Architects

The new album from Architects sees the British metal heroes expanding their horizons for their most ambitious work to date. Guitarists Josh Middleton and Adam Christianson discuss the creative process for an album that sets the bar high for 2021...

For Architects, one of the most powerful and inventive British metal bands of modern times, new album For Those That Wish To Exist represents a subtle yet significant evolution. As Josh Middleton describes it, he and fellow guitarist Adam Christianson are now “striving to tread new ground” and pushing into more “quirky and cinematic” sonic territories. From a band renowned as tech metal masters, For Those That Wish To Exist is more direct and streamlined than previous albums, with less busy lines and straight 4/4 rhythms. And yet, the overall production and instrumentation makes the new music feel more expansive than anything they’ve created before. “We weren’t looking for generic metalcore riffs or anything too similar to what we’ve done in the past,”

Josh says. “We wanted this to be unique.”

When Josh joined Architects, it was in the most difficult of circumstances – replacing founding member Tom Searle, who passed away in 2016. Since then, Josh has also remained committed to his other role as leader of Sylosis. But if his first album with Architects, 2018’s Holy Hell, was the sound of him settling into a new role alongside Adam, their partnership has truly blossomed on an album which also features guest appearances by Simon Neil of Biffy Clyro and Mike Kerr of Royal Blood.

Speaking to TG, Josh and Adam explain the thinking behind the album and where their search for new sounds has led them...

What was your approach to guitars this time around?

Josh: It’s definitely a bit more straightforward guitar-wise, though the songs are still quite dense with a lot going on. It’s more of a textural thing, using different noises and synths rather than cramming loads of notes into every riff. I really like the riff in Black Lungs for that. I’m not saying we reinvented the wheel. It’s just a fun catchy riff. Animals is another one, it’s really industrial and cold, and Demi God is another favourite. I didn’t know if the chorus was too Sylosis-y for Architects, it has two major chords a semitone apart. I’m a huge fan of Nine Inch Nails and Trent Reznor, so that was me trying to mimic his sound! Adam: The last track Dying Is Absolutely Safe is very different for us. It’s orchestral and more of a melancholy thing, and not a guitar song at all. I like the acoustic style of that one, it’s a bit more ‘out there’ for us.

Although you’ve continued to evolve over the years certain key elements of the Architects sound, like slow pre-bends, are still very much present...

Josh: For sure! That just comes from listening to a lot of Pantera growing up.

That definitely rubbed off on me. Tom had done a lot with pre-bends before I joined, too. It almost doesn’t come to mind, it just happens when I’m sat around writing riffs.”

Adam: “Some of our heaviest stuff tends to be like that. There are those in-between pitches that live in that grey area that isn’t quite in tune. I think they help the riffs sound more interesting and unique.”

What did you use for the synth sounds on the album?

Josh: A lot of that was done by Dan [Searle, drums]. He’s written more on this record. He can play guitar and piano but he predominantly writes using synths and programming stuff on Kontakt. I do a lot of sound manipulation, too. For example, there’s this part in Discourse Is Dead with vocals from an older song, Holy Hell, that I chopped up and made glitchy. I like the idea of using weird vocal stuff. There’s a really thick distorted bass drum in Animals, going though the whole track, and it’s not even a drum... It’s literally me beatboxing and then distorting it!

And then songs like Dead butterflies and An ordinary extinction feature actual guitars effected to sound more like synths…

Adam: For a lot of those sounds, we’d use a pitch shifter effect on the Kemper. We’d dial in an octave down for some sub-bass underneath the guitar.

Josh: “It has that 70s Moog kind of sound to it. You can control the amount of low octave, so it was used in varying degrees depending on the riff or the song. And it got used quite a lot on this record! In terms of the lead sounds, for the wailing distorted tones in Dead Butterflies or the end of Animals, we were using delay pedals in front of the amps, as opposed to in the loop. You end up sounding really fluttery and messed up. Adam: It definitely gives you more of a vintage vibe doing it that way.

Josh, you recently unveiled your new LTD JM-II. What exactly did you have in mind for your first signature?

Josh: I own quite a few LTDS and ESPS. I have this [Queensrÿche guitarist] Michael Wilton model that I bought years ago, it came with skulls all over it... Which is not why I bought it! I liked it for the classic Strat shape and look, so I had it repainted black. I didn’t buy it specifically because of the wood, it’s an alder body with a bolt-on neck, though I also had another ESP M-II from 2007 which had the same configuration. And I always gravitated to the tone of both those guitars. When I did the first Sylosis record, I took about five guitars to the studio and the Michael Wilton won. Alder felt like a tried and tested combination for me. You get a bit more mid-range, as opposed to mahogany, which is darker and thicker. And with a bolt-on neck, you get a sharper pick attack which is great for articulate picking and riffing. The quilted maple top is mainly for aesthetics! I haven’t really shot out guitars based on their tops, but I guess it’s another midrangey and hard-sounding wood. I wanted the finish to be as dark as possible, for it to look black unless it was under lights. There is natural binding too, which nods back to the first ESP/ LTD I got in 2003, which was a MH-301 in See Thru Black with the same binding. It’s a throwback to my youth!

You’ve occasionally played Les Paul-style guitars. What makes the Super strat body shape work better for you?

Josh: I think Les Pauls can actually sound a bit too thick when you are playing loads of notes or writing really articulate ideas. I had one that was weight-relieved and chambered, it was an Axcess Custom. It looked cool but just sounded too muffly. I also prefer longer scale guitars because of the tension, this new signature is only 25.5” which is standard but still longer than Les Pauls. There’s something about the tone... It just feels tighter and snappier. I shot out a few different bridges. The first one I tried was a Hipshot one and though it was really comfortable against the body, it sounded really brittle and thin, just way too quacky with this harsh attack. I actually think Tune-o-matic bridges sound the best but wanted a low profile, so ESP said they would recess it, and I think it’s the only guitar they make built like that, with the bridge sunk into the body.

And you’ve been using Fishman Fluence Modern humbuckers for a while now. What made you want to switch over from EMG?

Josh: For my style of playing, these are the best pickups I’ve ever had. I like the active mode because it’s a very even and slightly compressed sound for riffing. I want every note to sound exactly the same. I don’t get why guitarists want dynamics when they play metal rhythms. When you layer up two guitarists live or four tracks in the studio, any inconsistencies will throw you off. It’s really annoying when you have really dynamic pickups and you want high gain tones that are tight and solid. So I’ve always preferred the active sound. The passive mode is there, I can switch to it for clean stuff if I want, or even some solos. James Hetfield always had the greatest tone but people just read stuff on the Internet about actives sounding too compressed and rehash that as their own opinion. And I don’t trust most opinions on tone because the majority come from bedroom players who don’t work professionally. It’s one of those things that gets perpetuated and I disagree... The active compressed sound is ideal for heavy music. And the

ADAM CHRISTIANSON “There are those in-between pitches that live in that grey area that isn’t quite in tune. I think they help the riffs sound more interesting and unique”

great thing about the Fishmans is that you have both voicings in one, but I will always defend the active pickup sound.

Adam, you also have your own LSL signatures. What were you looking for with these models?

Adam: The older one is very similar to Josh’s – it has an alder body, roasted maple neck and ebony board. Alder is a pretty balanced wood I would say, you get this nice midrange without it being too overwhelming. The roasted maple and ebony combo is always great for bunch and articulation. I use Bare Knuckle Pickups made by Tim Mills in the UK. The ones I use for this guitar are Josh Smith from Northlane’s signature Impulse set, which were loosely based on the Black Hawk model.

And how about your newest model?

Adam: The butterscotch one is a little different – it’s a 24-fret version with an ash body and maple for the neck and board. I use the Bare Knuckle Misha Mansoor Ragnarok set in that guitar for a slightly different flavour. Both signatures are baritone because most of our material before this new album was in a low G# or F# tuning and I tend to prefer the baritone scale. It feels like a similar tension to a regular guitar in standard tuning. Many baritones are 26.5” or 27” in scale, and mine are 27.5”, so a little longer which I find helps maintain the pitch of the string when I play. I also use Mayones guitars too, I first got introduced to them by

Tom Searle, who started playing them in 2013. It’s a very different vibe – the LSL guitars are more traditional and typically Fender-style builds, more of a boutique thing, and the Mayones are way more modern and precise. The LSL guitars are like muscle cars and Mayones are like Ferraris!

Josh, you have your own STL Tones pack. How close has digital come to analogue when it comes to ‘real’ amp sounds?

Josh: I used to be a bit of a dinosaur with it all, only liking real gear. I was adamant on never getting an Axe-fx or Kemper and then in 2015 I realised it would be so much easier, not having to worry about earth issues or buzzing on stage or my tone changing every night. I totally get both sides of the argument. I love real amps and will always try to use them where possible, but digital is so convenient for [playing] live! For the STL stuff, I guess a lot of the nailing amp tones came down to them and their technology. My aim was to capture every amp and cab I had in my home studio, mainly to use in mixes and have all the options there without needing to plug anything in. I have about five cabinets and nine heads, so it was all about sharing the different tones as well as using different boost pedals in front. I wanted as much diversity as possible – having said that, they’re all designed for heavy rhythm playing. It’s dedicated to really good metal tones.

“JAMES HETFIELD ALWAYS HAD THE GREATEST TONE” JOSH MIDDLETON