Architects w/ Thy Art Is Murder and While She Sleeps | Holy Hell Tour Photos + Review |4/26/19

Architects Bring Holly Hell Through Anaheim

Date: 4/26/19

Venue: House of Blues Anaheim

          Architects have been a band in my regular rotation of music since I got into them in 2012 when I found a song of theirs on Rock Band 3 as DLC. With the release of their 8^th Studio Album “Holy Hell”, which was released in 2018 via Epitaph Records, the band truly brought a ton of emotion that covered topics such as depression, loss, and death. With the U.S. leg of the tour, they brought along Thy Art Is Murder and While She Sleeps, who are two amazing bands that helped Architects sell this date of the tour out two months prior to the show. Knowing all of that, I knew this would be one hell of a night.

The first band up was While She Sleeps, coming to us from Sheffield, England, in the UK. I had seen While She Sleeps once before when they opened up for Arch Enemy and Trivium in 2017, but they were even better this time around than the last. The band performed a 6-song set, half coming from their newest album “So What?”, which was released in March of 2019 via Spinefarm Records, and the other half coming from their 2017 album “You Are We”, which was released via SharpTone Records. The band had the crowd going nuts from the start of their set to the end, with a plethora of moshing and crowdsurfing. A standout song in the set for me was the title track “You Are We” as the song is a great starter for their sets and has so many layers to it. It has remained my favorite song of theirs to this date, and I am so happy they still open with it. If you are going to a later date of the Holy Hell tour, make sure to get there early for While She Sleeps, as their set is flawless and amazing to watch.

SETLIST

1. You Are We
2. Anti-Social
3. Guilty
4. Haunt Me
5. Silence Speaks
6. Hurricane

The biggest supporting act came next, that being Thy Art Is Murder, hailing from Sydney, Australia. This was my second time seeing this five-piece deathcore band, and I was certainly blown away yet again by their set. The last time I saw them, they did a co-headliner with Dying Fetus at The Glass House, where they blew the roof off the place. Ironically, both times seeing them, they played a 10-song set, but this time around, they premiered a new song. We had the luxury of being the first date of the tour, so we were the very first crowd for them to debut the new single “Human Target”, which is the title track from their upcoming 2019 release coming on July 26^th via Nuclear Blast Records. The rest of their set consisted of 4 songs from their 2017 release “Dear Desolation”, 3 from their 2015 release “Holy War”, and 2 from their 2013 release “Hate”, which were all released via Nuclear Blast Records. The band musically thoroughly impressed me; however, they were quite stiff on stage and no one really moved except for vocalist CJ McMahon. But I will say their sound is better and tighter than ever with the addition of new drummer Jesse Beahler. Definitely be prepared for a lot of moshing and crowdsurfing during a Thy Art Is Murder set.

SETLIST

1. Dear Desolation
2. The Purest Strain of Hate
3. Holy War
4. Slaves Beyond Death
5. Reign of Darkness
6. Fur and Claw
7. Coffin Dragger
8. The Son of Misery
9. Puppet Master
10. Human Target

The final band up for the evening was the ever so talented Architects, coming from Brighton, England in the UK. This band played with all of my heart strings during the 16-song set. They played 7 songs from Holy Hell, along with 6 songs from their 2016 release “All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us”, 2 songs from their 2014 release “Lost Forever // Lost Together”, and 1 song from their 2012 release “Daybreaker”, all of which were released via Epitaph Records. During the show, the band had one of the most incredible light shows I’ve ever seen, which was accompanied by a backdrop of a moon behind them, which was absolutely gorgeous to see. They started the set off with “Death Is Not Defeat”, which is one of my favorites off the new record and plays with my heart strings. The crowd went nuts from the start, with endless amounts of crowdsurfers coming over the barrier. Vocalist Sam Carter took time during the set to talk about mental illness and speaking about his taking antidepressants. He opened up about how much they have helped his’ mental state improve tremendously and how important it is for people to get proper help for their mental disorders. After coming out for the encore, Sam opened up about the death of Tom Searle, one of the founding guitarists who died in 2016 due to cancer. The album is in a sense about the grieving process. They then played Doomsday, which caused me to cry like a baby. Architects is truly a masterclass act in the metalcore scene, with a dynamic sound many bands strive for.

SETLIST

1. Death Is Not Defeat
2. Modern Misery
3. Nihilist
4. Deathwish
5. Phantom Fear
6. Holy Hell
7. Royal Beggars
8. Gravedigger
9. Mortal After All
10. Downfall
11. Naysayer
12. These Colours Don’t Run
13. A Match Made in Heaven
14. Hereafter

ENCORE

15. Gone With The Wind
16. Doomsday
    

All in all, the Holy Hell tour was a dream come true for me, and was a spectacle of an evening. Architects, Thy Art Is Murder, and While She Sleeps all put on truly amazing sets. I definitely recommend seeing these bands, if you get the chance!

Architects | Thy Art Is Murder | While She Sleeps

Photos and Review courtesy of Jamie Kaufman | Instagram

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