I know in my last post I said I wasn't looking to do any new reviews any time soon, but one thing you should know about me is that I'm very fickle and will change my mind on pretty much a daily basis, plus even with this only coming out on Friday (I'm writing this on Monday) I've listened to it so many times and have heard many different opinions on it and wanted to throw in my two cents on this anticipated new release from the English metalcore legends.
FTWWTE is the ninth studio album by Architects and follows 2018's "Holy Hell". I wouldn't necessarily call myself a fan of the band as I'm more a fan of "Holy Hell" rather than their previous work as I consider a masterpiece of metal core and a genuine 10/10 record that was just filled to the brim with absolute emotion after the death of founding member Tom Searle to the point where it felt like the band were determined to make him proud of what the band had become and I think they did a damn fine job of it. I do enjoy their previous stuff especially "All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us", but none on the level of "Holy Hell" which is pretty much my favourite album of 2018 which had my hopes up for this release. So is it any good?
I guess that would depend on who you ask as the band have changed their sound quite a bit to the point where this is probably the least heavy album they've ever put out and of course that comes with cries of blasphemy to their traditional sound or copying other bands like Bring Me The Horizon or Linkin Park which, in my opinion, are completely unfounded, as the band hasn't changed their sound that much and feels more like an evolution. "Holy Hell" felt like the time for the band to grieve over a fallen brother but this album is the sound of a band coming out of the dark and into the light to signal a new beginning.
That being said is FTWWTE as good as "Holy Hell"? No and it was never going to be as that was a near impossible act to follow. Is FTWWTE a great album overall? Not really but it does flirt with greatness but a few flaws let it down which is a bit disappointing but I do still like this album a lot so I'll begin with what I like about the album.
First off, vocalist Sam Carter is allowed to show off more of his vocal range with a lot more clean singing sections in these songs whilst I've heard a few complaints that there should be more screaming, the parts that do contain screaming come across as a lot more memorable on tracks like "Black Lungs" and "Discourse is Dead" to really just add to the effect and makes the album come across as more varied as a result.
For the metalcore fans there are still tracks that will be on your playlist for a good while like the aforementioned "Black Lungs" which whilst also being a catchy as hell single with a big chorus also features a nice breakdown at the end which is guaranteed to have the pits going when this opens their live shows in future.
There are just so many huge tracks I love here like "Dead Butterflies" which was another single released before the album which just hits so many emotional beats for me and I find myself just wanting to scream along with the chorus with an orchestral backing which just adds to it's enormity. I also loved "Impermanence" which is easily the heaviest track on here with another huge breakdown and features a guest spot from Winston McCall from Parkway Drive who's huge voice just adds so much to that final breakdown and really puts me in the mood for some Parkway.
Speaking of guest spots, Simon Neil of Biffy Clyro fame features on the track "Goliath" and surprised the hell out of me as I expected his inclusion to be on a softer track but I was surprised to hear him properly go for the screaming he was known for early on in Biffy's timeline around the time of Infinity Land. Nice job from my fellow Scotsman and his inclusion made this hard hitter another highlight in an album full of them.
I'd also like to give a shout out to first single "Animals" which has been stuck in my head since I first heard it back in October last year and still packs a mighty punch with a killer main riff and a chorus that could break down fucking mountains. I won't be happy until I can hear the band play this live and I can tear out my vocal chords shouting along to it. I also love how the album ends with the last two tracks as it really does intend to end on a high note starting with final single "Meteor" which is an appropriate title for a track with a massive chorus intended to have a whole crowd jumping along to it. You can criticize the newer sound of the band all you want but they know how to write a damn catchy song. The final track "Dying is Absolutely Safe" (great title) is slowly becoming my favourite track and is on par with the final track from "Holy Hell": "Wasted Hymn". It feels like the emotional climax of the whole record and could have fit on the previous album perfectly. It's an almost completely acoustic track that just builds and builds to one hell of crescendo complete with orchestral backing to really take it to the next level.
And now we come to the flaws. I feel like I say this all the time when I'm being critical of particular records, but this record is just too damn long at 58 minutes and there are some tracks that come across as filler because of it. I mean 15 tracks is a lot for one album and I feel like if they had just cut out a few of the tracks and kept the record closer to the length of "Holy Hell" then the whole record would be much more memorable and would have taken it to that next level but as it is it's just another very good release to add to the discography. I love where the band is going but I hope in future they are able to contain themselves a bit. Tracks like "Little Wonders" are fine but float a bit too close to that Bullet For My Valentine "Gravity" sound that didn't quite work out and tracks like "Demi God" and "An Ordinary Extinction" feel like they're missing something to take them to the next level and end of forgettable and slow the album down a bit when the momentum really should keep going.
Aside from that though there isn't much to complain about as this is a damn good release that really should be a great release, but like I say, it's a new beginning for a band that needed it and I look forward to seeing where this record takes them next. I'll be sure to keep an eye on it. This definitely won't be for everyone as I know fans of the band that really do not like this, but give it a try, you might just find yourself surprised.
Overall rating: 7/10
Tracks to check out: Black Lungs, Dead Butterflies, Impermanence, Animals, Meteors, Dying is Absolutely Safe
Thanks for reading and if you have any new or even old albums you'd like me to check out and possibly review then be sure to leave a comment or even leave a band name you'd like to see for my Worst to Best series whilst I'm still trying to decide between Bring Me The Horizon or the daunting 18 album discography of the mighty Judas Priest.
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