All of the original members of Architects were intently involved with the Brighton music scene due them all growing up in the surrounding areas. They cross several genres with their technical music, the primary influences have been noted as ranging through artists from hardcore punk and heavy metal music with Meshuggah, Converge, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Gojira and Thrice all noted as influencers. Sam Carter who was a drummer and studied drums at the Brighton Institute of Modern Music before joining Architects, had performed in multiple local bands, one of which had the opportunity of supporting Enter Shikari. Architects was born in 2004 when Drummer Dan Searle and his twin brother Guitarist Tom Searle began the project under the name Counting Days, until the addition of Matt Johnson, guitarist Tim Hillier-Brook and Tim Lucas on bass guitar continued as Architects.
After the release of their debut album Nightmares in May of 2006, the band were offered the opportunity to tour with several prolific artists including Beecher and Bring Me The Horizon, yet due to the age of the members at the time they had to book several weeks off college in order to continue their touring schedule. After their first album, Architects sound was forced to change dramatically due to the departure of lead vocalist Matt Johnson He was replaced by local musician Sam Carter who had been described by Searle as an 'easy choice'. After their next album 'Ruin' which took them on large headline tours in both the UK and the US they revealed they had been signed to Century Media Records for a three album deal. The first release was 'Hollow Crown' which made the first dent on the UK charts, placing it at #117 and was promoted with the band completing a 19 date headline tour of the United Kingdom before supporting Parkway Drive in Australia.
Their next album 'The Here and Now' was released in 2010 and saw the band's sound following a more commercial direction, with sales figures reflecting this as they charted at #57 in the UK, a substantial gain compared to its predecessor. Critics enjoyed the album, but fans were not impressed with the departure from the heavier, more technical sound they had first been attracted to. They slowly began to remedy this with their next releases, returning to the music they were first inspired to make, the outcomes were greatly rewarded as the 2014 release 'Lost Forever//Lost Together' saw them crack the top 20 of the UK and Australian album charts whilst making their first dent on the US billboard.
There are plenty of bands who started off with a heavy sound - perhaps they were metalcore, or screamo - who ultimately ended up with a musical identity so watered down that it’d be difficult to argue that they were actually anything more than glorified boy bands, aimed at the disaffected rather than the typical One Direction fan. You Me at Six and We Are the Ocean are both good examples of that particular phenomenon, so fair play to Architects for managing to bring a metalcore sound forwards, in crisp, polished fashion, without actually conceding creative control or changing their image for the sake of commercial viability. The Brighton outfit, at ten years into their careers, have long had a cult fanbase, but it was one they managed to expand considerably with the release of The Here and Now in 2011, which leant towards more of a post-hardcore sound than before. Since then, they’ve continued to go from strength to strength, despite the departure of Tim Hillier-Brook on guitar; their most recent record, this March’s Lost Forever // Lost Together, went in at number fourteen on the UK charts, and saw them play to the biggest crowds of their career so far on a five-date UK tour. They’ll bring their incendiary live show to Reading and Leeds next month, second from top at The Pit - on this form, they’re not to be missed.