake, ’68)
• Norma Jean (feat. He Is Legend, Capsize, Comrades)
• Red (feat. Wolves at the Gate, Message from Sylvia, Death Therapy) (coming soon)
• Mastodon (feat. Eagles of Death Metal, Russian Circles) (coming soon)
• Pixies (coming soon)
• Tool (feat. Clutch, Fantomas, Primus, Melvins, Crystal Method) (coming soon)
• Rise Against (feat. Deftones, Thrice) (coming soon)
• Green Day
• Dead Cross (feat. Neil Hamburger, Ho99o9) (coming soon)
• Banks (coming soon)
• Between the Buried and Me (feat. The Contortionist, Poluphia, Toothgrinder) (coming soon)
• The Offspring (feat. Well Hung Heart) (coming soon)
• Russian Circles (feat. MGR) (coming soon)
• Our Lady Peace (feat. Smashing Hearts) (coming soon)
• Animals As Leaders (feat. Periphery and Astronoid) (coming soon)

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