Architects — Holy Hell (11/09/18)

7/10

It’s been over two years now since the passing of Architect’s founding guitarist and songwriter Tom Searle. At only 28-years-old, the musician’s life came to an end after living for three years with melanoma skin cancer. The tragic loss left a hole in the band that couldn’t be filled, and their future was far from certain.

Despite the untimely loss the band got back on the road in support of 2016’s critically acclaimed All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us, giving fans the chance to show their respects to Tom and celebrate the music he created.

It was still uncertain what the band’s next step would be when it came to new music, but the metalcore group from Brighton eased fans trepidation with the release of “Doomsday” in the fall of 2017. A song Tom Searle began but never finished, “Doomsday” continues the emotionally potent material heard on All Our Gods. The lyrics, written by drummer Tom’s brother, Dan Searle, reflect a man torn apart by the loss of a loved one.

They say “the good die young”/No use in saying “what is done is done” ’cause it’s not enough/And when the night gives way/It’s like a brand new doomsday.

Now more than a year later the band has returned with their first full-length written without Tom. Holy Hell shows the band transform their agony into furious anthems that embrace the pain and take the listener headfirst into the torment.

“For me, broadly speaking Holy Hell is about pain: the way we process it, cope with it, and live with it,” Dan says. “There is value in pain. It’s where we learn, it’s where we grow.”

Throughout the eleven tracks vocalist Sam Carter continues to push his vocals to measures beyond that of your average screamer. The recently turned 30-year-old throws everything he has into his delivery and does so well at conveying the emotion behind the words.

“Hereafter” is one of the band’s most exceptional achievements, displaying all the qualities that make Architects such a special force in the world of metalcore. It’s the ferocious breakdowns mixed with melodic passion that fuels this band, and this song displays it better than any other.

On Holy Hell the band has lost a core member that helped define their sound over the years, but they haven’t lost their voice.