Architects may have caused some distaste among fans for appearing on Radio1’s daytime playlist, but tonight’s set shows why they don’t care about criticism.
Launching straight into Day in, Day Out from the new album, it’s clear they love playing the new stuff live. Sam Carter has a real connection with the crowd constantly talking to them and making everyone engage with him fully, getting everyone to wave their arms side to side. Not what an Architects gig would have looked like in 2007.
Heartache sounded like a ballad but was a real celebratory moment when the crowd sang along in unison. They may have swapped brutal metal for beautiful melodies, but they still know how to put on an engaging show.
At one point Sam asks everyone to sit on someone’s shoulders, and quite comically even the men do it. But they don’t alienate the old fans completely, and conclude the set with heavier songs, Hollow Crown and Early Grave, which certainly puts a few smiles on people’s faces. They may have gone for a more mellow sound these days, but the same can’t be said for their ambition.
The Parkway Drive boys are clearly gaining more recognition, proved when loud cheers erupt before they even come on stage. There’s a roar of excitement when the melodic intro starts and everyone looks more than ready to get involved. But Parkway Drive fans rarely stand there looking pretty and within seconds moshing and barging into people begins.
Unfortunately the momentum of the circle pits never seems to last and front man Winston McCall had to keep shouting at the crowd to ‘pick it up’. But with more heavy breakdowns, the crowd finally show Rock City what they’ve got. With a mix of hardcore and metal it can be quite comical watching fans in the pit, with some doing windmills while others simply want to push you as hard as possible.
Having mainly played tracks from the last two albums throughout the set, it was a nice surprise to hear Romance is Dead off the band’s debut album, and other highlights included Sleepwalker and Boneyards.
With a black curtain covering the stage, it was clear from the offset that Bring Me The Horizon were planning to do something a bit special. As soon as they came on, the curtain dropped and smoke filled the stage as they launched into It Never Ends from their latest album.
There’s an obvious difference between the bands new and old material. At first it almost feels like a different band when they play tracks off Suicide Season, but songs like Alligator Blood combine the old and new styles. Live favourites Diamonds Aren’t Forever and Chelsea Smile show how much the band’s sound has evolved on the new album.
Architects vocalist, Sam Carter, joins the band on stage for The Sadness Will Never End, a track they recorded together on Suicide Season. They make a great duo and it’s one of the highlights of the set.
The crowd then proceed to put their lighters up for Blessed With A Curse followed by a dozen black balloons dropping down from the ceiling. The band’s name then lights up in huge letters. This may be egoistical to some but its proof the band is starting to take their shows seriously.
The great thing about the band is their ability to create different moods within minutes. Singer Oli dedicates Suicide Season to lost family and friends but it doesn’t take him long to put people in a good mood again. Making a comical reference to the pissing on a fan controversy in 2007, Oli says: “You guys have been so good, I want to piss on all of you.”
The encore ends with Oli making everyone sit down, even people stood at the back behind the sound desk. They may have had bad press and divided people with their emo-shouting metalcore before, but tonight they were a different band. Even if you’re not really a fan, they certainly put on a memorable show.
Bring Me The Horizon, Parkway Drive and Architects played at Rock City on Tuesday 26 April 2011.
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