22-12-2009Artist focus - Architects

Brightons answer to the American metalcore canundrum

January 26th marked the release of Brighton upstarts Architects third full length release Hollow Crown and it drops just as the band is midway through a successful headline tour alongside the highly acclaimed Misery Signals and A Textbook Tragedy. Rocksnail catches up with drummer Dan and guitarist Tim at the Manchester leg of the tour to find out more about the world of Architects.

Hollow Crown marks the emergence of a new found maturity in the young quintet. They have in recent years honed their sound and live rapport into a fortress of technical ability, musical understanding, underpinned with an impressive work ethic. First release 'Nightmare's' thrust a young and enthusiastic group of friends into the public conscious and were rightly tipped as one's to watch in the future. They replaced the old vocalist in the run up to the recording of 'Ruin' where the so called 'difficult' second album played out with an acclaimed prosperity and again progressed further into metals spotlight. By this time they had already had up to seven full UK tours under their belts forging friendships and fan bases along the way and venturing into Europe, Canada and the US. So just what is it that makes these guys so appealing? Rocksnail endeavours to find out....

Hollow Crown sees a departure from the all out onslaughts of technicality and crushing riffs found on the previous offerings 'Nightmares' and 'Ruin'. That doesn't mean that they are no longer there or that the band have softened their approach it is just that they have merely stepped up to a new realm of song writing and musical understanding. Dan explains "When we started out we were 16 and playing heavy music that people latched onto. Now we're definitely a bit more mature, we all listen to a lot more main stream and more accessible music which reflects on Hollow Crown." This new found approach the band talk of is evident from the first track of Hollow Crown and its greater accessibility is found in almost every song. A defining characteristic is in the discordant melody of the guitars building up momentum that ushers you through the song, rather than slapping you immediately in the face with its ferocity. It gives the standout riffs more immediate effect and takes the heavier aspects to a whole new level of intensity.

Then there is the fact that vocalist Sam lays down many more sung verses than on Ruin. "Sam joined Architects six weeks before we recorded Ruin so it was a case of get in and record the songs. The singing that came about on the one track was because Sam had a bit of time and wanted to try a few things out. Hearing how it turned out we were all saying, this guy can sing - you have to do more of it!" Guitarist Tim states on the inclusion of vocals as opposed to gutturals. This can be heard on numerous tracks of HC, most notably instant internet favourite 'Follow the Water' which is a blend of dirty riffs and fast paced drumming culminating in the emotively sung anthemic sounding title line as the song draws to its close. And It is none more so apparent than on closing and title track 'Hollow Crown' where the vocal range is explored vying between a metallic rasp and a soothing lull softly accenting the diverse and more delicate undercurrent of sounds that only the pure screamist puritans would object to. "I wouldn't say that we sat down and thought we need to write things more acceptable but we were aware of the direction we were taking" Says Dan on the choices they made within HC.

And so it's onto the topic of touring, as Architects' are midway through a successful UK jaunt with the ever popular Misery Signals opening up for them. This inclusion is no mistake and it is due to the fact that the band has spent years progressing before achieving the set up of today. We ask the guys to tell us a little bit about the current tour, their reasons for their new found successes and the antics of being five guys on a cramped bus. "The tours been going amazing" Says Dan with a resounding smile on his face "The reception has been great, the album has leaked and it seems people have learnt the songs quicker than I have" Is it a problem that it has leaked? "Not particularly. At last night's show there were all these kids singing along and all Sam said was, You Fuckers best go buy the album" It's a statement that he reiterates on stage that night, they don't seem annoyed that the songs are out there and they are happy that people are taking the time to listen and like them but as he states, "Please go buy the album, despite what you might think we're poor as shit!"

Leaks aside what's been different this time? "We've moved onto a full bus this time, were not touring in a cramped van like usual so that's cool. This is like the 9th tour we have done so it's nice to have the space. We just tend to play a lot of Halo and get wrecked." And what do you guys make of the turnouts? "Well they've all been better than any previous tour. Tonight is the biggest pre sales of the tour so far so that's really cool, We always seem to have done well here. We played the Star and Garter years ago with Bring Me The Horizon, Satan's Hollow with The Chariot, the Music Box about four times and there always are people there going off. We always try to stay with old friends from Beecher (now defunct Manc Metal pioneers) who really helped us out when we were starting out too".

We were curious to know if Architects have had a plan of attack in place over their rise in popularity as the transitions through the different stages have appeared so seamless. The band found that the biggest change in fortunes was upon their return from a highly regarded slot on the 'Never Say Die' tour in America. Dan the most vocal of the pair tells of surprising phenomenon's in this period, "We came back from America and it was almost like we had exploded over here. Something happened but we don't really know what. Maybe it's people's perceptions seen as we'd just bin to America and done the biggest thing to date" - "People have an obsession with American bands and the American industry... so we thought hey why not bring two on tour with us!" Adds Tim.

These guys are a band that have lived with a weight of expectation throughout their progressing career and have taken it all comfortably within their stride. The only contentious issue is the fact that some fragments of the industry still seem so intent to focus on the band for their image. It's an unfair and improbable allusion to their talents which is unwarranted in the wake of the albums that they have put out. "It is annoying but I think a lot of it is just lazy journalism, a big fat ugly jealous guy sat there writing in a room by himself. But we don't really focus on it" Tim wrangles, before Dan muses, "Terrorizer called us 'Brighton's newest boy band but then Behemoth cleared up the awards, maybe if we all wore Goth make up and acted in certain ways we'd have a better chance!" If you take Architects purely on face value then do so at your own detriment. If you want to hear the sounds of a dynamic and original UK band at the fore metal on our side of the Atlantic then go out and buy Hollow Crown, it will not disappoint!