Architects - the classic symptoms of a broken spirit

There’s little doubt that Architects are a band at the peak of their powers. Following a Number One album and a slew of huge shows on both sides of the Atlantic - including appearances at Wembley Arena in 2019 and Alexandra Palace earlier this year - it’d be easy to wonder where they might set their sights next. Their tenth record ‘the classic symptoms of a broken spirit’ answers that question within its opening few bars: somewhere even bigger. While their last album, 2021’s ‘For Those That Wish To Exist’, sounded tremendous, their newest release takes an even heavier turn. Clearly inspired by the magnitude of their peers’ Bring Me The Horizon’s meteoric rise, the likes of ‘deep fake’ and ‘spit the bone’ pack in both huge, industrialised riffs and electronics to epic effect. ‘burn down my house’ is a dark, menacing effort with echoes of cult progressive metallers Tool, while ‘when we were young’ comes complete with the kind of monumental chorus that’s begging to be shouted back at them in arenas. Granted, at some points it does feel a little unrelenting, but the sheer ferocity of this record illustrates a band intently focused on the future, and breaking through to the next level.