After the passing of Architects former guitarist and principal songwriter, I was a bit on the fence about the idea that the band could release anything as good as the three albums that came before, which are my favourites by the group. Then we got Holy Hell and man, it was a ripper! a b Andy Price (20 October 2022). "Architects – 'The Classic Symptoms of a Broken Spirit' review: hulking riffs and killer hooks". NME . Retrieved 21 October 2022. Ultratop.be – Architects – The Classic Symptoms of a Broken Spirit" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 October 2022. ARCHITECTS - The Classic Symptoms Of A Broken Spirit". Stormbringer.at. 9 February 2023 . Retrieved 17 September 2023. Sam is the first to admit that he doesn’t have the answers. And that as individuals – even one as engaged as he – almost anything you do is window dressing while an entire game is rigged against the planet. These anxieties exist within Architects' music, but so does the idea of sharing your worries with others and working out what can be done.

Except it did. And then Architects went on their biggest UK tour to date. And then… went quiet again. They popped up at London’s legendary Abbey Road studios at the end of last year to record songs from the album with an orchestra, something the Beatles-obsessed frontman calls a “biblical experience”, but really, Architects had weighed up touring properly, didn’t like the way the cost-to-risk odds were looking at them with the pandemic still threatening to up-end everything, and so decided to write the next album. The fourth single, a new moral low ground was released at the beginning of October. This song features a beautiful melody, screaming verses, a high-energy chorus, and lastly, a piercing guitar solo to shake you to your core.

Recommendations

The Classic Symptoms of a Band Out of Ideas I don't consider myself much of a music critic or even a reviewer, but I felt compelled to write about this album because of how much it pained me. I used to adore this band. "Dropping the ball" is an understatement for what this album is. This is Architects at their lowest point, pulling out tired clichés like a bored substitute teacher dragging in a VCR. The Classic Symptoms Of A Broken Spirit’ is a great record, but it stands alone in Architects’ discography: groovy, anthemic and hooky, it breaks new ground for a band who, having set the gold standard for modern metal, are now determined to reinvent themselves with their every release. It sets out just how far Architects have come, but perhaps more importantly, how high they could still go. a b Emma Way (20 October 2022). "Architects sound more deliberate than ever on The Classic Symptoms of a Broken Spirit". The Line of Best Fit . Retrieved 23 October 2022. The heart and soul of the record resolutely remains the band that have risen to become one of the greatest in the UK. But where they previously found emotional expression through strings and expansive passages, TCSOABS further embraces the world of electronics into the band’s repertoire. From the glitchy to the ethereal, synthesised sounds are interwoven to the crunching guitars, stank-face breakdowns and pounding, militaristic percussion, adding further depth to a sound they’ve been perfecting for almost 20 years.

If this is what being mature and creating music that challenges themselves on an intellectual level sounds like and they’re genuinely proud of it, more power to them, but it genuinely seems as if they’re in denial while the music devolves to fit the capitalistic music industry giant. I’m of the conviction that they’re refusing to openly admit they’re taking the easy route while claiming it is otherwise. The fact that they embraced this lowercase-text-only aesthetic when it comes to the album/song titles and their social media presence comes off as a smokescreen tactic to me, employed to make this album appear as though it has any inkling of a deeper underlying personality when that is far from the truth, at least musically. the classic symptoms of a broken spirit” is the tenth studio album from U.K. metalcore veterans Architects. This album is described as “a lot more industrial and electronic”.One thing that has remained from those previous records is Architects’ fight against injustice, which ripples through the lyrics on ‘The Classic Symptoms Of A Broken Spirit’. Following on from ‘For Those…’, which examined society’s apathetic response to the looming climate crisis, the new album points the finger squarely at those in power. Sure, not all of it hits the spot – all the love in the world tries to achieve heights it can’t quite reach and there are moments the band almost feel restrained, neglecting to go too heavy at times when it could have been a real benefit, but there are genuine flourishes here that will no doubt be setlist mainstays for years to come. The gargantuan when we were young is begging to be belted out in arenas, so too is the stomping chorus of born again pessimist, while new moral low ground is pure circle-pit fuel (and that solo is joyous). a b " 'The Classic Symptoms of a Broken Spirit' on Metacritic". Metacritic . Retrieved 22 October 2022.