As I mentioned in the Gaza review I wrote, I was eagerly anticipating Architect's first release All is not Lost. While Black Market Activities had generally put out stuff outside of my niche, I knew who they were, and their recent releases have really catapulted them to the forefront of my attention. What grabs my attention about these releases is their unhinged ferocity and danger. Aggressive music as a whole has become a lot less aggressive since it has become mainstream and streamlined. Bands like Coalesce and Endeavor were genuine expressions of the futility of modern experience and outright disgust with American culture.
Thank God Architect carries on that tradition. They are not playing it safe by aligning themselves with the Gothenburg-sound, it's apparent they're not from The O.C., and you're not going to bump into them working at Toni and Guy. These are real-live pissed off dudes who have a chip on their shoulder and they will to tell you why. And while they do rely on some overdone conventions, like the intro to "The Awakening" with its quiet chorus build up erupting into heavy double-bass drumming, they clear their own ground like a napalm strike in Apocalypse Now. These guys aren't a run of the mill, tech-metal, third-tier Dillinger-with-breakdowns bullshit band. Their references are myriad, but the way they coalesce is unique. Architect grinds like Earache and throws down like Edison. You can sit down and listen to the entire album without losing interest from hearing the same scales repeated in eight different time signatures and you're not going to hear the same breakdown twice. Architect brings harsh dissonance backed up with heavy, heavy drops. These guys are dangerous and loud instead of being a one-trick-pony.
The lyrics are solid over-all, and it becomes apparent that their agenda is anti-conservative. The topics generally deal with dissatisfaction with consumerism in its ubiquitous form and religion as a sedative. They readily point the finger and place the blame on institutions that deceive, rather than individual action. But that ideological debate's an entirely different can of worms.
My only real complaint is the production of the disc is so thick and heavy that it loses some of the visceral rawness that something like Monuments to Thieves has, but when you're pretty much signed to Metal Blade, it's hard to not want to use that exorbitant budget to get something that sounds immaculate. Each kick-in is as heavy as you can imagine and as powerful as your stereo's volume knob allows. If you like loud, fast, and heavy Architect's got it in spades.
