Fit For A King "Dark Skies" Album Review

By: James Southworth
Rating: 4/5 Stars

In the metalcore scene, I've felt that things have become somewhat unoriginal and diluted. A lot of bands in this genre have even begun to turn away from the sound and go for a more accessible harder rock sound. Last year, there were only a couple of metalcore albums I found good (and one of them became my album of the year because of how original it was). Since their inception, Fit For A King have fit comfortably within this genre of music, and yet they've found ways to keep their sound interesting. I've enjoyed pretty much all of their albums (with the slight exception of their debut), and I consider "Slave to Nothing" to be one of the best modern metalcore albums out there.  While I wasn't as big on "Deathgrip" in 2016 as a whole, there were still many individual cuts ("Pissed Off", "Dead Memory", the title track), that had me interested to see where FFAK would go next. They've returned with new release "Dark Skies". This album sees the band promising some of their most heaviest as well as their most accessible material to date. Do they deliver? In short, the answer is a resounding yes.

The album opens on a pretty solid note with "Engraved". While it doesn't pack quite the effective throat punch like "Pissed Off" or "Warpath" did, it still works as an opener in context of this album. If there's one word I would use to describe "Dark Skies" as a whole, it would be "cinematic". The band really amps up their sound overall, having some bigger guitar riffs, huge drumming patterns, and somehow even more impassioned vocals from both unclean/sometimes clean vocalist Ryan Kirby and clean vocalist Tuck O'Leary. "Engraved" certainly fits the cinematic idea this album has going for it. There are even some electronic flourishes in this track that give the feeling you are watching a trailer for an epic sci-fi film. This song lyrically embodies the main theme throughout the album: that we are all divided in a dark time, and there may be a light at the end of the tunnel, if we're willing to see it. As the title implies, this album is rather dark, though I would not say it's nearly as dark as the brutally apocalyptic feel "Deathgrip" had. There is hope shown through the bleakness, which I really appreciated. After the opening track comes "The Price of Agony", which has to be one of the band's most catchiest songs to date, in terms of the chorus. This song sees the band going in a political direction, although they are not choosing sides. Instead, they address the big problem with our political divide: "Every day we're growing colder/Our divide is growing further and further/The hands of time are moving faster/When will we stop paying/The price of agony?". I think it's brave for a Christian band to be calling out both political parties for their culpability creating a divide. It's a convicting track which begs the listener to try and grow and learn. Kirby takes both unclean and clean vocals on this song, and he delivers on both fronts. The guitar riffs in this song are just excellent, and became instantly memorable upon first listen. I saw this song live, and let me tell you, it works in that type of setting. This track is powerful in that it can create a sense of unity in everyone's collective frustration with our current political landscape.

After this track, we get an absolute banger in "Backbreaker". If you aren't headbanging along to this track, then there is something wrong with you. The breakdown in this track is delightful. The chorus's hook is simplistic, but it's hard to not scream along to it the more you hear it. I love the beginning of this song in particular, as Ryan screams out "Light the match/Set my body ablaze...". Those lyrics are just so cool sounding to me. My jaw dropped to the floor upon hearing the ending to this song, where Ryan holds out a very high scream for at least 40 seconds or so. He beat his record in the already impressive "Pissed Off". I love that Ryan continues to push himself as a vocalist, as honestly he sounds better than ever on this album. "Anthem of the Defeated" is a track that I initially was unsure about, but it has grown on me immensely. The track has a bit of a nu-metal feel to it, and even a bit of Slipknot influence. Ryan's vocal style in this track is unlike anything I've heard from him before, which makes the song incredibly interesting. The drumming in this song is also excellent, and there's a guitar solo which puts a smile on my face every time I hear it. My favorite track on the album comes in "When Everything Means Nothing". We finally get to see Tuck shine on the clean vocals. He absolutely delivers here, offering an emotional, heartfelt performance that deserves recognition. This track has the band seemingly speaking in the perspective of another person who doesn't know who to be in the midst of living with a deep depression. "I try to smile, try to fight/Just say I'm okay/But every day feels like it's killing me/Yeah, I was born in the rain". That chorus seems so simple in its word choice, but something about it for me is poignantly haunting. That is in big part due to Tuck giving one of his best vocal performances I've heard from him, as well as the combination of strings and guitars. Yes, this song does have some subtle strings incorporated, and it works immensely. This is one of my favorite songs of the year.

The second half of this album goes a bit more experimental, and it yields mostly good results. If you think you're prepared for the brutality of "Shattered Glass", let me promise you that you are not. This song is pretty much breakdown after breakdown, and it's a delight. I sat in utter silence after hearing this song because of how blown away I was by it. I wouldn't be surprised if this song could shatter glass when it's played live. Kirby explodes on the vocals, sounding about as angry as I've ever heard him. This is easily the darkest moment of the album, so it's fitting that it's filled with some of of Ryan's lowest guttural screams as well as some of his highest shrieks. Honestly, for me this song is right up there with "The Lionness" and "Stacking Bodies" for some of the band's best intense songs. This track even has some deathcore influences, which only helps to make it that much more heavy and hard hitting. Most likely you'll be left breathless by the end of this track, but you don't get much of a break, because after this is probably the second most intense song on the album "Tower of Pain". Once again, this track is all screams (in fact, 4 of the 10 songs here are all screaming, which is the most on any FFAK album I'm pretty sure). This song is rather honest in talking about how hard it can be to face both emotional and physical pain. Ryan isn't even sure if he can do it, as the chorus is mostly questioning: "Will I rise, from the ashes we create/Will I fall, into oblivion?". This was the first song I heard from the album, and it is still one of my favorites. The ending track "Oblivion" is perhaps the most experimental track on the album. It incorporates electronics more heavily than most of the songs on the album, doesn't have a straight forward song structure, and even uses strings pretty heavily in its ending moments. But, I love all of those elements. After two exceptionally dark tracks, it's nice to see the album end out on a hopeful moment, with a broken man begging God for forgiveness: "Tell me I won't be forgotten/If just for a moment...". Once again, the lyrics aren't necessarily super complex, but their simplicity creates a moment that's understated in its beauty. Tuck once again shines in the chorus, as this song is probably the most beautiful moment in the album as a whole.

There are only a couple of tracks on this album that I'd call weak. No track here is bad or something that I'll skip over purposefully, but there are two moments here that don't stand as tall. "Debts of the Soul" starts off pretty intriguingly with an electronic beat and subdued vocals from Tuck. Honestly, I may have liked this song more if it wasn't for Ryan Kirby's unclean vocals coming in rather suddenly. It seemed like this song was attempting to be the lone soft, solemn moment on the album, but it turns into a bit same sounding as something like "Backbreaker" or "Tower of Pain" once the unclean vocals come in. I don't expect FFAK to do entirely soft tracks all that often. However, I'd still debate tracks like "Skin and Bones" and "Selfish Eyes" are some of their most interesting moments. I guess what I'm trying to say is I was left a little disappointed by "Debts of the Soul". "Youth/Division" is the weakest moment of the album, mainly due to its awkward production. I feel like both Ryan and Tuck's vocals were drowned under the guitars and drums. Also, I think the chorus is wanting to have this epic/anthemic feel to it, but it doesn't really work that well. The band can make epic tracks for sure, but for some reason it just didn't translate well in this track. This one comes across as more forgettable than anything. Another minor complaint is that I do wish there were a couple more tracks on this album. "Oblivion" was a great way to end the album, but I think a few more tracks could have been added in between to flesh out this release a bit more.

Even with some of the weaker points of this album taken into account, I like "Dark Skies" more than "Deathgrip". It will be interesting to see where this album will rank in FFAK's discography in the future. I feel it may even be able to surpass "Creation/Destruction" with more listens (it's too early to tell right now). While this album is not the band's best- of course, it's really hard to beat such a masterpiece like "Slave to Nothing"- I still was very happy with this album. There are so many awesome moments here, and I loved that FFAK embraced a more intense sound, as well as delved effectively into some experimentation. I can't see how fans could be disappointed by this album, as it is yet another excellent work for FFAK. "Dark Skies" continues to prove that the band will be a juggernaut in the metalcore industry for years to come. Check it out!

Favorite Songs: "When Everything Means Nothing", "Oblivion", "The Price of Agony", "Tower of Pain", "Shattered Glass", "Backbreaker"
Least Favorite Songs: "Youth/Division", "Debts of the Soul"