Architects’ sixth full-length album isn’t officially released until March 11th, but the good guys over at Epitaph Records have made it available for streaming on their official YouTube channel. This means we’re fortunate enough to get a sneak preview of one of this year’s most anticipated alternative albums ‘Lost Forever // Lost Together’ and, believe me, it’s cracking.
Now I don’t like comparing a band’s work with their previous releases, but it’s impossible for me not to mention the similarities between ‘Lost Forever // Lost Together’ and ‘Hollow Crown’, their third album released back in 2009. For those of you unfamiliar with Architects’ previous work, it’s heavy. Really f*****g heavy. In their last two releases, ‘The Here and Now’ and ‘Daybreaker’, vocalist Sam Carter seemed to separate and put distance between his alternating clean and guttural vocals, however ‘Lost Forever // Lost Together’ he blends them in to what can only be described as an anguished, ferocious roar that shakes the foundations of every song, in a manner similar to their metalcore compatriots Bring Me the Horizon.
This manages to perfectly compliment the subject matter of the album. Growing more and more political with every release, ‘Lost Forever // Lost Together’ is underpinned by ideas of political outrage, injustice and human ignorance. Carter’s vocal style impassions and accentuates these ideas, as does the incredible pace and power of the record. While there is often a tendency these days to make an album that rises and falls, be assured that ‘Lost Forever // Lost Together’ is all rise thanks to some impressive riffage. After an initial feint in opening track ‘Gravedigger’ Architects sucker punch you, and then continue to pummel you for ten more tracks. With little variation in the tone of the album it would be easy for each song to sound similar, but each song has its own strengths and its own little moments that make each one unique, like the brief reprieve on the chugging ‘Castles in the Air’, or the spoken introduction to ‘Red Hypergiant’.
‘Lost Forever // Lost Together’ is a heavier, more creative and more ambitious album than Architects have ever attempted. Condensing high-concept ideas in to a 40-minute record, making them stick, and making them fun is no easy task, but ‘Lost Forever // Lost Together’ achieves that and then some. Their strongest release to date harks borrows from their past but still manages to be unique, and Architects manage to create an almost apocalyptic feel with chaotic and ear-splitting triumph. In writing the album they band stated that the emphasis on the record would be the live performances, and you can definitely see this. ‘Lost Forever // Lost Together’ is moshpit carnage waiting to happen.