ARCHITECTS // O2 ACADEMY, GLASGOW
Architects delight fans with a stunning light at show at Glasgow’s O2 Academy as well as bringing special guests… Polaris and Beartooth who opened the show.
ARCHITECTS PERFORMING AT GLASGOW’S O2 ACADEMY - 17-01-2019
PICTURE BY: CWY PHOTOGRAPHY
★★★★★
After releasing their excellent 8th album “Holy Hell” in November, Brighton based metalcore band Architects hit the road to kick off their new era with a bang. Before even entering the venue there was an air of excitement around the O2 Academy. The lineup for the show was excellent and this has clearly been a highly anticipated gig for the gathering crowd waiting to enter.
First up on stage to warm up the crowd was Polaris who had travelled from Australia to join this tour. Clearly, they were eager to make their mark and started strong and didn’t let up for the majority of their set. Playing tracks off their debut album “The Mortal Coil” they sounded tight and weren’t afraid to get the growing audience involved. From swinging mobile phone torches during “Dusk to Day” to crowd surfers throwing themselves forward to their set closer “Lucid” it was a performance to remember and was easy to see why they were selected to open up the tour.
Up next was Beartooth from Ohio who walked on stage to a huge reception. Vocalist Caleb Shomo smiles and then kicks into “Bad Listener” from latest album “Disease” which sparks chaos. New tracks added to the set sounded excellent and older tracks also got some airtime with set highlight being the massive sounding “In Between” which had the whole Academy bellowing the woahs back at the band. Taking some time near the end of their set to touch on the subject of mental health, Caleb outlines the troubles he goes through each day and how their new album came to be, before closing their set with album title track “Disease”. Beartooth are on top form and surely a headline tour isn’t far away.
Finally, the lights dimmed and strings played out signaling the imminent arrival of Architects. With the stage being on two levels, bassist Ali Dean and drummer Dan Searle take up the back with guitarists Adam Christianson and Josh Middleton taking either side. Vocalist Sam Carter then takes the mic and starts off “Death is not Defeat” and the entire venue is with him during the moment. With their newest album “Holy Hell” only being out for a couple of months it was clear the crowd already knew every word. New tracks like the album title track and singles “Royal Beggars” and “Hereafter” sounded absolutely huge and returning tracks like the furious “Nihilist” and “A Match Made in Heaven” were savage.
Choosing to title their track “These Colours Don’t Run” from their 4th album “Daybreaker” as an “old song” before playing leads to the only minor complaint of the evening being the omission of any songs previous to this album, but this only goes to show the strength and importance of their newer material. Treating us to the combo of “A Wasted Hymn” into “Memento Mori” then beginning their encore with “Gone with the Wind” was a special moment as the band chose this time around not to mention their late guitarist Tom Searle instead showing the heart symbol that has now been synonymous with his passing and Sam thanks the Glasgow crowd for their support.
Closing their set with massive single “Doomsday” with confetti erupting from the stage, Architects are not dwelling on the past. Instead they have improved on every aspect of their live show and have the material that is surely worthy of the band securing even bigger shows in the future.
ARCHITECTS PERFORMING AT GLASGOW’S O2 ACADEMY - 17.01.2019
PICTURE BY: CWY PHOTOGRAPHY
SETLIST: | ARCHITECTS : O2 ACADEMY, GLASGOW - 17.01.2019
Death Is Not Defeat
Modern Misery
Nihilist
Broken Cross
Holy Hell
Royal Beggars
Gravedigger
Mortal After All
Downfall
Naysayer
These Colours Don’t Run
A Match Made in Heaven
Hereafter
A Wasted Hymn
Memento Mori - (middle section only)
ENCORE:
Gone With the Wind
Doomsday