“Beloved distant blue, one day I’ll die for you.“
In February of 2021, Architects released their heavily anticipated 9th LP For Those That Wish to Exist. Met with a mixed response from their audience, some felt Architects had channeled a proper new sonic era. Whereas others felt the band had gone soft and sold out. As once spoken by fellow Boolin Tunes editor Maximo David, he felt this was the album Architects “had” to make, and I completely agree, it felt like a true continuation of their sound without writing something as similar as their previous three records. Personally, I fell madly in love with For Those That Wish to Exist, it is my favorite Architects record, and one of my favorite records of all time. So naturally, when For Those That Wish to Exist (Live from Abbey Road) was announced, I was incredibly hyped for the livestream.
After the livestream had aired, a few friends and I had hoped the band would release the livestream as a live album, and sure enough, prayers were answered. Starting off the album with the “Do You Dream of Armageddon (Live from Abbey Road)” the band utilizes the Parallax Orchestra excellently in creating a sonic environment that is both grandiose, and desperate as the planet nears doomsday (“No tree can grow to heaven, ’til its roots reach down to hell. Will we ever learn our lesson? We all fall in parallel.”) They chose to go without Sam Carter‘s vocals on the opener, and it works perfectly to present the orchestra in the foreground of the track.
Between each track theres a bit of a pause while those in the orchestra prepare for the next track to play. And the second track is “Black Lungs (Live From Abbey Road)“. The second single released prior to the release of FTTWTE, and the reimagined orchestral version is no less fantastical with Sam Carter leading the charge with a brutal, yet emotional performance (“You wanna make your hell a reality? Black lungs for the young if they dare to breathe, sure sounds like heaven to me.”) I cannot put into proper words just how perfect the orchestra fits this album, how it lifts everything up sonically, it is simply jaw-dropping. “Giving Blood (Live From Abbey Road)” certainly reinforces that idea, when the quiet part comes in the bridge, Architects and the Parallax Orchestra build the tension slowly, but surely before the break it wide open into the final chorus in explosive fashion (“It leaves a mark on the mind, it weaves a web in the background, silently. No time to spare, no sign of the exit wound, god help me.“)
I remember when I first heard “Discourse is Dead“, before FTTWTE was released during Architects‘ Royal Albert Hall livestream. Love at first listen, and “Discourse is Dead (Live From Abbey Road)” is certainly no different. Starting off slightly different with the string section of the orchestra playing an introduction, each song off of the live album have slight variations that still make the tracks just as good as the standard album, if not better. The chorus on this song is unreal, I still get chills every time I hear it (“We’re all sisters and brothers, but if you’re one of the others then fuck you.”) If you were like me and you cried hearing the tearjerker “Dead Butterflies“, you’re going to want to have many more tissues near when you hear the Live From Abbey Road version (“Why does defeat always taste so bittersweet? I just wanna live and die in peace.“) Like I mentioned before, I cannot put into proper words just how well the live orchestra compliments and drives deeper emotion into each track.
I knew “An Ordinary Extinction (Live From Abbey Road” would be one with the most variations, as the standard track has plenty of electronic elements that might not bode well with a live orchestra. Simon Dobson and the Parallax Orchestra stood up to the task, and reimagined each electronic section in such a manner that brings new live to the track (“When the water runs dry, we’ll be slaves to the anchor.”) Architects decided to go with the crowd favorite “Impermanence (Live From Abbey Road)” for their lead off single announcing the live album. Unfortunately there is no Winston McCall feature, but Sam Carter is obviously more than capable if filling his shoes. The orchestra didn’t hold back on the bells and whistles for the breakdown either (pun intended), it is such a phenomenal reimagining of the original track (“We’re all players in a symphony that fights against impermanence again and again and again and again and again.”)
One of the tracks I was most excited to hear with the orchestra was “Flight Without Feathers (Live From Abbey Road)“, just how could they reimagine such a somber and mellow track? But it was perfect, like everything else on this record. The harmonies on the chorus are goosebump-inducing, and this is a track that is absolutely better with the orchestral backing (“Tell me how to coexist when a fraction only wants war, hopelessly in love with our gritted teeth.”) Like “Impermanence (Live From Abbey Road)“, “Little Wonder (Live From Abbey Road)” does not have Royal Blood‘s Mike Kerr as a feature. Though the track itself suffer naught, a fresh vision of the track from the Parallax Orchestra fills the void just right and provides the listener with an epic experience (“If we miss the deadline, we can always blame the Divine. Gripping knives and praising lowlives. Nobody could say with a straight face ‘they didn’t have it coming.'”)
I knew “Animals (Live From Abbey Road)” would be surreal to hear, with the war-like groove on guitars during the verses accompanied by the horns and strings of the orchestra. Just when you think the lead off single from FTTWTE can’t be any more massive, the Parallax Orchestra prove you wrong (“I do my best, but everything seems ominous.
Not feeling blessed, quite the opposite. This shouldn’t feel so monotonous. It never rains, but it pours.”) One of my favorites from FTTWTE, “Libertine (Live From Abbey Road)” version reminds me of why I love this song so much. One of the biggest choruses I’ve ever heard in my life with that orchestra to support it, it is ridiculously fucking good. The bridge on this song is amazing how the intensity of the orchestra starts very subtle and quiet, and slowly builds in intensity until the climax of everyone coming in at once. It is truly astonishing, one of my favorite moments on the record (“I’ve got a band-aid on a bullet wound. If I refuse to break through, I can never lose. There’s a trap at the peak of the mountain. We are the rust worshipping the rain.”)
Simon Neil does not make an appearance on “Goliath (Live From Abbey Road)“, and like the other tracks that had features, it makes no difference to the quality of the track. As the orchestra does what they do best, and provide a fresh new version of the track that leaves the listener wanting more (“Smoke ’em out and set a fire in the hive. They wouldn’t break their stride if we were burning alive.“) One of my favorites from the record, “Demi God (Live From Abbey Road)” was one of the tracks I was looking forward to hearing the most. From the record version, to what I’ve heard so far on this live version, my expectations were astronomically high. Yet Architects did what they do best for me, completely smash through any and all high expectations (“A glass half empty is more than I’ll ever have. ‘Cause I’ve been fast asleep, standing still in a stampede. I’m breaking my back, but I’m still sinking like a stone.”)
One of the singles from FTTWTE, I had a feeling “Meteor (Live From Abbey Road)” would be something significantly special. Sure enough, I was not wrong. Every aspect of the orchestra compliments just how massive this track is, and it feels like they’re playing to the heavens, and pleading behind the lyrical message that we are slowly killing ourselves and doing practically nothing about it (“Another God on the radio says we’re stuck in a tailspin. The pilots have vertigo, they’re lost in the undertow. The arrow buckles in the bow. They said we pushed the last domino before the apocalypse. We’ve all got a stone to throw, why? I will never know. Yeah, we’re like fire in the, a fire in the snow.“) The closer on the record, one of the songs I was looking forward to the most hearing is “Dying is Absolutely Safe (Live From Abbey Road)“. If I had to pick a song I think the orchestra compliments the most, it’s this one. The lyrical content is so depressing I sobbed like a baby the first time I heard it. Incredible is an understatement for this track, and I have goosebumps while I’m listening to it right now. A perfect closing track, to a perfect record (“May all the beggars be blessed. Like angels with anhedonia we’re all just doing our best. Repeating, “There’s nothing left.” That’s why we weed out the wonderers. Maybe there’s virtue in emptiness, but I still drown in distress when the leaves fall in the spring.“)
Architects and the Parallax Orchestra are a match made in heaven when it comes to an incredible reimagining/live performance, For Those That Wish to Exist at Abbey Road is proof of that. Every theme, every emotion, all of it is very significantly enhanced on this live record. It is one of the best renditions of a metal record I have ever heard in my entire life, and it is absolutely worth every second of your time and attention. Perfection.
If you listen back to their last few records, it is clear this is the direction they’ve been wanting to venture into sonically for a long time. It’s a shame that For Those That Wish to Exist was met with a mixed response, and I can only hope over time more of the fan base grows to enjoy it. When I think of where I’d like Architects to go on their next record, I would hope to hear more of the orchestral pieces they used on For Those That Wish to Exist. I believe that the live rendition of this record is only going to embolden Architects to embrace and utilize more orchestral elements on new music to come (or at least I really REALLY hope so), and it will most likely be somehow even more refined then it already is now. The sky is the limit for Architects, and they’re dead set on soaring to the moon.
10/10
Architects‘ For Those That Wish to Exist at Abbey Road is out on March 25th, 2022 via Epitaph Records. To preorder, stream, and purchase Architects music click here.