Fit For a King & The Devil Wears Prada Tackle NYC with the Metalcore Dropouts Tour

The show must go on! New Yorkers weather the storm with a great turnout for the Metalcore Dropouts Tour co-headlined by Fit For A King and The Devil Wears Prada with support from Landmvrks and Counterparts.

NYC declared a state of emergency as the city continued to be battered by heavy rain and floods, but that didn’t stop many people from showing up for the first band on the card. Traveling from across the pond is French metalcore band Landmvrks. Landmvrks originates from Marseille, France and currently consists of Florent “Flo” Salfati (Vocals), Nicolas Exposito (Guitar), Paul Cordebard (Guitar), Rudy Purkart (Bass) and Kevin D’Agostino (Drums). Landmvrks is known for blending metalcore and hardcore with a unique hip hop influence which is prominently shown in their 2021 album “Lost In The Waves”

Landmvrks does not come to North America often as this is their second full North American tour. Their first North American tour was supporting American metalcore band “Miss May I” in the fall of 2022. New Yorkers took advantage of their rare performance and showed the band why they need to play NYC more often. One fan showed his French pride with red, white and blue face paint and donned a French Flag which got plenty of reactions from the band. Two fans made the trek from Germany to experience one of the best metalcore lineups of 2023.

Crowd surfers were plentiful and Salfati made multiple calls for a wall of death throughout their set. Landmvrks closes out their set with “Self-Made Black Hole” off “Lost In A Wave”. Salfati called for people to come up to the front to sing the last chorus. Salfati hopped off stage and stood on the railing as crowd surfers made their way to the front and belted the lyrics into the microphone. Salfati even helped grab crowd surfers with security. The band gave a heartwarming thank you to the crowd for showing up in the horrific weather and exited the stage. Landmvrks did what they do best and warmed up the crowd with crushing breakdowns and interactive sing-alongs as they set the bar high for the rest of the evening.

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The crowd didn't have long to catch their breath as Counterparts took the stage after a speedy changeover by the stage crew. Counterparts is a Canadian melodic hardcore band from Hamilton Ontario led by Brendan Murphy (vocals), Jesse Doren (Lead Guitar), Tyler Williams (Rhythm Guitar) and Kyle Brownlee (Drums). The band took the stage and Murphy quickly thanked everyone for showing up and demanded everyone to get to the front if they knew the lyrics. Williams ordered the crowd to split the pit down the middle and they followed his orders. Multiple people forced their way closer to the front belting the lyrics to “Love Me” the intro track to their 2019 “Nothing Left To Love” which is also their most streamed song on spotify with over 7 million streams

The antics continued throughout the night as multiple circle pits were called for and they were so insane that Murphy took a moment to congratulate the crowd for the craziest circle pit of the tour so far. Murphy did what he does best and made comical and sarcastic remarks between each song. Before they began playing “Monument” the first track off their 2018 EP “Private Room”, Murphy encouraged the crowd by saying “Get the f*ck up here and sing with us. Come do my job for me. I’m in the union too mother f*cker”. The crowd listened to his demands and deafened the venue with the song's main callout.

The Counterparts fanbase is one of the more devoted fanbase in the scene. Fans show up in droves whether the band is opening or headlining and they make their presence known. This passion was shown on display when Counterparts played “Whispers Of Your Death” a single off their 2022 album “A Eulogy For Those Still Here”. This song holds a close place in Murphy's heart as he wrote this song in honor of his cat “Kuma” who tragically passed away just over a year ago. The crowd rallied around Brendan after he gave his brief speech about his love for his cats and went into a frenzy when the opening riff started. When they reached the breakdown Murphy said “NYC.. Don’t piss me off. This ones for Kuma” The crowd appeased Murphy by taking over the breakdown callout and after one more song Counterparts made their mark. They stepped off stage after thanking the fans one more time for an incredibly chaotic evening. The bar was raised even higher with the co-headliners scheduled to tear the roof of Times Square Palladium.

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We finally made our way to one of the headliners on the Metalcore Dropouts tour. Next to take the stage was Texas Quintet, Fit for a King (FFAK). Fit for a King is an American metalcore band from Tyler, Texas which was formed in 2007. The band comprises members such as Ryan Kirby “Kirbz” on vocals, Ryan “Tuck” O’Leary on bass, Trey Celaya on drums and lastly Bobby Lynge and Daniel Gailey on guitars. Known for their high octane live shows, FFAK immediately lived up to that reputation when they opened their set up with “Annihilation” which appeared from their album ‘The Path’ which came out in 2020. The crowd was fired up from the beginning note, and it continued throughout the remainder of the band’s 13 song setlist.

Fit For a King is known for their mix of heavy breakdowns and guitar riffs mixed with catchy choruses that are easy to sing along to. The band showed this range as they played songs like “Falling Through the Sky,” “Breaking the Mirror,” and “When Everything Means Nothing.” Ryan Kirby puts his vocal skills on full display during these songs as he transitions perfectly from screams in the verses to clean vocals in the choruses. One thing I acknowledged that he does when performing is the use of his guttural screams. By nailing these transitions Kirby yet again proved that he is one of the best sounding live vocalists in metalcore today.

Even though FFAK played many of their sing along tracks, the band also promised to bring one of their heaviest sets to date, and they delivered. In the middle of the set, the band gave the New York crowd very little time to rest as they transitioned from songs like “Pissed Off” into “Reaper” and then immediately into “Eyes Roll Back.” These are some of the band’s heaviest songs, and it left many necks sore from headbanging seemingly non-stop.

One of the highlights from any Fit For a King show is the wild stage presence of bassist Ryan “Tuck” O’Leary. From the moment the band hit the stage, Tuck was running around the stage and swinging his bass around his body. You could tell that the crowd was feeding off of this energy. This all came to a climax during the band’s final song of the night, “God of Fire.” This song is a fan favorite, and you can tell the band loves playing this song live. Shortly before the breakdown hit, Tuck handed off his bass to a crew member and climbed up onto the barricade. When the breakdown hit, he jumped into the crowd and crowd surfed for the remainder of the song. This was the perfect ending to an incredible set, and it set things up perfectly for the other co-headliner of the night, The Devil Wears Prada.

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The final band on the bill for the night was none other than metalcore scene legends The Devil Wears Prada (TDWP). Formed in 2005 in Dayton, Ohio, TDWP is a Metalcore band that comprises of Mike Hranica (Vocals, Guitar), Jeremy Depoyster (Rhythm Guitar, Clean Vocals), Kyle Sipress (Lead Guitar, backing vocals), Mason Nagy (Bass), Jonathan Gering (Keyboards, backing vocals), and Giuseppe Capolupo (Drums). TDWP has several classic metalcore songs that fans of all ages were dying to hear, and the band delivered, while also playing several fan favorites from their critically acclaimed 2022 album titled “Color Decay.”

There was a range of emotions for TDWP fans throughout the set, as the band played several of their heavier classics like “Danger: Wildman” and “Hey John, What’s Your Name Again?” In between all the heaviness, the band also played several of their emotionally charged songs like “Salt,” “Broken,” and “Chemical.” This setlist spanned their entire career, and it was sure to satisfy any TDWP fan.

The crowd was an energetic one, and you could tell the band was feeding off of the energy, especially given the weather situation that unfolded earlier in the day. Jeremy even went as far to call the show the best show that the band has ever played in New York. As someone who has seen The Devil Wears Prada several times before, I can say with full confidence that this was my favorite of all the times that I’ve seen them. The crowd surfers seemed to never end, the pit was incredibly energetic, and everybody was screaming along to every single word.

Hranica and Depoyster both commanded the stage perfectly, keeping the audience engaged throughout the show. Both of them ran around the stage with tons of energy all while screaming and singing their hearts out every time they got the chance. Their vocals blended together combined with their energy on stage make for a very enjoyable live show. It was also very fun to watch the rest of the band run around the stage, as every member used every single inch of the Palladium’s stage. This incredible all around performance from the band further showed why the band has had such a loyal following for nearly 20 years.