The internet, it would seem, has been broken. After teasing us with snippets earlier this week, Architects have officially announced their next chapter – namely new album Holy Hell, which will land on November 9, and a ma-hoo-sive UK and European tour that’ll take in, amongst other heavyweight venues, London’s Wembley Arena. All of which makes for a heartening and welcome return for a band who weren’t even sure if they’d have a future together this time two years ago. While last year’s excellent Doomsday single offered a glimpse into a future that, at one point, seemed improbable, it’s Hereafter that will give us the clearest indication yet of where Architects will go next. And, if this first opening shot from Holy Hell is anything to go by, the future is looking bright.
“Now the oceans have drained out, can I come up for air? ‘Cause I’ve been learning to live without, and I’m fighting with broken bones.” Opening with Sam Carter’s delicately delivered words, accompanied by a warm rush of throbbing synth, there’s an instant emotional gravitas to Hereafter – a twenty second intake of breath that gently grabs you by the wrist before the track kicks in proper and drags you into what is an impassioned firestorm of a song.
In fact, it doesn’t take long at all for Hereafter to get stuck into what Architects are best known for: waves of huge, juddering riffs, searing melodies and Sam’s trademark, throat-scorching vocals, all peppered with flourishes of keys, crunching breakdowns and a chorus surely destined to have arena-sized crowds bursting their voiceboxes. Very much the Yin to Doomsday’s Yang, this is a track that continues what seems to be a step into a more streamlined version of the Architects sound we know and love: concise, compact but still bursting with the technical prowess and pure, emotive energy that has been their hallmark for over a decade.
“I’ve been searching through the wreckage,” screams Sam during the song’s breakdown before that huge chorus kicks back in. Judging by this, what he and his bandmates have found is a way to stride purposely into the future again.
Holy Hell is released November 9 via Epitaph Records.
Architects 2018/2019 tour dates
Dec 04: St. Petersburg, A2, Russia
Dec 06: Moscow, Adrenaline Stadium, Russia
Dec 08: Kiev Stereoplaza, Ukraine
Jan 06: Stockholm Fryshuset Arenan, Sweden
Jan 08: Copenhagen Vega, Denmark
Jan 10: Dusseldorf Mitsubishi-Electric-Halle, Germany
Jan 11: Antwerp Lotto Arena, Belgium
Jan 12: Amsterdam AFAS Live, Netherlands
Jan 14: Manchester O2 Victoria Warehouse, UK
Jan 17: Glasgow O2 Academy, UK
Jan 18: Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, UK
Jan 19: London SSE Arena Wembley, UK
Jan 21: Luxembourg Luxexpo, Luxembourg
Jan 22: Lyon Transbordeur, France
Jan 24: Barcelona Razzmatazz, Spain
Jan 25: Bilbao Santana 27, Spain
Jan 27: Paris Olympia, France
Jan 28: Zurich Halle 622, Switzerland
Jan 29: Vienna Gasometer, Austria
Jan 30: Milan Alcatraz, Italy
Jan 31: Prague Forum Karlin, Czech Republic
Feb 01: Warsaw Stodola, Poland
Feb 02: Leipzig Haus Auensee, Germany
Feb 03: Offenbach Stadthalle, Germany
Feb 05: Berlin Verti Music Hall, Germany
Feb 06: Munich Zenith, Germany
Feb 08: Hamburg Sporthalle, Germany
