The second single off their upcoming album is here! Architects gave us quite the headbanger with last month's song, "A Match Made in Heaven". Now they're continuing the onslaught with "Gone With the Wind". All gearing up for their May 27, 2016 album, "All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us".
Click this (link) to preorder the album on iTunes.
In a recent interview with Upset Magazine, frontman Sam Carter said of the album, "A lot of people were maybe expecting us to go a little bit softer. We really just wanted to do the opposite of that. We know we're good at being a heavy band and we want to continue being heavy.
It would have been very easy to go in and do a regular Architects record. We could have gone in and done the basic things that we could to to make it sound good, but there's no point in that because you're left with that for the rest of your life. We went in there, drove ourselves crazy for seven weeks, lost our minds over the tiniest bits, sat there, said this wasn't good enough and did it again and again. There's no way we could follow up 'Lost Forever..." with 'Lost Forever... Part 2" because that record was so special to people and to us."
It's too early to say whether the band have made this a "Lost Forever... Part 2" or not. But what we can say is this. From what we've heard so far, Architects are really stepping their game up. They've fine tuned some of the kinks from their previous LP, and provide listeners with pure metalcore bliss. They've earned their place at the top of the world of modern metal, unlike so many bands (cough Memphis May Fire, Black Veil Brides cough).
One of the great things about the band is that despite their evolving sound, they always manage to throw in touches of their early work. Whether it be the tight breakdowns, or Dan Searle's relentless drumming, Architects keep fans old and new satisfied. Lyrically, Tom Searle is in top form. Writing about inner turmoil, the lyrics speak volumes and continue the themes he started in "Lost Forever..."
Of course the lyrics are only half the story. A vocalist's performance can either make or break them. In this case, Carter makes good on his reputation as one of the best unclean vocalists. Architects have long drawn comparisons to fellow Brit-metalcore mainstays Bring Me The Horizon. And in recent years, Carter's vocals have gotten even more comparisons to Oli Sykes, and vice versa.
It's easy to see why. Both have employed varying styles of screams, from gutteral death growls from their respective band's early days, to the current "half-screams" they employ now. On this particular track, Carter's vocals bring both the past and the present together. Using some of the clean vocal tactics from "The Here and Now", while also shredding his throat the same way he did on "Naysayer", it's a rock solid performance.
Don't let the "The Here and Now" performance deter you. Carter has found a way to deliver his clean vocals without it being like a slap to the face. Instead, his voice retains its edge, but does substantially soften. You could compare them to Sykes' vocals on "And the Snakes Start to Sing".
Summary -
Architects rightfully deserve their place at the table of metalcore heavy-weights. The song, while a bit standard in some regards, hits home and then some.This record is sure to propel the band to a new height, as their sound gets more and more refined. The intricate guitar lines, woven on top of the blistering drum line make this right at home with their other songs. Plus they've got a slick, stylish new music video to go with their track. Win, win.
Rating - 8 to 8.5/10