Fit For A King | 14.12.23 | Classic Grand, Glasgow | Live Review
With a jam packed 2023 coming to a busy end, American metalcore band Fit For A King rolled into Glasgow to take on a sold out crowd in the city centres Classic Grand. The Hell We Create tour has been sell out after sell out far and wide across Europe & the U.K and rightly so. With a bumper set and killer supports, tonight would go down as another classic FFAK show.
In typical Glasgow fashion the traffic played its part causing the first two bands to be missed however a huge shout out to the guys in The Gloom In The Corner and Thrown – from sets I’ve seen in the past these bands know how to warm up a crowd and kick off things in a serious and heavy manner. Up first for me however was band three of the night, Connecticut quartet, Emmure. Kicking off their set in complete darkness with only the sound of one guitar riff on repeat, singer Frankie Palmieri appears and screams “get the fuck up” causing absolute mayhem in the pit. The next 45 minutes was dominated by the band’s characteristic mixture of heavy riffing paired with relentless double bass drums and serious breakdowns. To add to just how sick the band were, they had an insane light show, huge credit needed for the tech’s involved in creating what they did! Judging by the sea of Emmure merch in the crowd they were backed by a large army that were certainly left entertained to the full and It’s plain to see why they say ‘Emmure, it’s a cult’.
After a short change over and a killer pre show selection of singalong bangers, it was time for Fit For A King. With a stage bathed in a blue light, the band emerged to a rapturous wave of cheers from the Glaswegian faithful. Kicking off with ‘The Hell We Create’, singer Ryan Kirby stormed onto the stage and the crowd head into a frenzy with the first batch of crowd surfers launching over the barrier.
FFAK’s stage presence was nothing short of captivating; the band members exuded an incredible amount of energy, engaging the crowd from the very first note. Ryan delivered every lyric with raw emotion, pouring his heart out onto the stage. The set consisted of a fine mix of old and new tracks giving the crowd and all round chaotic experience from the off, heading back to 2020 with songs like “Breaking the Mirror” and “Locked (in My Head)” sparking huge sing alongs from the highly energetic fans. A heavy power trip finale of some of their finest work concluded proceedings for tonight – “Vendetta” causing yet more crowd surfers like almost every song of the night and one almighty pit before opening into “When Everything Means Nothing”. “God Of Fire” and “Deathgrip” see out this portion of the set before the inevitable encore to round things off with crowd favourite “The Price of Agony”.
The bands ability to create an intense and immersive atmosphere throughout the night while keeping the crowd constantly in motion, moshing and crowd-surfing to the relentless onslaught of heavy music is really to be admired and shows why these guys are one of the most exciting bands in the scene right now and rightly gain the sold out banner through a highly successful tour. The genuine connection between band and fans created a sense of unity and camaraderie among the audience, making the show feel like a shared experience rather than a mere performance.
Words by Craig McInnes
