what-im-listening-too

[what-im-listening-too]

ARCHITECTS - THE SKY, THE EARTH & ALL BETWEEN (2025)

So there have been a couple albums I've been listening too recently and considering talking about - System Of A Down's Steal This Album! and Coldplay's Viva La Vida in particular have been interesting to check out. I'll probably post about them at some point, but I can't pretend that I don't keep coming back to this album again and again. We might already have a contender for the best metal album of the year, folks.

I've been a fan of Architects for ages, since the days of Lost Forever // Lost Together and Daybreaker. I remember Tom Searle's death in 2016 and the outpouring of love and support for the band in the aftermath, and the incredible Holy Hell album in 2018. I also remember the somewhat mixed bag of For Those That Wish To Exist in 2021, and wondering about the band's direction without Tom's influence. Not concern exactly, but a nagging doubt.

Thankfully the band seemed to course correct barely a year later with the classic symptoms of a broken spirit, and now this album last February. And, holy fuck guys, Architects is back.

The album kicks off with Elegy, opening with some pretty plucked synth arpeggios and atmospherics as vocalist Sam name drops the album title, and the band explodes into one of the fastest and heaviest songs of the whole album. Everyone here is on top form, the guitar is crushing, the drums are pounding, and Sam's vocals have never sounded better. The quiet little piano interlude where Sam sings "Sweet Jesus / Don't leave us / Don't tear us into pieces", followed by the heaviest guitar chugs on the planet is one of my favourite moments in the whole Architects discography.

And the momentum keeps going as they blast into back to back singles Whiplash and Blackhole. The pace and momentum only ever drop to build straight into another mosh-inducing breakdown, or another soaring chorus. Sam's vocals thread a fine needle of sounding vicious and frantic, yet catchy and nailing big chorus hooks ("Is the world done fucking around?" on Whiplash, and "Is the day so hollow / If there were no tomorrow?" on Blackhole). Also the fucking Gordon Ramsay clip at the end of Whiplash - I want to give the person who thought of that a high five because it's perfect.

After three huge metalcore anthems, they finally chill for a bit on Everything Ends - and softer more restrained song exploring themes of futility and the toll of constantly fighting. The song sounds huge, guitars backed by sweeping atmospheric synths and the bass finally being audible and clear enough to pick out the mix. It's a welcome change of pace in the track listing, and it's grown on me the more I've listened to it - the sing along chorus and the slower pace meaning you can actually move to the beat instead of just frantic headbanging.

BrainDead is another change of pace, this song featuring House Of Protection - an up and coming hardcore punk band. I've heard huge praise on them from Caleb Shomo of Beartooth, and they're supporting Architects on their upcoming tour, and I'm pleased to say this song slaps. Hearing Architects essentially write a hardcore punk song with a metalcore breakdown, and guest vocals in the second verse... yeah that's special.

Evil Eyes is an interesting one, as it contrasts this incredibly vicious verse delivery and riff that sounds like it's from the heaviest parts of Holy Hell, with a very smooth and singalong chorus with huge chords and synth pads - and just flips between them effortlessly. It never feels wrong, just unexpected.

Landmines, on the other hand, is probably my favourite non-single track. It opens with a huge riff and follows the classic quiet-verse-loud-chorus formula. Verses basically have no guitar at all, relying solely on drums, bass and synths to back Sam's vocals, but the chorus explodes into one of the catchiest hooks on the album of "I could spend a lifetime / Skipping over landmines", and the breakdown feels like a landmine actually going off.

Following that, Judgement Day has a catchy as hell synth lead on top of the chunkiest guitar chugs on the whole album, and guest vocals from Amira Elfeky - her soft, higher register voice provide a perfect contrast to Sam's harsh vocals in the chorus, and the verses switching between her and Sam, especially on the second verse where the guitars pause for her vocals and come back in when Sam does, sound like the perfect sinister buildup to make the chorus pay off. The breakdown and final chorus just continually hype up right until the end, with her vocals and Sam's screams going up a register before abruptly ending.

Just like earlier, after so much energy, we need a softer song to pace the album, and we get Broken Mirror. This one I haven't connected to the same way as the others, but the emotion in the song is palpable, switching from plaintive pleading in the verses to absolute howling screams in the breakdown. I know I said "softer song", and maybe I was exaggerating a little, but in comparison to Judgement Day before it and the songs after, this does feel slower and like a more contemplative moment on the album.

In the final 3 songs of the album, we get another double whammy of singles, Curse and Seeing Red.

I think Curse takes everything that Architects does best and wraps it in one song - killer vocals flipping between chorus hooks and barely-hinged screams, guitars with classic djenty riffs and huge chords, drums that hang back in the main structure but add so many decorative fills and decoration in the gaps, and my favourite trope in songwriting; the bass-only second verse. The lyrics are both simple and layered ("I give you my word / In the times I've had enough, I still wish for the worst / As free as a bird / But the days keep crossing off, Heaven came with a curse"), and incredibly fun to sing.

Seeing Red see another aspect of what Architect do best; be pissed the fuck off. Everything I said about Curse applies here (except the bass-only-second-verse), but everything has an air of unhinged rage that is pretty damn infectious. The chorus with the children's choir carrying the main lyrics while Sam interjects with screams and growls adds an extra layer of chaos, and the jagged stuttering throughout does absolutely nothing to help the listener get their bearings on anything.

The final song, Chandelier, is a final slow, emotional buildup-breakdown song that, after the whole rest of the album, feels incredibly earned and cathartic. The lyrics resonate with me on a personal level ("No more lies if I disappear / Just one less light on the chandelier") and the final emotional release after a beat of silence, when the guitar and synth kick in, and Sam sings cleanly over the whole band, and THEN the breakdown hits... it gives me chills. I think Architects have had a subtle underlying grief to a lot of their songs since Tom's passing, and every now and then when they tap into that emotion and really bring it out and explore it and process it, just sometimes magic happens. A nearly perfect final song of a nearly perfect album.

I mean, I don't know how many times I can say "Album good, please listen" in a post, but yeah. Album good. Please listen. I genuinely think this will be held as one of their best albums for a very long time.

[what-im-listening-too]

GHOST - INFESTISSUMAM (2013)

In their first album, Opus Eponymous, Ghost introduced themselves and gave us the bare bones blueprint of their sound. On this infinitely-harder-to-pronounce album, they really showed us why we should pay attention.

Right from the choral opening title track, this album feels richer, more fully realised and embraced. The track swells, backed by the full band, and then suddenly drops into the first song proper (and contender for my personal favourite song on the album) Per Aspera Ad Infini. The choir and organ in the background really add to the atmosphere, whilst Papa IIs vocal delivery in the chorus becomes almost hypnotising.

From there we move to Secular Haze, and we encounter another element that sets this album apart - whimsy. This song has the campest rock organ so far, and some melodies that wouldn't sound out of place at a carnival. But again, the vocal delivery sells it so well, swaggering in the 3/4 time like a ringmaster. (Ghost really said "clown music, but make it both fun and satanic")

The following song, Jigolo Har Megiddo, introduces yet another element we haven't seen in Ghost yet - sex. The lyrics seem to be about a evil clown seducing all the women (get it, king), but with a killer melody in the riff, and you can hear how much fun Papa has with delivering the pairs of lines "And I am the one who comes / Richly endowed" and "And I am the son who comes / Into the daughters of man".

Slowing down after that, there's a two-for-one as dual ballads Ghuleh and Zombie Queen are presented as one track, the former being a slow and melancholic piano led number, and the latter breaking out into a surf-rock inspired full band belter. Another notch in the genre belt for Ghost, but they sell it very well.

And finally, we're at the meme song. Admittedly I can't listen to the opening of Year Zero with my brain inserting the Funkytown lyrics between the chants, but even before I knew the meme this was one of my favourite Ghost songs. It's the one they've held onto playing live from this era the longest, and with good reason because everything about this song fucking rules. The driving guitar riff, the organ, the bass, the vocals, the sinister verse building into the anthemic chorus, I would argue this is the first truly iconic Ghost song.

From here, we move into Body And Blood, a nice medium-paced rock composition - understated compared to the majesty we just witnessed, but fun to sing along with. Following, Idolatrine reacquaints us with the swing and swagger from the early tracks, coupled with some pretty scathing remarks directs at the "infidels, debiles and simpletons"

Moving on to perhaps the most underrated song from this album, Depths Of Satan's Eyes finally brings back some of the sinister vibe from Opus Eponymous, and the fuller richer production really provides the most direct comparison between the two albums.

To round off the album, Monstrance Clock gives us the anthemic closer, complete with synth solo, motivational yet satanic chorus ("Come together / Together as one / Come Together / For Lucifer's son"), intimate quiet bridge, and choir organ outro to mirror the choir intro on the opening track.

Genuinely, this album takes everything from Opus Eponymous and elevates it to another level. The instrumentals are tighter, the textures and counterpoint are more interesting, the vocals are so much more playful and catchy, and the whole experience feels refined to a point. There are definitely moments I wished for some punchier production, or some of the heavier composition from the previous album, but Infestissumam gains so much more than it loses over its predecessor.

Previously I picked out about five songs from Opus Eponymous and said you could just listen to those and skip the rest of the album - you can't skip anything on this album. Each song has something to appreciate, and the whole album feels paced really nicely. Obviously, Per Aspera Ad Infini and Year Zero are my highlights, with special nods to Secular Haze, Jigolo Har Megiddo, Depths Of Satan's Eyes and Monstrance Clock - but just listen to the whole album. You will not regret it.

[what-im-listening-too]

GHOST - OPUS EPONYMOUS (2010)

In anticipation of the upcoming Ghost album Skeletá, I've been jamming to some older Ghost albums, and especially paying attention to the first two albums, this one and 2013's Infestissumam. Like a lot of people, I heard of Ghost through the fantastic album Meliora in 2015 and never really looked back in a critical way until now.

This album is actually very strong for a debut, and does lay the blueprint for what we know Ghost would go on to become. The opening triple-threat of Con Clavi Con Dio, Ritual and Elizabeth really draw you into the world this album inhabits - spooky and satanic but in a very camp and catchy way. The bass line of Con Clavi Con Dio lives in my head rent-free, and the vocal hook in the chorus of Elizabeth makes you forget it's a love song to Countess Bathory. (Also pronouncing it "e-LIE-za-beth" is a bit of a throw off, but it works still). Ritual is still played live to this day, and it still sounds incredible despite not being the biggest fan of how empty the production feels in the studio version.

After those songs, Stand By Him does add a little change-up with the multiple instrumental changes, all tied together with that catchy chorus line, "It's the night of the witch, tonight!", followed by the somewhat more sinister Satan Prayer to remind you that this is like totally a black metal band, legit, we promise.

Death Knell keeps the slow, sinister tone going, although the campy rock organ and smooth vocals stop anything on this album from feeling truly threatening. (Also the lyrics "A symbol for the goat" makes me thing they're calling the Devil the greatest of all time and I think that's funny.)

The album ends with one of the stronger songs, Prime Mover - some killer contrasting guitar lines being panned hard, a solid supporting bass, and catching chorus vocal line - and the weakest song, Genesis - a repetitive harpsichord arpeggio over an admittedly tasty guitar line, but feeling rather structureless and formless, basically an excuse to noodle for about 3 and a half minutes.

Overall, this album does a lot to lay groundwork for what was to come, but on it's own it feels a bit too bare bones to sell out stadiums by itself. The production issue I mentioned on Ritual is a constant issue throughout the album, and it severely hinders my enjoyment in the second half of tracks. The first three songs (excluding that little intro track) are the highlights for me by far, and the addition of Stand By Him and Prime Mover making a top 5 - the other tracks feel mostly forgettable and you can easily skip past them without lessening your experience.

[what-im-listening-too]

THE LISTENER:

Music is a deeply personal and individual experience, and knowing what music someone likes and why can give you a very detailed idea on the kind of person they are and the life they have led.

With that in mind, while I expect many of these posts to speak for themselves, I'll detail a little bit about myself!

I'm a 30-year-old non-binary individual, and music has played a large role in my life. It's been my emotional regulator, my safe space, and my primary interest since my teenage years. I have a reasonable vinyl collection, and I play music myself from time to time. Bass players for life.

I work night shifts, and often put on albums to pass the time. I prefer albums to playlists, as I enjoy the authorial intent, the thematic and narrative links between songs that the album format provides. Not that playlists can't provide that, but I guess I'm old school.

Anyway, I'll be posting every now and then about whatever album I've been listening too. No schedule, no goal, just a place to ramble and share what I nerd out about. Come along if you want too.