‘Holy Hell’, is the eighth full studio album to be released on the 9th of November. With this date creeping up on us, the hype around the album is peaking. More significantly when the public were met with yet another single off the record, called, “Modern Misery”. The time spent with this record has been something completely mind blowing, but is it living up to the hype?
From the release of “Lost together/Lost forever” back in 2014, Architects received critical acclaim for not having slowed down with their initial vision. Two years later, the next mammoth of an album “All our gods have abandoned us” arrived. Shortly after the release of this record, tragic news came out about the founding guitarist and songwriter Tom Searle, this had a huge impact on the band, however Searle had been working on songs for the next album before he passed away therefore the foundations were already laid.
The short answer to ‘Has Holy Hell lived up to the hype?’, is yes, 100 times yes. The creative direction and passion going into every song is phenomenal. To finally see and hear the finished product, just like with every other album before it, the message is at the forefront. Whilst Architects graceful step forward -yet again into unfamiliar territory- they do so effortlessly, by bringing something different to the table, but enough of their original flare to keep existing fans intrigued with the continuation of this art. However, they have brought something new that would interest newcomers to the band.
‘Holy Hell’ is dealing with the loss and pain the members faced after the loss of their brother. The themes of Architects albums have always been important, for example, from the political standpoint of ‘Lost together/Lost forever’ and the embrace that there’s a possibility of there being a higher power in the universe viewed by a group of atheists.
This record has an immersive feeling too it. Whilst spending time with it, it seems to just flow perfectly, nothing felt rushed and each song was put together delicately to create this experience. Yet again they have found an outstanding balance, giving this release so many layers, putting them as a contender for ‘Album of the Year’.
2018 has been a great year for new releases and ‘Holy Hell’ has set a bar higher than it was before. Architects have been pathing the way for a while within their genre and will continue to do so. ‘Holy Hell’ stands shoulder to shoulder with ‘All our Gods have Abandoned Us’, which in turn gives the fans the hope that the creativity and innovation will continue to ebb and flow towards more new music.
