Architects
Daybreaker
Release Date: Jun 5, 2012
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Heavy Metal
Record label: Century Media
Music Critic Score
How the Music Critic Score works
Buy Daybreaker from Amazon
Album Review: Daybreaker by Architects
Satisfactory, Based on 4 Critics
Based on rating C+
Not so long ago, there was a rash of bands playing unbelievably technical heavy metal, constructed with turn-on-a-dime time signatures and atonal guitar riffs, and driven by drummers that had to be as studied in the ways of Buddy Rich as they were in the school of Dave Lombardo. Bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan stood near the top of that pile while a lot of copycats came and went. Following that trend, a lot of metal bands went in the exact opposite direction, tuning their guitars as low as they could and riding single note breakdowns a la Meshuggah, all for an extremely heavy sound devoid of any dynamic qualities.
Opinion: Excellent
I imagine many of us are thinking the same: "God, please let it be better than The Here and Now." Switching from a crazed tech/metalcore attack to clean-cut post-hardcore may have provided the band with a shot at radio play, but it also had people scratching their heads, wondering where the hell the real Architects went. Daybreaker hasn't eradicated those ghosts entirely, but they have found a balance in which to return to the Searle brothers' heavy sounds while carefully incorporating Sam Carter's soaring clean vocals. As a whole, it sounds epic.
Opinion: Excellent
A fine fifth album from the Brighton metallers, set to stand the test of time. Raziq Rauf 2012 There was a nagging suspicion that Architects had snatched at, and missed, their big chance with 2011’s ambitious but ultimately far from emphatic The Here and Now; but the Brighton metallers have returned in dramatic fashion with Daybreaker. While last year’s effort attempted to court the mainstream with slower, apparently more accessible songs, this fifth album showcases the full breadth of the band’s talents, comprising a finely balanced end product.
Opinion: Fairly Good
Following up 2011's critically acclaimed, but extensively fan-panned, The Here and Now, Architects' new album, Daybreaker, continues the band's descent into melodic post-metalcore bombast. Similar to the style change made by Thrice ? a group whose new material heavily influences melodic cuts such as "The Bitter End," "Behind the Throne" and "Unbeliever" ? the new sound bares nary a resemblance to their earlier offerings. But where Thrice expanded their sound, Architects sound empty without the technical prowess shown in the past.
'Daybreaker'
is available now