Concert Review: Fit For a King with Invent Animate, ten56. and Acres at Manchester Music Hall in Lexington, KY

Fit For A King

After touring the entire month of May, “The Lonely God Tour” made its final pit stop in the heart of Lexington, Kentucky. Nearly two decades into their career they are at the top of their game bringing their tried and true flavor of metalcore we’ve all grown to love from them. Continuing to ride the high off their latest album; they packed Manchester Music Hall where not only attendees but even venue staff were reciting every word at their top of their lungs. It was hilariously wholesome watching security guards catching crowd surfers while singing without interruption. Each member has their own signature style from ranging from bassist Ryan O’Leary’s high energy spinning and bass twirling alongside guitarist Daniel Gailey’s absolutely tasteful shredding and Ryan Leitru’s effortless chugging. Vocalist Ryan Kirby’s laid back demeanor with crushing lows is a wonderful juxtaposition of substance over style while their drummer Trey Celaya is a pure machine behind the kit displaying why he is one of the most highly respected drummers in the game today. A beautiful send off for this absolutely stacked tour.

Invent Animate 

After a short winter run with Currents where they passed through Louisville just 5 months ago; a swift return to Kentucky was a very welcomed sight to myself and practically every fan in attendance. After several years Invent Animate got to reunite with their previous drummer Trey Celaya who has since joined Fit For A King for a full tour together after the acquisition of my personal favorite drummer to see live, Brody Taylor Smith. Trey still remains a member and key part to everything Invent Animate does. Fresh off the release of their latest single “Fall Like Rain” which came almost out of nowhere in late April after a few snippets just as this tour was gearing up. This song is a pure Thall banger mixed by the master himself, Buster Odeholm(Vildjharta, Humanity’s Last Breath, Thrown) and produced by Landon Tewers (The Plot In You) perfect example of this beautiful reunion was actually during the performance of “Fall Like Rain”, where Trey actually stepped in on guitar giving his brother Keaton a break and he didn’t miss a beat including matching attire which proved he is still as integral to this band now as he always was back when they first started. The energy was amazing considering that the band had a bit of a late start due to some minor technical difficulties which led to a ridiculously comical exchange between bassist Caleb and a substantially inebriated fan. Too many crowd surfers to count and one big wall of death later, this show easily cemented itself as one of the best performances by them I’ve seen to this day.

ten56.

I’ve waited years to finally catch this band live after stumbling across them in mid 2021 with the hit song “Boy”. I was enthralled by vocalist Aaron Matts low gravel-esque screams as he has what in my mind is the ideal voice for deathcore. After departing the now deceased Betraying the Martyrs, I’ve been stuck with this band in most of my playlists as I simply can’t get enough of the new flaming hot French outfit. With only two studio albums under their belt, they’ve made quite a splash as they endlessly tour the world playing in front of bigger and bigger crowds. The show was electric as every aspect was as tight as possible from the lights, breakdowns and crowd energy. Aaron’s stage presence is second to none with the crowd in the palm of his hand as they jumped, crouched, flipped off, crowd surfed all without a second of hesitation. A dominant demonstration to get the crowd warmed up for the rest of the night.

Acres

Finally catching this band for the first time because I didn’t have the chance last time, they were out on tour with The Plot in You since en route to Cincinnati their van broke down. Hailing from the United Kingdom and also riding the high off their latest album release “The Host” with a beautifully balanced sound and well-crafted production, also produced by Landon Tewers (The Plot in You). This band has really come into their own over the past few years as they start to gain more recognition here in the states. The crowd was serenaded and equally pummeled as the ebb and flow of gorgeous melody to lumbering chunky breakdowns carried through the whole set. You couldn’t have asked for a better band to open this tour; as evident by the crowd showing up nice and early to catch their entire set.