Fit for Rivals is an American rock band that originated in Jacksonville, Florida. The band's core members are songwriter/vocalist Renée Phoenix and songwriter/guitarist Thomas Amason. The band released their debut album Steady Damage on July 9, 2009, and the follow-up, Freak Machine was released on September 2, 2016.
Fit for Rivals formed in 2009 when Reneé Phoenix met Thomas Amason while looking for a new guitarist for her band The Explicits. The album Steady Damage by Fit For Rivals features excerpts of Phoenix's songs from her first album, The Explicits.
In 2009, Fit for Rivals released their debut EP Was That Our Youth?. Later in the year, the band began recording their debut studio album, Steady Damage, which was self-released on July 18, 2009. It spawned the singles "Crash" and "Damage" and music videos were recorded for both. The track "Crash" has notably been used as a theme song for WWE's Over the Limit pay-per-view and was featured in multiple films and television programs, including Legendary.
The band released their second EP Sugar on July 17, 2015 and consists of 4 tracks: "Special Kind of Crazy", "Light that Shines", "Freak Machine" and "Hit Me". A music video for "Hit Me" was released on August 27, 2014. A fan music video for "Freak Machine" was posted on their YouTube channel on November 11, 2014.
After the release of Sugar, Fit for Rivals began working on their second studio album entitled Freak Machine. Freak Machine was released on September 2, 2016 and was produced by Thomas Amason.
Lead singer Renee Phoenix was featured in the single "Get With It" by the band Something Clever from their fourth EP . It was released a promotional single on March 1, 2019, the same day of the EPs release. An official music video premiered in 2019 which Phoenix was featured in also.
In 2020, Renee Phoenix and Thomas Amason started Freak Machine Records, a rock label.
Through the year 2020, Fit For Rivals released the singles, "No Way In Hell", "Fake", "Tight Rope" and "Window" as part of their B Sides & Oddities EP.
In 2022, Fit For Rivals released the singles, "Wake The Dead" and "Secret".
Fit for Rivals has been described as rock, punk rock and pop punk. Reneé Phoenix's "raspy" and "gritty" vocal style is compared to that of Joan Jett, whom she says she admires, and Brody Dalle. Their EP Sugar has a bit of a throwback sound, as described in New Noise Magazine.
Current members
Former members