In yet another striking example of music being used as an outlet for some of life’s most traumatic misgivings, Fit For A King have returned with their seventh – and quite possibly most impactful – full-length record. The Hell We Create (Solid State) is eons more than a collection of compelling, thought-provoking metalcore. 

Instead, the Texas-based five-piece crafted an album that in part chronicles the seemingly insurmountable odds faced by vocalist Ryan Kirby and his family.

In short, Kirby and his wife adopted her niece and nephew, children who were transferred in and out of seventeen different foster homes and also had to escape abusive family. If that wasn’t enough, Kirby’s wife suffered a stroke and dealt with a 95% blockage in her jugular vein caused by birth control.

So, The Hell We Create therefore is an emotional journey rife with fear, escape and the paralytic terror of the unknown. ‘End (The Other Side)’ tears at the heartstrings with Kirby, speaking to his wife, saying, “I can’t do this without you / I don’t think I’ll survive the other side.” The song itself is frenetic, bombastic and offset by the call-for-help hook. 

It’s blunt and honest. 

Furthermore, ‘Falling Through The  Sky’ depicts Kirby having to inexplicably imagine life without his beloved partner. Highlighted by the line, “They say Heaven’s above, and Hell is below, so why do they feel so close?” The line between a life of solace and despair is razor thin.

Appropriately enough, the deepest barb was saved for the end. ‘What You Left Behind’ dives into Kirby speaking out against his now-adopted children’s abusive father. “This is the damage you did to them / This is what you left behind when you left them.” 

The Hell We Create pulls no punches, and it shouldn’t. This isn’t a conglomeration of generic breakdowns and elaborate guitar solos. It’s raw, bare-bones reality. The bruising verses, the forceful vocals, the bone-crushing melodies. It’s a record that in a way wrote itself in the darkest recesses of Kirby’s troubled mind while igniting the last remaining wick of hope, the last remaining ounce of energy to spit in the face of tragedy and come out the other side, not unscathed, but unbroken.

Buy the album here: https://fitforakingband.com/collections/fit-for-a-king

8 / 10

MATT COOK