CoC : Architects - Hollow Crown : Review

Architects - _Hollow Crown_
(Century Media, 2009)
by: Jackie Smit (4 out of 10)

Too saccharine sweet for hardcore purists and far too heavy for most members of the sideswept fringe brigade, Old Blighty's own Architects find themselves tangled up in something of an identity crisis on their third full-length. The opening dirge of "Early Grave" demonstrates ably that when they do crank up the voltage, they have some mileage in them as beat-down disciples that slap chugging riff upon chugging riff together with all the subtlety of a wildebeest in heat. However, no sooner have they built up momentum for what Sam Carter's underwhelming croon rears its head and sees to it that the band piss on their own brushfire with reckless abandon. As the album wears on, this becomes such a frustrating occurrence, that by the time "Left With a Minute" signals their near departure, even the thrust of their brutal bits begins to seem as though it owes a massive debt to a sterling production effort rather than any real innovation. _Hollow Crown_ is the sort of record that you'll listen to once -- maybe even twice -- and never feel truly compelled to pick up ever again.

Contact: http://www.hollow-crown.com/

(article published 28/2/2009)