Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Architects Lost Forever/Lost Together Company: Epitaph Records Release: 2014 Genre: Metalcore Reviewer: ChaosLord

You don't want to and simply cannot miss

Brighton-based metallers Architects have long been caught in metal's every changing musical whirlpool, much like Odysseus being sucked in to Charybdis' giant maw. With 2012's "Daybreak" it seemed as though Architects were just biding their time for the current to slow up and break so they could make their way out of the swirl. With "Lost Forever/Lost Together" they've not only made their escape, they've blasted their way through like a torpedo slamming into the side of a stagnant submarine.

The opening track "Gravedigger" blasts through your speakers like a shot from a cannon. Lots of aggressive riffing, angry vocals and complex guitar work are highlighted in this track making it a great way to start your listening experience. In addition to Architects having their riff chops honed to a razor fine point, there is also a great deal of complex, technical musicality on the album as well. For instance, on the track "Colony Collapse", there are intricate guitars layered over top of each other that are then fused together with ambient, haunting electronics and vocalist Sam Carter delivers perfectly timed emotive vocals to match his venom filled bark. Second track "Naysayer" is a great, catchy song that has the band showing off their riffing skills yet again. The one track that really sticks in my head though is "Broken Cross". Starting in with an electronic intro, the song quickly throws it in to hyperdrive and has a face smashing riff and chorus that will leave you singing it for days on end. "Red Giant" is an ambient, instrumental track that gives you a little break before the boys come back swinging with "C.A.N.C.E.R.". The production on this album is damn near perfect. Vocals, guitars, electronics and all other instruments are able to be heard distinctly on their own yet are blended together seamlessly in perfect symmetry.

From start to finish, Architects deliver an album that is set to catapult these lads straight to the top. After being in the business for 10 years and putting out an album of this quality, Architects' star indeed is burning bright and is soon to explode into supernova status. This is an album that you don't want to and simply cannot miss. Go out, get this album, sit back and enjoy.