Review Summary: Sure, it’s better than the last one. Does that really mean much though?
Properly articulating my feelings in relation to Fit For A King’s most recent album,
The Hell We Create, has been a bit of a challenge.
On one hand, I marvel at the technical competence and musicianship of this band. I know that as a drummer I am not, and never will be, as good as Trey Celaya. The musician in me, knowing I am nowhere near as capable as these guys, finds it hard to be objective. What right do I have to judge or be critical? I am not the one spending years writing the songs, going on tour, or releasing the albums. I sure couldn’t write it myself. I’m not the “man in the arena” so to speak.
On the other hand, as I continue writing reviews and taking a more methodical or academic approach to listening to music, it’s very difficult to dismiss the shortcomings and drawbacks of this record. Furthermore, I
am a consumer, and it is an unfortunate reality that one of the surest ways to lose customers in an industry as competitive or cutthroat as music is to fail to routinely provide an
improved product.
Herein lies the problem with
The Hell We Create: By itself, the album is passable, acceptable, adequate, or whatever other adjective you want to use for something that is perfectly alright. Unfortunately, next to
Dark Skies, those descriptions could just as easily be swapped for words such as mediocre or middling, second-rate or passé. So while it is marginally better than
The Path, it is not anywhere close to the quality it could or should be, and Fit For A King’s struggle to settle on where they are going musically greatly overshadows any forward progress they might be making.
It is not a secret that FFAK seem to be at their best when they are doing their take on deathcore. I don’t personally care for deathcore much (and I know that
Dark Skies wasn't pure deathcore either), but the stark difference in energy, musicianship and raw grit between tracks like “Reaper” or “Eyes Roll Back” and the rest of the record are too great to ignore. It’s almost as if they are in their creative and musical element when playing this style.
But those are two particular standouts. The rest of the album continues the direction FFAK have been going in with rather generic metalcore. Comparisons could be drawn to Killswitch Engage or As I Lay Dying but those bands did it better than this one does. I can’t name one track that could be showcased as excellent on the rest the record. It’s not an unpleasant listen, but other than “Reaper” and “Eyes Roll Back” it is almost entirely forgettable. The ostensibly "accessible" nature of the album is a thin veneer for its blandness.
That being said, compared to
The Path this album
is a small step up. Despite its shortcomings, the album does not fall to the level of glossy, polished bad that
The Path did. There is enough of an improvement in songwriting and execution that the album can be superficially enjoyed, only to then be forgotten about.
In short, as shallow and unmemorable as this album is, there are a couple of highlights which hearken back to Fit For A King’s better days. Hopefully (albeit unlikely) they are a sign of better times to come.
