ALBUM REVIEW: Architects of Evil – Saboter

Following their formation in 2014, Greek heavy metallers SABOTER have been busy in the recording studio and are set to release their second full length album, Architects of Evil. The new record comes two years after their debut Mankind Is Damned, as the band continue their partnership with No Remorse Records. Three of the five members came from fellow Greek group OVERCAST, while the new record also features guitarist Apostolos Papadimitriou for the first time since he joined SABOTER last year.

Kicking things off on Architects of Evil is The Temple of R’lyeh. From the very first second you’re thrown straight into fast paced, skull-crushing heavy metal. The opening riffs from the guitars set the pace, and the way the notes and chords are shredded through seamlessly really keeps you on your toes during the intro. Frontman Antonis Vailas is everything you expect from a heavy metal frontman; delivering an aggressive tone throughout the verses while also reaching the high notes where necessary. The track also slows right down a few minutes in and the sound changes drastically, eventually returning to the same tempo as the intro which leaves you wondering what’s going to happen next through each second.

The title track follows next, starting at a relatively gentler pace with the riffs not quite as fast or complex, though that changes not long after. There’s a strong air of thrash metal elements coming into play with this track, mainly due to the fast pace and vocal style, which will appeal to many thrash fans as well as a lot of metalheads in general. The recipe remains pretty much the same throughout the record, which when you consider there are only seven tracks on the album it is not necessarily a bad thing, plus with the tracks being quite long there are changes throughout each one which helps each one stand out more.

One of the biggest highlights of the record though is the last song Order of Charity. The beginning of the track, and the first few minutes have a lot of echoes of IRON MAIDEN in it, in terms of the way Vailas‘ vocal delivery being very similar to that of Bruce Dickinson, and the more rhythmic guitar work. It is also the longest track of the record, running at almost 10 minutes and really sums up everything about the band and their sound – one minute you’re listening to classic heavy metal, then it slows down to more of a gentle ballad before returning to a thrash style.

Architects of Evil certainly has its plus points, in the way it manages to appeal to so many fans of different sub-genres of metal all at once and showcases SABOTER’s ability in terms of being able to change and adapt different styles while making sure each track flows smoothly from start to finish. That in itself is even more remarkable when you consider that the average runtime for each track is six minutes and the band have put so much material into each one, all of which makes it a good record.

Rating: 7/10

Architects Of Evil is set for release November 16th via No Remorse Records. 

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