Architects Bring A New Era Of Metalcore To Anaheim

It was another night at a sold out House of Blues in Anaheim, California and fans packed into the venue full of energy for the show to come. Architects had made their way back to North America for their 2025 headlining tour, bringing with them Erra and Holywatr as support. After just recently releasing their 11th studio album The Sky, The Earth & All Between, they brought with them a new attitude and a set filled with new songs to win over new and older fans alike.

Holywatr and Erra kicked things off and both bands proved to be fitting matches to set the tone for the night. Holywatr enticed the crowd with their heavy and melodic sound, bouncing between having the crowd swaying in place or fully breaking out into a mosh pit. Erra continued the evening with their own heavy breakdowns mixed with intricate guitar playing. Their high energy was infectious as the crowd opened up into more mosh pits and crowd surfers began to fly over the barricade.

As the lights finally dimmed in preparation for Architects to take the stage, the crowd was buzzing in excitement. From the moment the first notes of the first song began, the energy in the room shifted. They began with the first song of the new album, “Elergy,” which begins with a soft opening, before launching into a full sonic assault. Vocalist Sam Carter immediately began to conduct the crowd to move. His vocal range is on full display, masterfully switching from soulful singing into crushing growls and screams. The rest of the band was performing with an intense ferocity, fully locked into their instruments, playing off each other like a well oiled machine.

Playing a majority of songs off their latest album, with a few extra from their past releases such as “Doomsday” and “Royal Beggars” from the album Holy Hell. With only a small tease of “Gone With The Wind,” all of the songs on the set list were from their last 3 albums. About halfway through their set, Sam Carter takes a moment to talk with the crowd, thanking everyone for selling out the venue. He recollects how over the years, every time they come back to the States, Anaheim has continuously showed up and supported them.

This is a new era for Architects, as over their long musical history, they have continued to experiment with their sound. While they have moved on from their heavier and more complex song structures of their early career, they have never lost their edge. With their release of The Sky, The Earth & All Between, I feel like they’ve finally found a sound that fully encapsulates everything Architects is currently as a band. Despite being a band now for 20 years, their future continues to look promising, and like Sam Carter mentioned earlier that night, they’re only just getting started.