‘Lost Forever, Lost Together’ is the sixth studio album by Architects, released on March 11, 2014 via Epitaph Records. There are many things I could write here instead of a review for Architects new release ‘Lost Forever, Lost Together’ – as frankly you don’t need me to tell you about this album. I’m sure you’ve heard at least some of the tracks, so will already be aware of just how powerful an album this is.

This is an album that you cannot listen to just the once, not just because it keeps drawing you in over and over again, but because every listen reveals another level you missed last time – in a way that only Architects are capable of.
This is an album that has been so painstakingly perfected by a band who are not content to keep releasing the same style every time, but who want to progress and grow. The formula is still the same, you can tell this is an Architects album, but as with all their releases that formula has been tweaked slightly, to make this different to what you may have expected, but in no way is it disappointing.
It’s an exhibition in pure brutality, every cord, every beat and every guttural scream hits you in a way that no release this year will match, and is far and away the most powerful Architects album to date. Opening Track ‘Gravedigger’ is a perfect example of this. Everything combines in such a way that grips you from the start and lets you know that things will be different. That is the case for all the songs on LF, LT. The fast paced beginning of ‘The Devil is Near’, the instrumental ‘Red Hypergiant’ or the epic closer ‘The Distant Blue’, there is so much on display here that it is impossible to come away and not feel like you’ve just listened to something great.
It feels like the most honest Architects album to date. Track seven ‘C.A.N.C.E.R’ deals with a theme that affects many, but is rarely spoken about.
One thing that is evident here is just how much Architects are trying to break out of their own shell and attempt something big. Whist their discography is full of the heavy, the epic and the powerful, this one combines the best elements of all them, and does the job in style. It’s the little elements that haven’t appeared on previous releases, like blast beats, that show the willingness to progress and try new things.
You can also feel there are more influences present, something new, like Sigur Ros and Underoath, or older influences like Dillinger Escape Plan. As well as the touch of Fredrik Nordstrom, who is well known for producing In Flames, I Killed the Prom Queen and Bring Me the Horizon. That has certainly made a huge impact on what makes this album stand out.
I honestly feel that my words won’t do it justice, that the only way you’ll be able to appreciate it for yourself is to get it, listen to it then judge for yourself, but I feel that this album is already a strong contender for album of the year.

9\10