SAM CARTER ARCHITECTS

The mercurial frontman chats the past, present and future as the Brighton heavyweights get ready to take their vital next steps

What’s the worst thing about being in a band? “I don’t see any negatives and I hate it when people in bands are negative about it. ‘I hate going on tour. I miss my family.’ Fuck off! No one wants to hear that.” What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? “Just keep going. When I was younger we looked at bands like Biffy Clyro and saw that it took them a while. We’re doing alright now, but we used to think that we weren’t. Just keep going, and if you’re a credible band, you’ll get there.” When was the first time you felt like a rock star? “I’m still waiting for that. I guess the closest was at London’s Alexandra Palace, but then you go back and play table tennis. So, I don’t feel like a classic ‘rock star’.” What’s been your worst experience on drugs? “Oh Jesus! I don’t know, man. They’re rubbish aren’t they? I like a drink, but I’ve never had much time for recreational drugs.”

When was the last time you cried? “About a week ago, when I was watching some old footage of us playing. We had just come off this tour in America and lost loads of money and no one liked us. Then we went straight into this tour with Parkway Drive and everyone was so nice and it was so refreshing. It was the first time people started to care about us, and we actually broke even after that, so I was getting emotional after thinking about that time.” Dan Searle has said that Tom’s touches are all over the new album, but you won’t reveal where. How come? “There’s a lot of weird people out there who will play off, ‘I prefer Tom’s songs’ or ‘I prefer Josh’s songs’ and that’s not the way this album has been written. Everyone has had such an important part of Architects. But Tom is on the record. Also, we want to bring some of that romance back to metal. It might be years from now that people discover us and they have this story to delve into.” How confident were you that it would work out with Josh Middleton joining the band fulltime on guitar? “Extremely confident. It just felt so natural. We have always been friends – Architects and Sylosis played every toilet venue in this country together – he’s got the same sense of humour as us and he’s just a great person. He spoke at Tom’s funeral. I remember when Tom was in the hospice, we were talking about the Brixton Academy show and Tom said he’d love to be able to come and to see Josh play it. As soon as he said that, it was the nod that we all looked to. We couldn’t be happier with him.” Did you ever think you’d headline Wembley Arena?! “That’s insane. Insane. We sold out the floor in 24 hours… fuck. It’s annoying, these shows, because now I just have nightmares about what can go wrong every night until that day. I’m not going to sleep until next year. It has to be like that, though. If you were walking around going, ‘I’m headlining Wembley!’ you’d look a right cunt.” What do you think will shock people the most about your new album, Holy Hell? “I think people will be surprised at how heavy it is. There’s some really nasty stuff on there. It’s the hardest journey we’ve ever had to make. People are going to be blown away.” What are your hopes for Manchester United this season? “I’m over it now. It used to make me so angry, I’d get so wound up at having to watch Phil fucking Jones fall over every week, but now I just try and go and enjoy the day out.

It’s only a game, isn’t it? Not worth ruining your whole weekend for… although that really has happened a lot. Every player we buy in defence is just… fuck it. I can’t go into this. I’m out! Ha ha ha!”

HOLY HELL IS OUT NOVEMBER 9 VIA EPITAPH. ARCHITECTS TOUR THE UK EARLY NEXT YEAR – SEE P.109

“WE’RE BRINGING THE ROMANCE BACK TO METAL”