ALBUM REVIEW: For Those That Wish To Exist At Abbey Road – Architects

Last year’s For Those That Wish To Exist marked a milestone for ARCHITECTS’ career, securing them their most commercially successful release to date and a place at No. 1 in the UK’s official albums chart. It was also something of a stylistic evolution, if not an outright shift, for them; away from the more aggressive, biting metalcore that had characterised their work to that point and towards a more stadium-ready sound, including folding in some newer orchestral elements to accentuate their sound. 

It wasn’t without its detractors, but rather than bending to the whims of a minority that are never satisfied, ARCHITECTS took the next logical step; a live recording of the album with a full orchestra, at the legendary Abbey Road Studios. Initially teasing it with an orchestral version of Animals, the band soon dropped a video of a new rendition of Impermanence and the announcement that the full album had been recorded and was on the way. Enough has been said about the original work itself; but how does it stack up to being reimagined to work will a full orchestra? 

Given the presence of some of those elements already on the original studio version, unsurprisingly it works very well indeed. In fact, it arguably shows another side of the album that, if the band were so inclined, could provide a rich vein to mine for future material. The orchestral swell to Do You Dream Of Armageddon? is effective, as is making it an entirely instrumental opener to set the scene for Black Lungs. Of course being a live album, it sounds rawer than the studio version despite the orchestra, but it all works in its favour. Hearing backing vocals from guitarist Josh Middleton lends something of a SYLOSIS vibe to them, which is hardly unwelcome, and hearing the “bwahm” of the horn section during breakdowns lends an epic feeling to proceedings. 

The songs that benefit the most are the more anthemic; Black Lungs and Impermanence in particular benefit from the live orchestra treatment, with the tubular bells in the latter sounding like the peals of thunder from an angry god. Similarly, the stabs of strings throughout the verses of the seething Discourse Is Dead push it to new heights. There’s also the very welcome appearance of more guttural roars from vocalist Sam Carter, such as on Discourse Is Dead, or during Winston McCall’s feature on Impermanence. That’s not to say that only those heavier numbers are accentuated; Dead Butterflies becomes even more stirring, a grandiosity and emotional heft that was present on the original being pushed to the fore, while the already emotionally fraught Dying Is Absolutely Safe that closes the album becomes even more devastating. 

The main takeaway from …At Abbey Road is simply that orchestras and arena-sized metal like this belong together. Where symphonic metal may often become cheesy and overwrought, the orchestra here is an accompaniment to accentuate the songs, rather than lead them. That distinction makes all the difference. If there’s one drawback to this, it’s that it makes the studio version sound somewhat incomplete; as if the orchestra had been missing the whole time. 

Rating: 7/10

For Those That Wish To Exist At Abbey Road is set for release on March 25th via Epitaph Records.

Like ARCHITECTS on Facebook.