Architects – Hollow Crown (2009)
©Century Media
United Kingdom

Tracklist:

1. Early Grave
2. Dethroned
3. Numbers Count for Nothing
4. Follow the Water
5. In Elegance
6. We're All Alone
7. Borrowed Time
8. Every Last Breath
9. One of these Days
10. Dead March
11. Left With a Last Minute
12. Hollow Crown

Architects are a Progressive Metal/Hardcore band from Brighton, England.  Although hardcore vocals are not my cup of tea (no pun intended) I am compelled to continue to listen to the bands latest release Hollow Crown. So how about a quick synopsis? This is a dandy album. Seriously. I can picture long time fans of Architects are rolling their eyes while reading this and thinking "no kidding!" I am new to the band so I am happy to have come across this release (gotta love friends). Hollow Crown is packed---I mean PACKED full of complex riffs than make my mouth water. Immediately upon starting this album I gathered a sound of the Canadian band Threat Signal, of course with the complex riff structures, change overs and tempo fluctuation, one can not declare this a copy cat album.

As stated earlier, I am not too wild of hardcore vocals but these are an exception. Although the screaming can get a little carried away, Sam Carter does an exceptional job of captivating the listener. He is angry. Very angry and pissed! If he did not present the vocals in this fashion then the rage in the instruments would seem entirely out of place. What I am saying is the instrument/vocal ratio is pretty much perfect. Also, he does a pretty nice number of clear vocals. Kind of like a cooling point in a heated moment.

Production is top shelf. Each instrument is clearly distinguished from one another. The tones are bright, beautiful and the guitar harmonies are quite imaginative. There are several moments of synth/digital effects that give it a bit of charge and never really bear down on the songs in a negative way. The drumming is badass. Actually, it’s reminiscent of Misery Signal's drummer but entirely original and is all over the place with its punchy double bass (blast beats included), rolling and wicked use of the cymbals. It certainly keeps up with the technical aspect of the album. An out of control train that all aboard have to keep up with.

If the vocalist decided to change his style, Architects could easily convert to a Death metal act. So that says a lot really. I am confident this album will catch the attention of many metalheads who like to stick to their guns (genre). If you are new to this band, give this album a chance. You too will see that Hollow Crown is definitely a great release that deserves to be part of your collection.