The Here And Now
Century Media
Architects are one of those bands who appear to have had an astronomic increase in popularity over the past few months when, in fact, they’ve been plugging away , building their way up through the UK underground for a good few years. The fact that magazines such as Rock Sound and Metal Hammer are now featuring them on their covers shows just how far they have come, mind. And their latest album ‘The Here And Now’ is a demonstration of the band’s potential and scope to really hit the mainstream (as far as metal can).
Spikey edges with technical riffs and raw vocals still remain in some tracks but Architects have embraced the more melodic side of their music with open arms. Anthemic singalongs, balladesque clean vocals, toning down of riffs’ sharp edges – this is a band who are definitely making a stab at the mainstream and they may well lose some of their original fans because of this. But the fact remains that this is a great album which actually benefits from the injection of variety that comes from the inclusion of less-jagged elements which are expertly juxtaposed against the metal grit which is definitely still present.
It’s on songs like ‘Year In, Year Out/Up and Away’ (which features guest vocals from Dillinger’s Greg Puciato) that Architects’ roots in more frenetic and full-on metal stylings really shine through and it’s because they’ve stayed true to this side of their sound, at least to some extent, that the band can get away with their new-found leanings to those more radio-friendly of songs. And it seems to be getting them more and more attention as the band have seen latest single ‘ Day In, Day Out’ played by the likes of the really quite mainstream Zane Lowe and Fearne Cotton on daytime and early evening Radio 1.
Winegums
