Architects

The Classic Symptoms Of A Broken Spirit EPITAPH

Chart-topping metalcore monsters return with extra arena-sized swagger.

Building on the next-level momentum of their 2021 chart topper

For Those That Wish To Exist, Brighton metalcore icons Architects crank up the cinematic melodrama to 11 again on this sumptuous, hugesounding tenth album.

The song titles – Living Is Killing Us, Doomscrolling, Born Again Pessimist – and lyrics may scream apocalyptic gloom, but there is an increasingly bright, infectious, power-glam polish to the band’s sound. A deep seam of goth-pop melody also runs through these fire-breathing anthems, from the Muse-style supercharged paranoia of Deep Fake to the arena-stomping electro-goth of A New Moral Low Ground, and the thunderous riff stampede of Tear Gas that sounds like The Prodigy blowtorching a busload of boy bands. For their final flourish, these hardcore veterans nod to their roots with the hurtling screampunk blast of Be Very Afraid before fading out on a fragrant flurry of birdsong. After so much darkness, this airy dawn chorus strikes a pleasingly poetic, cautiously upbeat note.