Architects have released their eleventh album.
Entitled The Sky, the Earth & All Between, it features the collaboration of Dan Searle (drums), Alex “Ali” Dean (bass/keyboards), Sam Carter (vocals) and Adam Christianson (guitar/vocals) with keyboardist Jordan Fish (ex-Bring Me The Horizon).
The band opens with the modern tones of Elegy, quickly joined by Sam Carter‘s gentle vocals, then the instrumental wakes up and begins to give the track its post-hardcore tones before really exploding with the first scream. We find the band’s true fury with its raw groove and howls, but also much more accessible choruses like on Whiplash, where you’d think the band had gone back 10 years in terms of violence and contrast. Modern Electro elements are of course integrated into the riffs, while the final break is set ablaze before the catchy Blackhole, which will have more than a few people in the pit shaking their heads thanks to its lively patterns and roars, but the band quickly calms things down with Everything Ends and its very soaring introduction. The track remains fairly mellow and contains very few saturated vocals or violent elements, but it remains in keeping with the band’s recent logic, while Brain Dead will surprise both with its savagery, but also its rather smooth sounds due to a Djent-influenced mix before receiving House of Protection for an even rawer vocal addition that won’t hesitate to erupt regularly. Back to jerky riffs with Evil Eyes, where the contrast with the sweetness of the choruses is once again very strong, then Landmines follows with energetic irregular patterns that energize the surrounding moments of quietude. The band now welcomes singer Amira Elfeky for an interesting duet on Judgement Day, where the two are capable of incredible sweetness as well as darker rage, always supported by the appropriate instrumental, before returning to steamy sounds with Broken Mirror, despite a rather heavy break. Curse takes us back to the band’s most violent influences, featuring the widest possible range of vocals for unleashed riffs, then Seeing Red once again blends this explosiveness with Trap additions and even a few backing vocals, before letting Chandelier close the album with the most ethereal tones possible, sounding almost like a ballad to my ears, allowing us to exit the album with ease.
Architects continue to evolve, adding ever more diversity to their range of influences, and if some tracks sound very aggressive, The Sky, the Earth & All Between is also capable of weaving us a sweetness never heard before from them.
75/100
