Who said that rock was dead? The scene at the moment particularly in the UK appears to be incredibly strong with the likes of Bring Me The Horizon, Sleep Token and Architects leading the charge at the moment and selling out arenas across the world. It’s on a Saturday night in Cardiff where Brighton based Architects return to the Utilita Arena, but for the very first time packing it out to the rafters.
The queues outside on the streets are incredibly long when it opens and that’s because those early birds are wanting to catch one of the hottest new acts out there in the form of “House Of Protection”. Fresh off of the back of winning the “Breakthrough Live Artist” at the Heavy Metal Awards the other week; anybody who has seen the band members in previous outfits in the past, knows how electrifying their presence is on stage.
“I need a fucking pit”, Stephen Harrison demands as he bounces onto the stage and the crowd without hesitation happily oblige before they rip a new one with opener “Pulling Teeth”. From the off you can tell they are not messing around and the visceral energy that comes from the stage is felt by everyone in the crowd tonight. As it builds and builds to it’s breakdown, the anticipation is palpable, but when it does come you look around and can see everyone is pulling one of those faces that every heavy band appreciates.
The foot is on the gas and it doesn’t let up as the second song in, “Learn To Forget” Harrison makes his way into the middle of the arena where a circle pit surrounds him throughout the entire song. Almost like a generator it just keeps going and going. We even get a surprise cameo in the middle of it all with producer and close friend Jordan Fish grabbing the mic and getting involved half way through the song. Just a couple of songs in for tonight and the bar has already been set incredibly high. “Being One” sees the whole crowd lit up and for a moment it almost feels as though they are the headliners themselves.
The likes of “Godspeed” and “Fire” keep that momentum going as vocal duties are shared between that of Harrison and drummer Aric Improta. Everything is kept impeccably tight throughout and a single beat isn’t missed, despite all of the bouncing and moving about. In a moment out of character for Harrison, he states that it’s been the best show of the tour so far and it’s clear to see why. Before set closer “It’s Supposed To Hurt” three more pits are demanded from the keen crowd of which they happily oblige. There isn’t anybody stood with their arms folded, not impressed everybody is on board with this as it’s impossible not to get swept up in the wonderful chaos. By the time the song finishes everybody is left energised, yet exhausted and entertained, but wanting more. Despite them only doing the circuit in this iteration for just over a year, they’ve already made a name for themselves and will hopefully be gracing many more stages in the years to come.
Headliners Architects have an extremely high bar which has been set by what has come before, however their intense live shows and years of hard graft have gotten them to the places where they are today. They kick things off with “Elegy” which starts with lights down solely on frontman Sam Carter with clean vocals which feel completely effortless and calming before the storm which is about to come. And when it does, it certainly hits! The riffs come chugging along like a freight train as those deep growls shake the walls and pushes the sound system to its limits. It’s a strong start followed by the equally powerful “Whiplash” which sees everyone in the arena squatting down and 7,500 people jumping in unison.
However whilst there are parts of the live show which are great, it almost feels as though there’s a bit of an elephant in the room. As great as Carter’s clean and growled vocals are, there’s something in the middle which seems a bit off. Whether it’s years of screams ruining his voice or whether it’s vocal preservation, it doesn’t quite seem right; lending himself to almost talking through the verses a bit more or higher pitched screaming akin to Knocked Loose. That’s not to say that the show doesn’t work because of it; just that some of that edge from their early days is missing.
In terms of the setlist; it’s primarily made up of their most recent effort “The Sky, The Earth & All Between” along with a couple of brief glimpses into their more recent back catalogue. The furthest we go back to is the likes of “Gravedigger” and “A Match Made In Heaven” where we get those signature “bleughs” they are most notable for. “Brain Dead” sees openers House Of Protection getting involved and kicking things up another gear midway through the set. Following the primitive energy which has followed the songs before; things get a bit more real and down to earth towards the later half of the set.
The band have been struck with tragedy many times in their career, having lost founding member Tom Searle a number of years ago and more recently their guitar tech Miles Kent. It’s a touching moment and a much needed moment of levity with “Everything Ends” and “Doomsday” being dedicated to the pair of them and their families. Things close out with “Blackhole” and anybody who has seen any videos doing the rounds on social media; has seen that these European shows have had some almighty pits/walls of death with have encompassed the whole arena. Tonight is no exception with that majority of the room splitting in half before the two sides clash together. Fans have argued that they may have gotten “softer” in their later years, but on the basis of this I think that can clearly be disproved. Towards the end it feels like breakdown upon breakdown that just get heavier and heavier and leave things out on a high.
However after much chanting, they return to the stage with “Seeing Red” which again highlights how much they’ve come along over the years. The production not only in how they sound but the show the put on stage really comes across. It all finishes with “Animals” which gloriously stomps along as if a stampede is making its way through the arena. Despite my nit-picks about vocals, it’s all in all a triumphant show and a celebration of the now and everything that has come beforehand. It’s taken them a long time to get to the position in which they find themselves now, many would have argued it should have happened a lot sooner. We can just be thankful, that we still have these big rock acts delivering the goods time and time again.