Whether you’re an OG Fit For A King fan or a newer fan, there’s a track in here that’ll please fans of every era of the band.
Whether it’s the chaotic and crushing title track or the more modern and melodic cuts like No Tomorrow, there truly is something here for everybody. Make no mistake though; the album is an all-energy belter for majority of it’s runtime, with the melodic cuts making their way in there feel earned making the pacing of the record a huge standout.
For the first 10 minutes of the record, it’s all gas, no breaks. Second track The Temple starts off with a beautiful melody from vocalist Ryan Kirby, almost gaslighting the listener into thinking it’s going to go one way but after 20 seconds the song flips the switch in the complete opposite direction. The chorus is more melodic, but features the more aggressive kind of cleans that the band is really great at. We also have drummer Trey Celaya punishing the double bass behind that chorus to keep the energy up.
Later there’s the two-minute Extinction which gives the listener absolutely no time to breathe. The song really only is a verse and a massive ending breakdown but it’s a nice punch to the face leading us into the anthemic single No Tomorrow.
Around the 15-minute mark we get a nice breather with softer cut Shelter, which is one of my personal favourite tunes on the album. This one is without a doubt going to be a massive sing along in the live set, especially with the chorus hook “I keep waiting another sign, looking up at the darkest skies. I lost my heart in hurricane”. I also just want to mention how refreshing it is to hear an actual bridge in a softer song rather than shoving in an unnecessary breakdown. They knew what this song was intended to be and they lit it soar.
The second half of the record really doesn’t let up for the remainder of the record. We have absolute chaos with Monolith and single Lonely God right next to each other. Monolith features Alpha Wolf’s own Lochie Kough to add to the destruction as he belts out “so twist the knife, I won’t choose a side” over a ring of triplets in the first breakdown.
We get one last breather on the album with the surprising standout Between Us, which is my favourite song on the record and might be one of the most beautiful songs the band has written. Structurally, it’s a slow build; being mainly stripped back for most of the song until it explodes in the last minute. The main hook “I just wanna drift away into nothing, I just wanna feel this pain miles away” is an absolutely devastating listen; You can really feel every note and word being sung.
To close out the album we have the massive Witness the End featuring Chris Motionless, which almost has a blackened flavour to it with its heavy symphonics, higher pitched screams and blast beats. I’ve heard some already describe this as one of the band’s best songs and I can see why. Featuring pretty much everything the band excels at; the heavy, the melodic, it even has a guitar solo but also being a sound that no one really expected either. It really is a nice surprise and change of pace for the band that paid off.
Fit For a King have really nailed their sound with Lonely God. There isn’t a moment wasted on the record, the more melodic cuts feel earned and I can’t stress enough how fantastic it all makes the pacing of this record feel.
The record contains arguably some of the best content the band has written, both on the heavy and lighter side. Having listened to the record over the past few weeks I can confidently say to the longer-term fans of the band, that Lonely God is the best album this band has made since Dark Skies.
9/10
Lonely God is available everywhere now via Solid State Records.
