Last year, UK metalcore masters Architects showed a new side of their souls with their ninth album For Those That Wish To Exist (Epitaph Records). Now with their performance at the iconic Abbey Road Studios, each song shines in its full potential for a historic mark in the band’s career.
As if the album wasn’t already strong enough, the addition of the Parallax Orchestra, For Those That Wish To Exist: Live at Abbey Road (also Epitaph) takes each song to new heights, summoning their final forms. After hearing their transcendent performance with Bring Me The Horizon at Royal Albert Hall in 2016, it was easy to imagine what effect they would have on these songs – which turned out just as epic as I’d predicted.
The colossal brass section soars through swaying strings that counterpoint vocalist Sam Carter’s croons and screams. The many orchestral sounds never clash with the band, but only elevate the immense guitars and melodies tenfold into a catastrophic symphony. From the first riff in ‘Black Lungs’, the orchestra fits in flawlessly like they were meant to be there the whole time.
Carter gives it his all every second, sounding almost identical to the original recordings. His valiant delivery thunders through each arrangement so naturally that it’s easy to forget these aren’t the initial song versions. Mellow tracks ‘Flight Without Feathers’ and ‘Dying Is Absolutely Safe’ allow him to show off his softer side to provide a nice contrast to his signature raspy yells.
On songs like ‘Giving Blood’ and ‘Little Wonder’, drummer Dan Searle pummels away with fills that emphasize every menacing tone. The accented beats he adds to the classic riff of ‘Animals’ are executed like a brewing storm. He opens ‘Dead Butterflies’ with some imminent pounding while light violins back him, until erupting into a dynamic upheaval of instruments.
At no point in this performance do the many sounds of the Parallax Orchestra sound superfluous or out of place – they fill in each rhythmic gap like puzzle pieces, adding towering harmonies that beautifully complement the regular metal band lineup. Bands like Architects are keeping metalcore alive by fearlessly diving into new creative elements that unleash their lionhearted spirits.
Buy the album here: https://architects.ffm.to/fttwte-abbeyroad
9 / 10
COLLEEN KANOWSKY