Architects performing at The Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, CA. March 6, 2018. Photo Credit: Jared Stossel

Architects
w/ Stick To Your Guns, Counterparts
The Regency Ballroom
San Francisco, CA
March 6, 2018

Photos and review by Jared Stossel

It's often been found in songwriting that sometimes the darkest moments we experience as human beings can translate to the most powerful material. Just one look at the history of UK metalcore act Architects, and it's clear that the time leading up to the release of their most recent album, All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us, lets listeners understand just how much darkness was clouding the band at this period of time. Former lead guitarist Tom Searle was diagnosed with cancer, sadly succumbing to the disease in August 2016, just a few months after it had been released to the general public. In previous interviews, Searle stated that All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us was "a bunch of atheists thinking about whether or not there might be something bigger" out there in the world.

Architects brought their tour to The Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, CA last Tuesday evening, proving once and for all that they may very well be the most brutally honest band in metalcore. There are no gimmicks onstage, no big stage productions, no songs meant to appeal to a certain demographic because it's cool; just a set of lights that adorn the stage and down-tuned instruments that add to vocalist Sam Carter's emotionally-induced roars as they power through song after song. This is a band that has encountered a hardship; you can easily tell with one guitar riff that they've gone through some serious shit, and they're here to get it out in the open.

A majority of material on this tour came from All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us, with an additional number of selections coming from their sixth album, 2014's Lost Forever // Lost Together. In addition to an impassioned speech before a song dedicated to a charity they all hold close to their hearts (please check out Sea Shepard Conversation at www.seashepard.org), the the band returned for a two song encore: "Nihilist" and "Gone With the Wind".

With impassioned and emotionally-fueled music, in addition to brilliant opening sets from both Counterparts and Stick To Your Guns, it's clear that Architects are one of the heaviest shows in metalcore that fans of the genre will get to encounter this year. Don't sleep on it.

Architects Set List
A Match Made in Heaven
Downfall
Naysayer
Deathwish
Broken Cross
Dead Man Talking
Gravity
Phantom Fear
The Devil Is Near
C.A.N.C.E.R
These Colours Don't Run
Gravedigger
Doomsday

Encore:
Nihilist
Gone With the Wind