Review Summary: That's (Not) The Spirit
We all respond to criticism differently. In nature, there is a concept of Fight, Flight, or Fawn. The latter is where you appeal to your attacker and give them what they want, in an effort for them to leave you alone. I say this because while on the surface it might seem like a return to their roots, this is a lot of fawning but disguised as fighting.
Don't get me wrong, I understand why they made this album. After being brutally attacked by r/metalcore and various fans for going more mainstream, with some of these attacks involving the death of long-time guitarist Tom Searle, you have to respond but you also don't want to give in entirely. This album feels like the band are trying to placate the old fans while continuing in the direction they want to go.
This ends up with a "two steps forward, one step back" situation. Of course this is an improvement on their last 2 albums. For Those That Wish To Exist and The Classic Symptoms of a Broken Spirit were not bad albums, by any means. It really felt like they were doing what they really wanted to do, making the music they really wanted to make; even if they hit slightly short of the mark.
Now in an attempt to create a balance between old and new, they have essentially made a semi-mainstream metalcore album that has all been done before. It's done very well, and all of the band members are very capable. But if you've heard Bring Me The Horizon - That's The Spirit, you've heard this album before.
This is likely because of producer Jordan Fish, former BMTH member, who does a stellar job in the production department. Everything sounds clear and punchy, even the bass. He definitely knows what he's doing, which makes sense because he has made this album at least once before.
Another high note is the vocals. Sam Carter is a very good vocalist. From the first notes of Elegy, you can hear the strength of Sam's vocal abilty which is an improvement on the previous 2 albums. He effortlessly goes from mids to highs, and of course the harsh vocals are better than ever. This is his forte and many fans will be glad to see them return. They stand out throughout, but especially on the clean-focused tracks such as Landmines and Everything Ends, which ended up being a late-released single but works much better as an album track in the context of the other songs.
Everything else is solid. Bass is audible, drums are punchy, and riffs are just different enough to tell the songs apart. Lyrics are decent, albeit nothing you haven't heard before. There's also some variety. Blackhole is standard metalcore with a soaring chorus but throws in a guitar solo, which is almost unheard of in metalcore. Different aspects are added, such as more electronics in Judgement Day and an almost-hardcore punk sound in Brain Dead. Both of these have guest vocal features, which are solid in Judgement Day but add almost nothing to Brain Dead. This style doesn't quite fit with the rest of the album, but it does provide a nice change of pace and shows that they're not just a one-trick pony. Evil Eyes is also a bit different, although it's clearly a nod to Deftones.
But despite this, it all feels very empty and lacking real substance. It's all very solid and done well, but while they're clearly putting in the effort, they're almost holding back slightly from where they truly want to be. The addition of Seeing Red to this album makes it clear that this album is much more "Is this what you wanted?" than "This is who we are". People change and you can't keep making the same album over and over again. I would have respected them more for leaving Seeing Red as an ironic middle finger to the criticisms and then continuing to do what they want regardless.
Instead, we have this. An attempt to strike a balance between old and new, with one foot in the scene and one foot in the mainstream, resulting in the same old story albeit told very well. I understand the motivations behind making this. Where Architects go from here is anyone's guess. But to truly succeed, they need to decide where to put both feet and go in the direction they want, fans be damned. For now though, there's nothing new under The Sky, The Earth & All Between.
