LIVE(STREAM) REVIEW: Architects @ For Those That Wish To Exist At Abbey Road
After their one-off performance of Animals with an orchestra was released via Amazon Music in March, ARCHITECTS have returned to the legendary Abbey Road studios. This time armed with their number one album For Those That Wish To Exist and the Parallax Orchestra, led by award winning composer Simon Dobson, the band put on a livestream event where they played the record in full.
With breaks of silence in between songs and a very elegant visual approach, the stream oozes class. Whilst the feeling of a standard live show was completely stripped away, Dobson’s added compositions and of course the backing of an orchestra, adds layers upon layers to the album on display here.
When everything is firing on all cylinders here, the arrangements (with some assistance from the very contained feeling of the room) make the band and the orchestra feel like one beast. Though it’s an easy comparison to make, the stream at its best shares the qualities of METALLICA‘s legendary S&M. Tracks like Impermanence and Black Lungs feel impossibly huge as if an army of instruments were rallying around them.
For the highlights of the stream, there can be no looking past Dead Butterflies. Whilst tracks like Impermanence feel undeniable and Meteor and Little Wonder stand strong as two of the best earworm tracks in their discography, Dead Butterflies feels special. Whilst it isn’t too different to the album version, hearing the track live with orchestration does it’s atmosphere and momentum justice.
Another highlight of the stream came in the album being played in full. With every track getting the same treatment and level of detail added, album tracks that likely won’t get too much airtime live got their momentum in the spotlight. Flight Without Feathers massively benefited from its place in the album’s tracklist, providing a great transition between the devastating Impermanence and the energy of Little Wonder. It’s a track that won’t likely be performed live all that much but this stream gave it its moment to stand shoulder-by-shoulder with the big hitters on For Those That Wish To Exist in all of its glory.
Discourse Is Dead and Libertine are two moments on the album that, when placed into the ARCHITECTS back-catalogue, feel more like the sound that people know this band for. Hearing those songs in this environment showed just how good the band are at this point in their careers, executing these tracks effortlessly.
In a shock to absolutely no one at all, Sam Carter’s performance is near flawless throughout as he seamlessly transitions from one of the best harsh vocalists in metal to his melodic cleans that deserve a field full of people singing right back at him. Something this stream added was getting to hear Carter cover the guest spots on the album, with Winston McCall [PARKWAY DRIVE] and Simon Neil [BIFFY CLYRO] delivering such impactful performances, Sam raised his own game in these sections to match their intensity.
Whilst every song was paid its dues, there were some that didn’t benefit as much from being played in this environment. Sandwiched between Goliath and Meteor at the tail end of the record is Demi God, and whilst this version of the track was fine, the song itself doesn’t stand out. On the same note, the previously released version of Animals gave fans what they had wanted for so long, ARCHITECTS backed by an orchestra and it felt like a huge moment that left the door open for more of this exact thing.
The version played on this livestream didn’t have the same impact, which could be down to the fact that it’s the only one of the tracks fans have already seen in this environment. It also seemed to add more layers than the first version and this somewhat took away from the simplicity of the track. By adding on top of it even further, the track’s devastating impact was somewhat sanded off.
The stream and tracklist closes with a five-minute slowed down acoustic track, Dying Is Absolutely Safe and it follows a great narrative from ARCHITECTS‘ other recent closing tracks. It ends the record (and therefore the stream) by tying a lot of its themes up in a bow that doesn’t feel so fragile this time around. Once again, the stream version gives this track all of the elements it needs to crank up the emotion and drama, making it feel crucial to the story of this band.
This is where the stream fits into the bigger picture. Whilst their ninth studio album wasn’t as universally adored as their recent run, it is undeniably a huge record for them that saw them achieve a UK number 1. Marking a huge transition for ARCHITECTS, musically and personally, this stream gave all of the 15 tracks time and attention to detail that aside from a few less significant moments, made this record feel so vital and full of life. For Those That Wish To Exist At Abbey Road is a beautiful moment in time for the legacy of this band that marks how far they’ve come and how far they’re willing to go. They could’ve played a greatest hits set and received lots of adoration but this album at this point in time felt right.
Rating: 8/10