30 January 2026 – Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane – words by Lucas Bell – pictures by Isis Tortora
Off the back of their insane rise in popularity after Good Things 2024, where they opened the side stages to full crowds, a feat I have never seen before, Ohio metalcore megastars The Plot in You made their triumphant return to Australia, for their biggest headline tour of Australia, ever. Hitting some of the biggest indoor rooms in Australia, the line up was bolsters with an insane supporting card, including Texans legends Fit For A King, plus Boundaries from Connecticut, who are growing insanely in their own right, and Banks Arcade, who just wowed crowds opening for Dayseeker off the back of their Good Things Festival appearance.
The first band out on this blockbuster bill were Melbourne based New Zealanders, Banks Arcade. I caught these guys at the Dayseeker sideshow for the first time back in December, and because I was up the back, I had trouble seeing the stage. I never realised that the drummer jumped off the kit to do synths on some songs, which is dope as hell. The band’s set was very different though, filled with songs exclusively from the band’s upcoming record. And based on the live sound of some of these songs, this could be an album of the year contender.
Banks Arcade – FMH – photos by Isis Tortora
Second up was Boundaries, and after the monster display they put on during the While She Sleeps tour in 2024, it was only a matter of time before they were back. Prepping the crowd with a massive sing along to ‘My Heart Will Go On’, they ripped through a god tier set of songs, with tracks like set opener ‘Turning Hate Into Rage’, ‘My Body Is a Cage’, as well as deep cuts like ‘Is Survived By’ and ‘Inhale the Grief’. Towards the end of the set, lead vocalist Matt McDougal spoke about how nuts the Brisbane Boundaries shows last time was, and how Brisbane was a cool expectation setter as their first Australian city played on that tour. They plugged the headline show at Brightside the night after this show, and got the surfers up for ‘I’d Rather Not Say’. ‘Easily Erased’ closed the show, and I wouldn’t be surprised if these guys are back sooner rather than later. The Brissy crowd loved them.
Boundaries – FMH – photos by Isis Tortora
Out next were Texas titans, Fit for a King. Opening the set with ‘Begin the Sacrifice’ was dope as hell, as it has the slow build to get people amped as hell. The crowd was going insane with bodies stacking in the pit to mosh like crazy. The set was only nine songs long, and five of them were off the band’s latest record, Lonely God. It’s just a shame I didn’t hear anything from The Hell We Create, as they never got back here after the Alpha Wolf tour to tour that record.
The blitzed through newer songs like ‘No Tomorrow’ and ‘Shelter’, and throwbacks like ‘Breaking the Mirror’, and ‘Backbreaker’. ‘Backbreaker’ specifically, is the moment I think everyone has been talking about post show, as vocalist Ryan Kirby ripped an insane 24 second scream on the end of that track that has to be seen to be believed. The final two songs of the set were my favourite Fit for a King song, in ‘When Everything Means Nothing’, and ‘Lonely God’. ‘When Everything Means Nothing’ is a track I’ve really gravitated towards after hearing it live for the first time when I experienced Fit for a King for the first time ever at the Alpha Wolf Snitches Get Stitches tour in 2023, and screaming every word to that song as they played it, made my heart incredibly happy.
Fit For A King – FMH – photos by Isis Tortora
As the time ticked down for the headliners, out of the blue, a very familiar song started playing, and as soon as I realised what it was, I nearly pissed myself laughing, because it was ‘Coconut Mall’ from the Mario Kart games. Getting hit with the ‘Coconut Mall’ meme, before Plot, was probably one of the best ways to start a set, ever. Especially for those in the know about meme culture, like Landon and Plot are. As the band took to their positions on stage, they opened with ‘Don’t Look Away’, which started their insane fifteen song set off in a massive way.
A part of the stage setup I haven’t talked about yet, was how it was decorated. There were pillars on stage with vines wrapped around them, and foliage hanging from the back lighting rig. And with some of the band’s iconography being forest related, it set a cool ambience for the show. They rocked through a bunch of songs, including my favorite Plot song, with ‘Divide’, before hitting ‘Pretend’ and ‘Paradigm’ next. Vocalist Landon Tewers got the crowd work going with asking for the surfers, as an insane light show went off on stage for ‘THE ONE YOU LOVED’.
The Plot in You – FMH – photos by Isis Tortora
Tewers then laughed and asked if Brisbane was on some psycho shit, as ‘Face Me’ started. After ‘NOT JUST BREATHING’, Tewers asked who has been keeping up with the Volume EP releases, because we were getting another one, with ‘Been Here Before’ kicking in. He shouted for more surfing, as the crowd obliged. The band’s latest track, ‘Silence’, was up next, as Tewers asked the crowd to shut the fuck up for a couple of minutes, as he played the start of the song on an acoustic guitar, sitting on an armchair, under a lamp, set up on the back area of the stage. It was a cool visual, and storytelling moment I wouldn’t have expected as part of a metalcore show, but this was one of my favorite moments of the night.
‘Forgotten’ was next. And yes, everyone did THE THING. Phones were out everywhere, as the “I have spent my life/chasing thing/that have only brought me pain/In the end/when I’m dead/hope it was for something” line dropped, and Tewers held the scream on something for what felt like forever. It was awesome. Birds chirped through the speakers as we got another heavy one, with ‘Spare Me’. Tewers spoke about how cool it is to be playing all these songs of theirs halfway around the world for a crowd that loves their band. He then asked for the surfers back, as ‘Closure’ played,
The Plot in You – FMH – photos by Isis Tortora
Two songs left, and we got my other favorite song, with ‘Left Behind’ getting a tonne of love from Brisbane. There was even a confetti cannon at the end that showered Brisbane, before Tewers spoke for the final time of the night. He mentioned how there is nowhere better to spend the last night of this tour, than this venue, and Brisbane specifically. He asked for the crowd to go loud on the last song of the night, ‘FEEL NOTHING’. And Brisbane went loud as hell, as that first “feel nothing for you” line in the chorus was some of the loudest noise I’ve ever heard inside the Music Hall. It’s crazy we are just coming out of January, and I’ve already been to two shows this year that I don’t think can be topped. All bands tonight were utterly phenomenal, and I’m excited to see all of them back, as soon as possible.
