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, Sam Carter on vocals, Alex Dean on bass, and Adam Christianson on guitar.

[1] The following year, they returned towards their original style with Daybreaker, establishing a balance of melody and technical harshness while introducing more politicised lyrics.

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.

All of the original members of Architects grew up around Brighton, East Sussex and were very active within the local music scene prior to forming the band.

Because of the age of the band members in the early years they had to book weeks of holiday off at college to do tours round the country.

After this amicable departure, Johnson went on to form the band Whitemare with ex-members of Johnny Truant and Centurion, and also briefly Architects guitarist Tim Hillier-Brook on bass.

[10] Carter felt pressure when writing the lyrics for Ruin as he had a six-week period between joining Architects and going into the studio to record.

[17] Dean stated that the signing was important for the band "to be part of such an established label and it's absolutely sweet that our records are gonna be out worldwide.

The announcement of their signing to Century Media was coupled with the re-release of their second album Ruin globally with the added bonus track "Broken Clocks".

"[8] For the initial promotion of the album the band completed a 19 date headline tour of the United Kingdom with support from Misery Signals and A Textbook Tragedy.

The album was recorded across 2010 from May till June at The Omen Room Studios in California and featured guest vocals from Andrew Neufeld of Comeback Kid and Greg Puciato of The Dillinger Escape Plan.

When Dean commented on the short 5-month split from the band he said "I'm very happy to be able to say that I'm back, being able to stay at home for the past few months have given my family and I the opportunity to adjust to what happened last year and I know it's done us all a lot of good.

[33] J.J. Nattrass of Bring the noise UK said that "the Track is sweeping and melodic in parts, whilst bursting with high tempo and visceral raw energy in others.

[43] The band announced they were doing a third tour of the United States in 2013 in November and December with co-headliners Protest The Hero and support from The Kindred and Affiance,[44] as well as plans to go to Australia before 2013 had finished.

It has been stated by Tom Searle that it is "a bunch of atheists thinking about whether or not there might be something bigger," and that due to his cancer he was becoming highly contemplative about life, and that this album is the product of that train of thought.

[citation needed] On 20 August 2016, founding guitarist and songwriter Tom Searle died at the age of 28, after living for three years with melanoma skin cancer.

[70][71] On the future of the band, Dan Searle wrote, "We want to carry on, that is important to say, and we will strive to do so, but we will not release any music unless we truly believe that it is something that Tom would have been proud of.

[78] The single is the first material to be released by the band since the passing of Searle, and features new lead guitarist Josh Middleton in the music video.

"[92] On 17 June, the band received the Libera Awards as "Best Metal Record" for their song "Animals" by the American Association of Independent Music.

[93] On 12 November, the band announced another global livestream to round out the year with an exclusive performance of For Those That Wish to Exist live at Abbey Road Studios on 11 December via Veeps.

[100] In January 2024, the band attracted some controversy after guitarist Adam Christianson retweeted a post from Tim Pool in support of MMA fighter Sean Strickland's homophobic and transphobic comments in an interview.

In 2009, James Gill of Metal Hammer described the band's music as "pumped with both controlled rage and unhindered heart, accessible and ambitious, aggressive and beautiful".

[113] It is characterised by choppy, complex guitar riffs,[108] the use of obscure time signatures and rhythmic breakdowns,[107] and guitarists alternating between a "down-tuned rumble" and "melodic punk" during songs.

[113] Architects have made various stylistic transitions and evolutions throughout their career,[115] with Sam Carter stating in a 2011 interview that each album should sound distinct.

[10] Hollow Crown maintained the aggression and technical proficiency of Ruin while incorporating more melody, catchy riffs and clean singing.

"[120] The album includes the melancholy, glitchy electronica-based 'An Open Letter To Myself' and the rock ballad 'Heartburn'[118][120] both lead into "rousing, fist-pumping choruses".

[124] Architects' primary musical influences have been described as ranging through artists from the realms of hardcore punk and heavy metal music such as Botch, Converge, Decapitated, Deftones, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Gojira, Hatebreed, Meshuggah, Shadows Fall, Slipknot and Thrice,[2][114] and Alex Henderson of AllMusic considers the band to be influenced by noise rock[104] and math rock.

[125] Rock Sound Kevin Stewart-Panko writer sees the band as a "metal/hardcore outfit influenced by Meshuggah's low-end guitar lurch, the throat-shredding howl of Converge's Jake Bannon, The Dillinger Escape Plan's staccato one-two rhythms and breakdowns from the state of Massachusetts.

[11][21] For the lyrics of Daybreaker, Carter and Tom Searle collaborated on writing, focusing on what they believed to be "bigger picture" themes,[123] such as the critique of negative aspects of religion and society.