Architects Sees Red In Nashville
Metalcore outfit Architects from Brighton, East Sussex, have been tearing through the scene ever since 2004 and have only grown in size as well as popularity. Make no mistake, popular doesn’t always mean selling out. In fact, for Architects it means the opposite. It means reaching fans from all corners of the world, but it mainly means that the band has the tools and resources to remain true to themselves creatively and still play for crowds despite the challenges that have been presented to the members of this talented band.
Technical and unforgiving in sound, Architects has done it all except for playing in the United States for nearly 5 years. At one point during COVID the band was slated to tour their record ‘For Those That Wish To Exist’. However after extensive back and forth with some issues out of their control, the band was sadly unable to make the trip. Not to worry, 2024 was sure to break the cycle with the ‘Seeing Red Tour’ as Architects had plans to torch every city in the country. With help from friends out of Sheffield England, While She Sleeps and Southern California outfit, Of Mice & Men, this tour was set to be one for the ages.
Pre-gaming a roadtrip to see any show is always fun for me. But this time doing it for a band that I have longed to lay eyes on in person was a different level of excitement. Architects was the band that drew me into the heavier side of metal and ever since I discovered the band in 2018 I haven’t looked back. So naturally from my 2 and a half hour drive to the venue, I did my best to keep my car on the road as I headbanged my way to Nashville TN where Marathon Music Works would be the night's venue to host the ‘Seeing Red Tour’.
Once I gained entry inside there was a snake line bigger than I’ve ever seen at this venue which is a good thing. Little did I know but the venue would be at capacity tonight for a sold out total of 1,500 screaming fans. One thing that has always been strange to me in this industry is how the crowds and venues match up to the home countries of the bands. Architects sells out arenas and stadiums over in the UK but over here plays sold out shows to smaller venues. Some American bands play smaller venues here and sell out arenas over in the UK. It has always been one of my greatest questions. Nevertheless, architects would play a heater of a show to these 1500+ Nashville crowd as if they were playing at a Wembley Stadium or Royal Albert Hall. If there is a stage and fans, Architects will be sure to set fire to it.
First up was While She Sleeps. As I have said before, one of my favorite things is when an opening act can decimate my expectations and make me want a solo show of theirs. That is exactly what While She Sleeps did for me. Wasting no time, the band came on stage and exploded like a pressure filled energy drink. Keeping up with each member of the band was a task in and of itself. But a challenge I welcomed. At one point the lead singer Lawrence Taylor dumped a bottle of water on himself because two songs in, they had already worked up a sweat! Being cooled off by the half poured out water being thrown over my head, I was able to dodge it and snap a fun image of that moment. While She Sleeps definitely proved they were not to be looked at as simply “the opener”. A band I definitely will be keeping up with and hoping to do more coverage of in the future.
Of Mice & Men was due next in Nashville. Fans were beyond excited for the night to continue rolling along. Singer Aaron Pauley greeted the faithful OM&M fans who were chanting the bands name out of the gate no sooner than each member began hitting the stage. The band opened their set with “Obsolete”, a face melting, crushing blow of a song to open a set with. Of Mice & Men have been touring for some time now, but are one band I have been trying to get the chance to catch. Thankfully this tour had names I can check off my list times two! Playing through a 9 song set list that would span multiple album cycles and have something for just about every fan from the bands beginning to their current album.
At the time of writing this review we are one full week from this show on May 15th. Architects have now finished their tour and played various festivals. In many ways it went exactly how people imagined it would, and in some, it exceeded and shattered expectations of not only the fans but the band themselves. With fill-in tour drummer Andrew McEnaney (Structures and Sextape) a lot of people were interested to see if he could hang. Assuredly, McEnaney did the band justice.
Lights out, fans screaming, and me eager with excitement, Architects took to the Marathon Music Works stage. “Seeing Red” began playing with bright strobe red lights, Sam Carter, Andrew McEnaney, Alex Dean, Adam Christianson all taking their places. The band began digging into a monster of a performance that was one of the best shows I have ever seen. Carter wore a jersey a fan gave him before the show with his name on it, showing his love and appreciation for the fans who show up for the band. These sort of things stand out as special to me as a lot of bands don’t always have that sort of connection to their fan base. Thanking the fans numerous times throughout the show didn’t stop and would feel just as genuine as the first time he said it. You really feel the passion the band has for its fans. It’s truly remarkable.
The stage plot the band had designed was slightly scaled back due to the size of the venue but that was no problem for Architects. The band had large video screens where they could display interactive graphics for their songs and visually gave an aesthetic that felt in line with the band's thematic style and performance. Ripping through a massive 16 song set, Carter and the band melted the steel beams off of Marathon Music Works and my face by playing one of the tightest and true to recording shows I have ever seen. Architects are truly magnificent artists. One cannot overstate the sheer amount of talent and hard work they put into a show. You have to see it for yourself to believe it. I will definitely be catching every show within my radius in the future.
Architects would close out the show in true Nashville fashion with their hit “Animals” with Sam Carter wearing a Nashville Predators Hockey Jersey. Pulse pounding and fueled with adrenaline, they left it all on stage with a proper send off to the fans in Tennessee. We can’t wait for the next time Architects come back to the area, so for now we have these images I captured of the night to keep us all feeling like Animals.
