ARCHITECTS

Holy Hell (Limited Edition, Repress, Pink Translucent Vinyl)

The British metalcore stalwarts’ eighth full-length effort, Holy Hell is the follow-up to 2016’s brutal and wildly nihilistic All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us, and the first Architects release to not feature founding member and lead songwriter Tom Searle, who passed away in 2016 after a three-year struggle with cancer.

Simultaneously defiant and utterly broken, the 11-track set is spilling over with invective and despondency, but there is a shaky through-line of hope that imbues every down-tuned bend and primal scream with the faintest of glows.

Structurally, Holy Hell mirrors its predecessor, with atmospheric chamber-core synths and strings giving way to meaty riffs — new guitarist Josh Middleton (Sylosis) makes an impressive debut — and seismic breakdowns — Dan Searle remains one of the genre’s most dynamic drummers. Vocalist Sam Carter finds access to more firepower than usual, raging against the dying of the light on standout cuts like “Doomsday,” “Hereafter,” and “Death Is Not Defeat,” with the expected rawness of someone who just lost his best friend. The towering “Mortal After All,” which features one of the band’s best riffs in years, impresses as well, as does the fractured “Royal Beggars” and the soaring closer, “A Wasted Hymn,” all three of which push the needle into the red without sacrificing melody. Architects are aptly named, as their knack for blowing shit up is equaled only by their appetite for construction.

Holy Hell is both a teardown and a rebuild, and while it isn’t always an easy listen, there is some hard-won catharsis to be found in its attempt to distill the messiness of grief into four-minute blasts of sonic demolition. ~ James Christopher Monger

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
1. Death Is Not Defeat
2. Hereafter
3. Mortal After All
4. Holy Hell
5. Damnation

SIDE B
1. Royal Beggars
2. Modern Misery
3. Dying To Heal
4. The Seventh Circle
5. Doomsday
6. A Wasted Hymn

The Vinyl Store is an Independent Australian owned Online Vinyl Store business based in Sydney Australia.

We are music lovers and passionate about vinyl – for playing, collecting and admiring – and we appreciate your passion too.

* All our vinyl is brand new, sent to you exactly as we receive it from the record company.

* All our vinyl is in stock in our NSW warehouse unless denoted as a Pre-Order.

* We love searching for limited edition, rare and coloured vinyl.

* Our catalogue is ever-expanding with new local and imported items every week.

* By being an Online Only Vinyl Store we strive to keep the prices as low as possible for our customers.

* Depiction of this product is a digital rendering and for illustrative purposes only. Actual product detailing may vary. Please note due to the custom process, each vinyl unit maybe slightly different in coloration.

* If we have not listed the tracks and release details, please search on discogs.com using the barcode, catalogue number and release date provided.

* We Ship to International Customers and we strongly recommend you insure your precious vinyl in checkout via Ship-Safely for a nominal fee (to protect against damage, loss or theft).

* If you need more information regarding this Vinyl edition, please email us at [email protected].

* Please choose your record(s) carefully as we do not offer exchanges or refunds for change of mind www.thevinylstore.com.au/returns/