Photos | Review: Fit For A King Rages in Pensacola

Who: The Dark Path Tour, Fit For A King, Silent Wave, Hollow Front, Avoid, Brave New World
Where: Vinyl Music Hall, Pensacola, FL
When: April 5, 2022

Fit For A King made a stop at the Vinyl Music Hall on April 5^th. It was one the last remaining dates on the bands’s The Dark Path Tour. The bill was filled with a great lineup up of opening acts including Brave New World, Avoid, Hollow Front, and Silent Planet.

When crowd surfers are coming at you from every direction in the photo pit you know it is going to a wild night. That was certainly the case this night. It was one of the craziest shows I’ve experienced at the Vinyl Music Hall.

The night started off with local favorites Brave New World. Fans always know to show up early when the band is performing. They always put on a passionate performance, and this was no exception. Lead singer Christopher Eubanks, with his signature handlebar mustache, put on an intense and powerful performance.

Once Seattle’s Avoid took the stage, the intensity in the music hall went through the roof. If the intent of an opening act is to warm up the crowd, then these guys had them on fire. Vocalist Benny School is one crazy performer. The crowd fed off him and went wild with crowd surfers streaming toward the stage and mosh pits breaking out. At one point a flash mob consisting of roadies and members from other bands broke out on stage. Even Ryan Kirby from Fit For A King got in on the act. There was dancing on the stage with people drinking who knows what from a bottle.

Hollow Front was the band I was most interested in checking out. The metalcore band from Grand Rapids, MI performed a six-song set including the songs “Comatose”, “The Price of Dreaming”, and “Treading Water” from their upcoming album, The Price of Dreaming. Tyler Tate’s screams had the fans bouncing up and down. Drummer Devin Attard was a dynamic on drums tossing his sticks in the air like a juggler while still keeping time. Hollow Front is a band you definitely want to check out.

The last act to perform before Fit For A King was Silent Planet. They were a band I was told I really needed to see. The progressive metalcore quartet from Southern California displayed the intricate sounds and textures for which they are known. Garrett Russell bounced all around the stage with head bobbing while screaming out vocals to thought-provoking songs like “Anhedonia”. Most in the crowd probably didn’t realize they were witnessing an incredible technical performance by the band.

After four opening acts and four hours of great music, Fit For A King took the stage. By this point the house was packed ready for the night to get really crazy. The upper level was lined with fans leaning against the railings peering down at the band. Vocalist Ryan Kirby had the crowd all fired up with the first song “Engraved” from the Dark Skies album.

Kirby stood perched on a platform overlooking the audience while a constant flood of crowd surfers were giving security a workout. Bassist Ryan O’Leary was an animal with leaps in the air like Pete Townsend of The Who. His bass was routinely swinging in circles over his head. At one point he was surfing his way on top of the crowd.

The band closed their set with “Tower of Pain” from Dark Skies before returning to the stage for a three-song encore after rousing encouragement from the crowd. The whole house was in a craze. They closed with “God of Fire”. Crystal Lake’s Ryo Kinoshita sang on the recording, but Avoid’s Benny School joined Kirby on stage to sing Kinoshita’s part. Just like with his band’s performance, School was going off and having a good time.

This was a great night, and I would normally recommend you catch an upcoming date. Unfortunately, the US leg of the tour is now complete. However, if you happen to live in Europe, the band does have a few dates in April.

Fit For A King Setlist