Fit For A King made their return to the Town Ballroom in Buffalo, New York on March 10. It was a cold and snowy Friday night but fighting the weather was worth it to see the band on their most fun and successful headlining tour to date in support of their recent album.
Fit For A King was joined by Australian bands Northlane and Alpha Wolf along with Northern California band Kingdom of Giants on the winter 2023 ‘The Hell We Create Tour.’
The Hell We Create is the most recent album from Fit For A King and was released on October 28 via Solid State Records. It features 10 new songs, some which were performed during their performance in Buffalo.
Since releasing this album in October, Fit For A King has been to Buffalo twice. Once was in November supporting Pierce The Veil and I Prevail for a sold out show and the second was this one in support of the album, also a sold out show.
‘The Hell We Create Tour’ kicked off on February 16 in Tempe, Arizona and runs through March 19 in Dallas, Texas. At just over a month long, this tour has been achievement after achievement for Fit For A King (more on that below).
Before heading over to the Town Ballroom for this show, I was a few blocks over at the Rec Room for another show. Though I missed Kingdom Of Giants, I was able to make it to the Town Ballroom in time to see Alpha Wolf play their last three songs of the set.
Kingdom Of Giants recently released a new single called “Wasted Space.” This is a song you don’t want to miss listening to. Kingdom Of Giants has a continuously evolving sound that pushes both the band and their audience forward.
From the songs I saw Alpha Wolf perform, the band had a very fun stage presence and energy. They shared that their one job was to get the room hyped up and prepared for the performances from not only Northlane but Fit For A King. They also had a few beach balls released into the crowd for the final few songs, which fans enjoyed.
Sydney metalcore band Northlane was third to perform in Buffalo. It was great being able to see Northlane make their long awaited return to the United States after their 2022 Summer tour with Silent Planet, Loathe, and Avoid was canceled due to issues with their visas.
The band released their sixth studio album Obsidian independently on April 22, 2022. This is a 13 track album that is just about an hour long. It pushes the envelope on what metal can be. Northlane is for fans of bands like Spiritbox, Architects, and for fans of metalcore that are looking for something experimental and fresh.
It was amazing watching Northlane perform with their electronic elements added in their performance. Though they had to perform as a three piece due to one member needing to go home for some personal/family related things, it was still a great performance and fans were enjoying it.
I am hoping that after this tour, Northlane will make another longer United States appearance very soon! They are scheduled to play Blue Ridge Rock Festival in Virginia in September.
Northlane is one band you do not want to miss!
‘The Hell We Create Tour’ is Fit For A King’s winter 2023 headlining tour in support of The Hell We Create album released back in the fall. They played songs off of this album and their past releases including one of my personal favorite songs, “Vendetta,” from their 2020 album The Path. They also included their song “Deathgrip” from 2016 on the lineup, a great addition for any fans of their older music.
This tour has been nothing but fun night after night for Fit For A King and their crew and tour mates.
‘The Hell We Create Tour’ is a list of things: crowd surfing, family, friends, special guests, jumping, Magic (the card game), milestones, and so much more.
During the Buffalo show, Ryan Kirby took a few moments to reflect on the meaning behind this show. It was not their first time in Buffalo and it will certainly not be their last.
The first time they performed in Buffalo was at the Town Ballroom in 2015. They were opening on a tour for close friends August Burns Red. Ryan said he was watching August Burns Red every single night, especially the Buffalo performance, and said to himself “I wish I could be there” [there as in of the size and production level].
August Burns Red and Fit For A King then played together in 2021 at the Town Ballroom, another sold out show with Fit For A King as direct support.
They played a sold out show in the Town Ballroom on their very headlining tour. Years later, he made it there.
Truly a big accomplishment for all involved, including the fans who were there each time and for the Town Ballroom for their continued support.
This show also marked my fifth time seeing Fit For A King and it was their best performance yet. I always enjoy watching the band perform, especially guitarist Tuck O’Leary and his consistent jumps and spinning with his guitar.
To add to Tuck’s high energy performance, this tour he has been jumping in the crowd at least once or twice a night to crowdsurf. His first crowdsurf of the night included hopping off of the stage to the second level of the Town Ballroom, climbing on to one of the rails, and jumping off (there are a few photos in my gallery of this).
His second crowdsurf of the night was during one of their last two songs. He gave his guitar to one of their crew members, stood at the barricade for a few seconds with a 360 GoPro, and jumped in. It was super fun seeing the crowd move Tuck around with this GoPro and the footage is just as fun. They’re calling it “Tuck Cam” (view the footage on IG here, their tour photographer and videographer Anthony Tran assisted with this).
During their March 7 show, Tuck’s mom also crowdsurfed with him.
Not only was the energy from Fit For A King great the whole night, the fans were having a great time as well. A trash can was thrown around in the crowd for a minute or two and after finishing the song vocalist Ryan Kirby joked “I haven’t seen a trash can in a crowd since Warped Tour.”
To further emphasize my comments of friends, special guests, and success, the day after the Buffalo show, March 11, they played their biggest headlining show to date in Worcester, MA with 2,214 people.
And on March 7, Kirby shared on Twitter that ‘The Hell We Create Tour’ “broke 30,000 tickets sold as of last night [3/6] and we still have two weeks left. That’s double our last headliner, in 6 less shows (26 vs 32).”
A few nights before the Buffalo show, Brian Wille of Currents hopped on stage to sing part of the song “God of Fire.”
When Fit For A King was in Detroit, they took a special day to play Magic the Gathering (a card game) with their friends Eric of I Prevail and Joshua of We Came As Romans. As shared in their Instagram video, Magic is one of their hobbies they love to play on the road that helps with their mental health.
Ryan Kirby kept repeating “thank you” on stage throughout the night. Tuck also chimed in a few times during the night to share some kind words about the tour and show.
Kirby shared that he thinks he is saying thank you too much each night, but that he really means it. This tour means a lot to the band and their crew. It’s very clear that they are being genuine and kind with their thanks.
In the end, Fit For A King delivers an important message on their new record. “I want to raise self-awareness,” Kirby finishes. “It’s not just important to fight for ourselves, but we’re fighting for others. You can reach out for help even if you’re scared. I know I was. I hope we can all reflect on not only what we put ourselves through, but what we put others through.”
‘The Hell We Create Tour’ ends in just a few days on March 19 in Dallas, Texas (view the final dates here). If you cannot make it out to one of the final shows, be sure to follow the bands on social media to see when they are coming to your area next!
