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BACKGROUND. For nearly a decade now, the metal world has been arguing whether Architects are the faultless saviours of the scene or the biggest sellouts in the industry. The objective truth might be somewhere between those laughable extremes, but you would struggle to find a more influential, dedicated and omnipresent band, shaping the modern metalcore sound to their liking with each consecutve release. With that naturally comes the responsibility and expectation to produce big each time, and the Brighton collective answer the call yet again with their massive eleventh record The Sky, The Earth & All Between.
BAND. Reputation, hype and arguments aside, one would also struggle to find a more down to earth, honest and engaged group of friends that decided to jump into the ungrateful world of the contemporary metal scene twenty years ago, and that alone makes them stand above the rest (arguably tied with their label mates and genre legends Parkway Drive). It is hardly a surprise that Architects sell out stadiums, headline festivals, recently opened for Metallica, and are about to tour with Linkin Park - all seemingly irrelevant random facts that reveals a legacy and stature very few can match in 2025. Architects are up there with the very best, and their latest album is just one more solid step towards immortality.
ALBUM. The Sky, The Earth & All Between is a blockbuster album of the highest quality, effortlessly delivering huge sound, captivating visuals, pristine Fish-Searle production partnership, and a flashy marketing campaign, surrounding that tight collection of smash hits. No hesitation, no doubts, no flaws, the LP gives the perfect finale to an entertaining album trilogy that started with a bang on FTTWTE (2021), wandered off into new teritories on TCSOABS (2022) and reaches its logical conclusion in 2025. Really no point delving any deeper here, we all knew what is coming for Architects are a brand that is firmly engraved into the very heart of the scene, and can either join the ride or step aside and let them do their own thing.
SONGS. In general, The Sky, The Earth & All Between steps aside from the impending doom and gloom of FTTWTE and pauses on the existential dread and experimentation of TCSOABS for a more mainstream cinematic appeal. 'Elegy' kickstarts the recors with a trademarked fury, followed by the certified ragers 'Whiplash' and 'Blackhole'. Next one is 'Everything Ends', a welcome breather that takes Architects closer to Linkin Park than ever before, a symbolic passing of the torch to the one rightful heir. What fallows is another chain of polished bangers and collabs with varying intensity, from 'Brain Dead' to 'Broken Mirror', leading to the pitstarter 'Curse' and the already iconic stadium favourite 'Seeing Red'. And then, like any instant classic record, it gets its truly beautiful conclusion in 'Chandelier'.
FUTURE. What more can you say about an album that has everything and meets all expectation, as high as they were? Many won't be pleased again, but nowadays noone is ever happy, and at the end of the day, who even cares anymore? We are slowly moving towards (or back to?) a new era of not giving unnecessary f*cks, and noone knows how to do that better than Carter, Searle and co., following everything they have been through and finally finding peace the hard way. This record is for those of us who did stick around, for those of you who didn't, & all between, a metaphor worth exploring deeper while we wait for the next move by what is already one of the biggest acts of their entire generation.
Really, are you happy now?
Architects - 'The Sky, The Earth & All Between'
Country: United Kingdom
Relased: 28 February
Label: Epitaph Records
Tracklisting:
1. Elegy
2. Whiplash
3. Blackhole
4. Everything Ends
5. Brain Dead (ft. House of Protection)
6. Evil Eyes
7. Landmines
8. Judgement Day (ft. Amira Elfeky)
9. Broken Mirror
10. Curse
11. Seeing Red
12. Chandelier
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