Album Review: Architects - For Those That Wish To Exist

There is a great lyric in the track Impermanence on For Those That Wish To Exist, the new album from UK proggy metal act Architects: "Those afraid to die will never truly live". It kinda sums up the attitude of this band as well over a decade-and-a-half and nine studio albums into their story, they are not an act that will die wondering.

What a package For Those Who Wish To Exist is - 15 tracks and just on an hour’s worth of music, they are giving it all, leaving nothing in the tank, and laying their very souls bare and all of their musical and songwriting cards on the proverbial table.

Of course, having such a long album is worth nothing if the quality peters out across the course of the record, or if there is too much filler and not enough killer. Fortunately, none of the above is the case here. This band knows exactly what it’s doing, and has not included any track that is not up to the standard of the rest of the record. It’s obvious they were overflowing with inspiration and ideas and have captured most of it on tape.

There’s a fair whack of variety going on here too, from the symphonic feel of Impermanence, to the ambient/electronic feels of Flight Without Feathers, to the sheer fist-pounding stomp of what is arguably the best track on the record, Animals. There's dynamics and light and shade aplenty here. Acoustically-driven and adorned with strings and piano, the enigmatically titled and completely unexpected Dying Is Absolutely Safe closes proceedings in sweet and enjoyably melancholic style.

This album is another auspicious moment in a landmark career, and a must for those who love cutting-edge modern heavy music.