This past Monday (May 20, 2019) the UK Metalcore outfit, Architects rolled through The Palladium in Worcester, MA on the home stretch of their North American “Holy Hell” Tour. From the moment I arrived at the venue I knew I was about to experience something special. The energy from the line of eager fans that had accumulated outside (wrapping around the block) felt like a powder keg ready to go off at any second. I’ve been to countless numbers of shows and I’ve seen Architects in the past, but for some reason this time felt different. I think that feeling had something to do with the openers: While She Sleeps and Thy Art Is Murder.
Let’s start with While She Sleeps. Hailing from Sheffield, UK, While She Sleeps wasted no time setting the tone for the night. The amount of energy and stage presence from these guys was off the charts and the crowd responded in kind. Opening with “You Are We”, While She Sleeps came out of the gates swinging and didn’t let up their whole set. My personal favorite from the set was “Anti-Social.” The opening guitar riff building up to the drop set the crowd off and kept the energy going throughout the rest of the set. I must give major props to the lead singer, Lawrence Taylor, who ended the set by climbing the side balcony of the stage, jumping off, and crowd surfing back to the stage to finish the set. This is the kind of stuff that makes going to see a live band so enjoyable, and it definitely earned While She Sleeps a spot on my “must see again” list.
Next up was, Thy Art Is Murder. If an album was written to accompany the apocalypse, it would be written by Thy Art Is Murder. This was my first time seeing Thy Art Is Murder and all I can say is “WOW.” From the outset, Thy Art Is Murder hit hard and heavy. I felt every bass drop and kick drum in my chest and the guitars were the perfect mix of technical and chugging. Filling in for CJ McMahon (congrats to CJ on the baby by the way) was Nicholas Arthur from Molotov Solution. Nick had a killer performance and nailed the vocals. From start to finish, Thy Art Is Murder was brutal and the crowd ate it up.
Now, on to the main event. The raw technical ability and showmanship of Architects never ceases to amaze me. Opening with “Death is Not Defeat” provided the perfect ambiance before the full band kicked in and hit with full force. Vocalist Sam Carter’s performance was stellar. I’ve always loved the raw emotion that Sam is able to convey in his vocals and his performance at the Palladium was no exception. Honestly, seeing Architects perform live is an experience in and of itself. The band takes you on an emotional rollercoaster with hard hitting and aggressive refrains then adding hauntingly ambient and raw bridges and interludes. Throw in a crazy good light show and it is very easy to lose yourself in the performance. Without a doubt, my favorite song from the set was “Nihilist.” Once the intro kicked in I could not help myself but scream “ALL OUR GODS HAVE ABANDONED US” along with the rest of the crowd. I cannot speak highly enough about the quality of the show Architects put on, so if you are near any of the remaining stops for the Holy Hell Tour, don’t hesitate and get your ticket now!
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