SCOTTY HARMS gets talking with ARCHITECTS drummer DAN SEARLE and both use the word ‘hype’ several times. Is there subliminal treachery afoot? No, not really.

This is something that annoys me even more than losing a drink to gravity, and it happens a lot more often – critics and fans of hardcore who always seem to have a standard answer when it comes to who’s ‘tight, bro’. Converge and Every Time I Die put out records last year that were praised across the board, but when doesn’t that happen?

Come on; don’t give me the fucking ‘cool’ answer, man. And don’t give me the ‘hype’ answer either; likely, it’ll be a UK band like Gallows or Bring Me The Horizon (see the former’s spectacular multi-million-pound dropping from Warner as to how many records ‘hype’ can sell). Rather, look to fellow countrymen Architects – the Brighton metalcore five-piece threw a haymaker last year with Hollow Crown, a fast and technical record with the heaviness of two giant brass balls colliding. Well, I thought so anyway.

“Um, Hollow Crown is the least complex thing we’ve done yet,” argues Dan Searle, who sat on the drum stool for the record. “We’re trying to dumb down the technical stuff on the album; sometimes we hold back a bit because otherwise it can make for a pretty confusing live show. And we wanted to move into a little bit more of a straightforward direction.”

Dan rounds his statement off a bit by explaining that when the band was younger, crazy and technical was all they did. “We were really challenging ourselves, trying to do things super-complicated and be all over-the-top. We trained ourselves from a pretty young age to work that way, so nowadays stuff that seems complicated to other people is usually relatively simple to us.”

As for the ‘hype band’ tag, Dan is equally adamant. “We’re underdogs,” he says. “If you’re a hype band, you are put in the spotlight and you get a lot of opportunities – at the same time, bands like Gallows and Bring Me The Horizon get a lot of criticism that isn’t necessary – on the basis that they are, allegedly, a hype band.”

Hype or not, Hollow Crown gained enough attention to earn Architects a support slot on Parkway Drive’s DVD tour – and secure them as the Soundwave replacement for The Devil Wears Prada, who dropped the festival in favour of a US run with Killswitch Engage.

“When The Devil Wears Prada dropped out, we didn’t think twice,” Dan says. “Australia’s practically a holiday for a touring band, so the opportunity is amazing.”

Though he sees it as a holiday, I’m pretty sure his drum kit won’t. As opposed to many of his counterparts however, Dan doesn’t crack a 700-dollar, hand-hammered ride cymbal every second show just because there’s an endorsement covering his ass.

“I maybe break one or two cymbals on tour, but I’m pretty easy going. Like, I don’t hold back and play soft – it’s more a case of I don’t know how some drummers break so many cymbals,” he says, sympathising with the many gigging players out there without endorsements. “I don’t know how drummers get by without them – cymbals are so expensive.”

ARCHITECTS play alongside Rolo Tomassi, It Dies Today, Emarosa Alexisonfire and many more at the Soundwave Festival (RNA Showgrounds) on Saturday Feb 20. HOLLOW CROWN is out now on Century/Stomp. Check out www.myspace.com/architectsuk for more info.

Be first to comment on this article

Write Comment
Comments are submitted for possible publication on the condition that they may be edited. Poster's IP addresses are logged.
Name:
Comment:
Code:*