Fit For A King Return With Impressive Consistency With ‘Lonely God’

Metalcore giants Fit for a King have returned with their latest album, ‘Lonely God’. This marks their first full-length since 2022’s ‘The Hell We Create’. This record dives into a lot of similar themes that the band has explored in the past, but they explore the different sides of the heavy genre. 

The album starts off with a bang, with “Begin the Sacrifice”. It gives off such Kingdom of Giants vibes in the best way, and it sets the tone for the record beautifully. The chorus is absolutely massive, and it really shows vocalist Ryan Kirby flexing his vocal muscles. The breakdown hits real hard too, and it feels well placed during the bridge. And I just love how different this feels more them, instead of leaning on the tried and true metalcore.

The momentum carries onto the next track really well, with “The Temple”. I will say, the double bass being delivered here by drummer Trey Celaya, is doing overtime on this one. I also gotta give a shoutout to the production by Daniel Braunstein, which is a huge step up from the band’s last couple of records. I appreciate how the breakdown feels slightly unpredictable during the end of the song.

We fade into the next track pretty seamlessly with our first full-on heavy song, with “Extinction”. It’s short and sweet for a track like this, and it’s more in the vein of what we’re familiar with this band. The chugs are strong here, the breakdown is pretty solid, and it’s followed by Kirby’s signature high scream. It’s probably my least favorite of the “all heavy” tracks, but it’s still an enjoyable one and it keeps the vibe consistent.

We’re then followed by one of the bigger singles from the album, with “No Tomorrow”. This one feels like a great example of the band mixing old and new sounds, and balances heavy and melody pretty well. The chorus feels very well delivered, as it feels like it builds up to a final chorus that belts out the lyrics. I can definitely understand why this was a single to showcase this album specifically. And the breakdown is solid, as it doesn’t wear out it’s welcome or overdoes anything. 

We continue on with one of my favorites from the record and our first ballad, with “Shelter”. I feel like this track has the best melodies on the record overall, with a chorus meant to be stuck in your head. Kirby does a great job singing here, and it’s just the band killing it with a song like this one. It also just feels right at home in the middle of this record, and before two heavy ones coming up.

That being said, we get another heavy track with “Monolith”. The instrumentals here feel very modern metalcore, and just fun to listen to. Alpha Wolf vocalist Lochie Keogh fits right at home in a song like this. Him and Kirby’s vocals go so well together, and it just makes for a blast to listen to. I also wanna shoutout just how well paced this album feels from song to song.

We follow that one up with one of the singles, and another heavy banger with the title track. This is easily the song out of all the “purely heavy” ones on this record that worked for me the best. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel by any means, but it’s just this band showing what they do well and showcasing it at its peak here. It’s impossible not to even nod your head to a song like this, with an awesome breakdown and a vibe that feels strong for the album.

We then reach another one of my favorites from the album in another ballad, with “Between Us”. It’s a song where bassist and backup vocalist Tuck O’ Leary showcases how beautiful and well delivered his pipes are. Once again, I love how this bookends from the previous melodic track and it’s following two heavy ones. It’s done so masterfully, as the buildup feels so earned and sung with such grace by both Leary and Kirby. Shoutout to the harmonies on this track as well, they’re so good. 

We start the tail end of this record with what I’d say is my least favorite, in “Sentient”. I don’t think it’s a bad song, but it just treads too much on familiar territory that it just sticks out as not being nearly as good as the other tracks. I do think Kirby sounds great on this song as well if I had to have a take away on this one.

We then get another short, yet sweet heavy track in “Blue Venom”. The lead guitar in the background delivered by guitarist Bobby Lynge gives me such Alpha Wolf vibes honestly. The breakdown once again smacks, and it’s probably one of the better ones on the album. I appreciate having songs like these that are just in and out pretty quickly.

We reach the penultimate track and the very first single released, with “Technium”. The Silent Planet vibes on this song are pretty huge and present, and it compliments everything really well. Like I just appreciate how the guitars feel more progressive in moments on this album. Also, shoutout to Landon Tewers from The Plot In You and his feature of course. He’s become such a distinctive voice in this scene, and he really does elevate anything he touches and this song is no exception.

We end the album with a song that feels very fitting to close things off, with “Witness the End”. The grand feeling on a song like this feels so intentional and huge, I really appreciate it on here. The deathcore vibes and blast beats being delivered by Celeya are absolutely astonishing. And of course, Chris Motionless from Motionless In White’s feature is easily one of the best this year. Chris is such a force of nature and his feature is far from wasted in this epic track. Him and Kirby’s voices go so well together, going back and forth and guiding a song like this to its natural conclusion (a very well delivered breakdown that is). 

All in all, ‘Lonely God’ feels like a true return to form for Fit for a King and feels like their best record since 2018’s ‘Dark Skies’. These songs feel more fresh and provide a pretty pleasant experience across 12 tracks, and fans of the band will be very pleased with this record.