Luxexpo The Box, Kirchberg, Luxembourg21st January 2019
Architects - “Holy Hell” Tour 2019 - Special guests: Beartooth, Polaris
ARCHITECTS are probably one of the biggest Post-Metalcore band at the moment. The quintet from Brighton, England have earned themselves a name and a huge support during the 15 years of their band history. With their current album, ‘Holy Hell’, the Brits were ready to set fire to the Luxexpo on a Monday night!
Polaris
POLARIS is an Australian Metalcore band. They released their debut album, ‘The Mortal Coil’, in 2017 and it was nominated for the 2018 ARIA Award for Best Hard Rock/ Heavy Metal Album. Fresh off a sold out national tour supporting seminal down-under heavy heroes PARKWAY DRIVE and a show-stealing appearance at their second Unify Gathering, POLARIS have entered 2019 with the Australian Metalcore torch held high in their hands. https://www.facebook.com/polarisaus / www.polarisaus.com.au
Music & Performance
POLARIS entered the stage on time and opened the musical spectacle of the evening in an impressive manner. In half an hour playing time, as a comparatively unknown band, bringing this hall to the boil is a respectable achievement. The first circle pits and walls of death were the result of nasty riffs and melodic hooks, interspersed with finely composed breaks, combined with an attention-grabbing stage presence. POLARIS convinced with an irresistible live presence, which testified to the passion with which the Australians do their craft. They certainty left a lot of new fans behind who couldn’t miss visiting the guys again next time.
Setlist
01. The Remedy
02. Casualty
03. Dusk To Day
04. Crooked Path
05. Consume
06. Lucid
Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 7
Sound: 8
Light: 7
Total: 7.3 / 10
Beartooth
BEARTOOTH is an American Hardcore Punk band formed by Caleb Shomo in Columbus, Ohio in 2012. They have been signed to Red Bull Records since 2013. Their debut EP, ‘Sick’, was released on July 26, 2013, followed by their debut full-length album, ‘Disgusting’, on June 10, 2014. Their second album, ‘Aggressive’, was released on June 3, 2016. Their third album, ‘Disease’, was finally out on September 28, 2018. www.beartoothband.com / https://www.facebook.com/BEARTOOTHband
Music & Performance
After a short break the stage shines in a sunny orange. BEARTOOTH’s 45 minute set begins with songs from the new album, ‘Disease’. There were a lot of fans of the Americans in the audience and that fact was especially noticeable in the pit. Especially the former ATTACK ATTACK! singer Caleb Shomo visibly gave everything. Without wasting too much time on conversations or transitions, the musicians simply played from the first minute through to the last bar. The audience had visible fun with old classics like ‘Hated’, ‘The Lines’ or ‘In Between’, as well newer songs from ‘Disease’. Boards like ‘Bad Listener’ and ‘You Never Know’ were a must! Unfortunately BEARTOOTH didn’t had the album opener ‘Greatness or Death’ on their setlist. Whether a huge circle- or many smaller moshpits, loud growling along or euphoric clapping: nearly every song was celebrated.
Setlist
01. Bad Listener
02. Aggressive
03. Hated
04. The Lines
05. Manipulation
06. You Never Know
07. In Between
08. Body Bag
09. Disease
Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 7
Sound: 8
Light: 6
Total: 7 / 10
Architects
ARCHITECTS are a British Metalcore band from Brighton, East Sussex, formed in 2004 by twin brothers Dan and Tom Searle. The band now consists of Dan Searle on drums, Alex Dean on bass guitar, Sam Carter on vocals, and Adam Christianson and Josh Middleton on guitars. They have been signed to Epitaph Records since 2013. Strongly influenced by bands such as THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, the sound of their first three albums was coarse, chaotic, and rhythmically complex. In 2011, ARCHITECTS went in a more melodic Post-Hardcore direction with ‘The Here and Now’, alienating some of their fan base. The following year, they returned towards their original style with ‘Daybreaker’, establishing a balance of melody and technical harshness while introducing more politicised lyrics. With the release of their sixth album, ‘Lost Forever // Lost Together’ in 2014, the band achieved lasting popularity and critical acclaim. Soon after the release of their seventh album, ‘All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us’ in 2016, guitarist and principal songwriter Tom Searle died after three years of living with skin cancer. In September 2017, the band released the single ‘Doomsday’ - the last song he was working on before his death - and announced Middleton as their new lead guitarist. The single is featured on ‘Holy Hell’, their first album recorded without Tom Searle, which was released in November 2018. www.architectsofficial.com / https://www.facebook.com/architectsuk
Music & Performance
Another break, 30 minutes, almost a countdown. Suddenly the stage seemed three times bigger as before. A gigantic pedestal for drums and keyboards, on which bassist Dean and drummer Searle should sit enthroned, took the back part. At 9.30 pm the first spherical tones sound from the loudspeakers and the light was dimmed. Loud applause and “Architects” choirs welcomed the five gentlemen as they jogged out of the backstage. There was also no long torchlight and the band started directly with ‘Death Is Not Defeat’, continued with ‘Modern Misery’ and before the audience could even catch their breath, ‘Nihilist’ already beat them up with all its force. The front third of the hall was sweaty in motion, up to the back were stretched hands, fists, French forks, beer cups and jumping spectators. The first CO2-effects came to the heat through movement during ‘Nihilist’. Other than on the previous tour dates, where fire and smoke fountains and an intoxicating light show decorated the rest of the set, Luxembourg only saw the incredible light show and CO2 beams.
When most of the audience were already wet, front man Sam Carter takes a short time to say hello. A finely worked mix of songs from the ‘Holy Hell’ predecessor ‘All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us’, ‘Holy Hell’ itself and must-play songs such as ‘These Colours Don’t Run’ or ‘Naysayer’ blew every visitor’s 90 minutes in fast motion around the ears. There was no time for tiredness. The regular set ended with the middle section of ‘Memento Mori’ and the 100th overwhelmed thank you of the band. A band whose members are as simple as ARCHITECTS can’t be asked for an encore for long either. Loud calls for another song were heard and Carter, Searle, Middleton, Christianson and Dean promptly climbed the stage for the encore. ‘Gone With The Wind’ was the first one. Those who have been following the band for more than two years know about the emotional content of this song in connection with the death of guitarist, songwriter, twin brother and founding member Tom Searle. Goose bumps moment! There was only one song left that was missing and ‘Doomsday’ was the heaviest, most beautiful and most omitted finale one could have wished for this evening.
Besides the fire effects and confetti bombs, the concert in Luxembourg was still different from the previous tour dates: after the concert, there was no big heart with “T//S” visible. But this is not of value. The fans thought of Tom during the concert anyway, so it was still a very emotional concert.
Setlist
01. Death Is Not Defeat
02. Modern Misery
03. Nihilist
04. Broken Cross
05. Holy Hell
06. Royal Beggars
07. Gravedigger
08. Mortal After All
09. Downfall
10. Naysayer
11. These Colours Don’t Run
12. A Match Made in Heaven
13. Hereafter
14. A Wasted Hymn
15. Memento Mori (Shortened version)
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16. Gone With the Wind
17. Doomsday
Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Sound: 9
Light: 10
Total: 8.8 / 10
All pictures by Elena Arens
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