It took me 9 albums to finally fall in love with the British metalcore band Architects. I can’t say that I enjoy all of their releases, but this new one, For Those That Wish To Exist, was one of my most anticipated of the year and already one of my favorites of 2021. They had my full attention since the release of Animals, the first single of the record, about 4 months ago, together with the beautiful and intriguing album cover.
This is definitely not for everyone, especially if you’re not into heavier music, but I promise it will be a powerful journey if you wish to take it. There are 15 tracks, running for almost 1 hour, and it’s one of those cases where an uninterrupted listening from the first to the very last track makes for a truly rewarding experience.
With a central theme around a global climate catastrophe, that we all see it coming but do little about it, For Those That Wish To Exist is a perfect blend of old and new sounds explored by the band on what has been referred to as a fresh start in their discography. It’s heavy, it’s dense, it’s aggressive, but it’s also full of beautiful contemplative moments in between.