Architects - For Those That Wish To Exist (Album Review) Friday, 26 February 2021
Photo: Ed Mason
“I wanna sing you a different song, one that’s easier to swallow,” Sam Carter opines during the chorus of Little Wonder, summing up the MO of Architects’ new record ‘For Those That Wish To Exist’.
Where the fuel behind the metalcore giants’ 2016 LP ‘All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us’ was nihilistic rage at the fragility of life, and 2018’s ‘Holy Hell’ processed the tragic loss of guitarist Tom Searle through the medium of brutal heaviness and funereal strings, this is a radio-friendly, bombastic examination of impermanence amid the climate crisis.
Architects. CREDIT: Ed Mason/Press
Architects: “People will recoil in horror at this record â and then find they actually like itâ Â
The Brighton metalcore band channelled unimaginable hardship into their last album, 2018 s Holy Hell . The follow-up, For Those That Wish To Exist , finds them liberated, they tell
In November 2020, Architects played only their second show of the year â from a deserted Royal Albert Hall. The livestreamed gig began by following frontman Sam Carter through the dark venue corridors, leading us down to the auditorium. With his bandmates on the stage and Sam in the centre of the floor, they tore into rabid opener âNihilistâ with enough force to shake the UKâs most beautiful, prestigious venue to its foundation. It was a monstrous start to one of the yearâs best online gigs.
song like âFlight Without Feathersâ, which sees vocalist Sam Carter eschewing lung-
collapsing screams for a gentle vocal over blissful, weightless synths. Nor have they
recorded anything as openly anthemic as âMeteorâ or danceable as âLittle Wonderâ,
which features a verse from Royal Bloodâs Mike Kerr, a long-time friend of the band.
But itâs the stunning âDead Butterfliesâ, with its epic strings, soaring chorus and
Spielbergian sense of wonder that indicates all bets are off as to where
Architects could go next.
The album was due to be written in Australia, but the band were forced to
change their plans as a result of the countryâs devastating bushfires, instead heading to Bali to write and record. A sense of helplessness runs throughout a record inspired by Mother Natureâs destructive force, as they ask questions rather than propose answers. On âDemi Godâ, which features amid Bond-style orchestration and
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