All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us
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''All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us'' is the seventh studio album by British
metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...
band
Architects An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
. It was released on 27 May 2016 globally through
Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most acts signed to the label were punk and pop punk acts, while there are many post-hardcore and emo bands ...
; with the exception of
UNFD UNFD (pronounced as an initialism ˈjuːˈenˈefˈdiː/ is an independent record label based in Melbourne, Australia. The label is home to a number of Australian artists including Thornhill, Ocean Grove, Hellions and In Hearts Wake, and int ...
in Australia and New Damage in Canada. The album peaked at number 109 on the ''Billboard'' 200, and reached number 15 on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
. It is the band's first album to feature guitarist Adam Christianson, following his addition to the band as a full-time member after his tenure as a touring guitarist through 2012 to 2015. It is also the band's final album to include founding guitarist and primary songwriter, Tom Searle, before his passing on 20 August 2016, due to cancer. Recorded in
Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
, Sweden, it was described by
Blabbermouth.net Blabbermouth.net is a website dedicated to heavy metal and hard rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. Blabbermouth.net was founded and is run by Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was launched in March 2001; in Octob ...
as the "heaviest and darkest work to which Architects have ever put their name to ic and "an album that challenges and progresses a genre long thought to have stagnated, and embraces its inspirations at a time when many
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
and
metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...
bands seek to hide them in search of mainstream acceptance".


Writing and recording

In an article published by the band's Australian record label UNFD, it is stated that the band flew to Gothenburg, Sweden in October 2015 to begin recording the album at Studio Fredman, where they had recorded their previous album ''
Lost Forever // Lost Together ''Lost Forever // Lost Together'' is the sixth studio album by British metalcore band Architects. It was released on 11 March 2014 globally through Epitaph Records; with the exception of UNFD in Australia and New Damage in Canada. ''Lost Fore ...
'' nearly two years prior. The album was recorded in "seven grueling weeks" with producers Hendrik Udd and
Fredrik Nordström Björn Tom Fredrik Nordström (born 5 January 1967) is a Swedish musician and record producer, best known as the guitarist of heavy metal band Dream Evil. Nordström is one of the leading melodic death metal and power metal producers in Sweden ...
. On 30 March 2016, the band's record label
Epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...
uploaded the first part of a video documentary on the writing and recording process surrounding ''All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us'', to their official YouTube channel. In the video, the band spoke on how they had entered the recording process with much more confidence than they previously exhibited when working on their past material. The initial loss of confidence was largely due to the backlash from fans surrounding their 2011 album ''
The Here and Now ''The Here and Now'' is the fourth studio album by British metalcore band Architects. It was released on 19 January 2011 through Century Media Records in the United Kingdom and majority of Europe, and 20 January 2011 in the United States. The ...
''. The band was dissatisfied with the album, which created a feeling of "uncertainty" amongst Architects as to what course of action needed to be taken in order to move on from the album. The band chose to follow a similar style of music to their previous album ''Lost Forever // Lost Together'', as it was the album that propelled the band forwards in terms of popularity and reception amongst critics and fans. Partly because of this, the band elected to re-unite with producers Henrik Udd and Fredrik Nordström for their seventh record. Tom Searle, the band's former guitarist, expressed great enthusiasm for the sound that these producers had shaped for their previous album, reminiscing on hearing the initial demo for the track "Naysayer". Searle felt that there was no need to "roll the dice again" by looking for a different producer to work on their new album, stating that the band were confident with their two established producers and were largely impressed with their previous album. The band again hired producer/arranger
Randy Slaugh Randy Slaugh (born October 3, 1987) is an American music producer and composer based in Salt Lake City, Utah. He has worked with artists such as Architects, Sleeping With Sirens, Skillet, The Amity Affliction, Periphery, Trace Cyrus, David Arch ...
(who had done string arrangements on ''Lost Forever // Lost Together'') to record real brass and strings in "Memento Mori". Blabbermouth.net described the album's lyrical themes as showcasing "worldwide anger and disillusion", saying the album "wrestles with contemplations of death, god and faith in search of some semblance of hope for a world increasingly consumed by fear, anger and confusion. This album is rchitects'statement of intent to the world, it is time to stand up, take notice and be counted." The album's title is derived from a line within the album's opening track "Nihilist". In an interview with HMV, vocalist Sam Carter described the title as being "a statement about the dark and weird place the world is these days, we seem to have abandoned the simpler ways of living life and moved to a place where we're just trying to fuck each other over. Whether our gods have abandoned us or we've abandoned them, it's a statement with real impact. When you see that title you know this is going to be a heavy record. Heavy in title, heavy in songs."


Release and promotion

Music videos for the singles "A Match Made in Heaven", "Gone with the Wind" and "Downfall" were released on 6 March, 11 April and 20 May 2016, respectively. The band cancelled the US Headliner Tour that was scheduled to occur throughout July and early August 2016 in support of the album due to "a family emergency," which turned out to be a euphemism for Tom Searle's cancer taking its toll. The guitarist and songwriter passed away in late August. In spite of Tom's death, the band completed their United Kingdom and Australian tour in Tom's honour. Architects announced in August 2017 that they would be embarking on a European tour in early 2018 in support of the album, featuring Josh Middleton of
Sylosis Sylosis is a British heavy metal band from Reading, Berkshire, England. Signed to Nuclear Blast Records, the band has released five studio albums, a live album, two EPs and twelve music videos. Their fifth album '' Cycle of Suffering'' was rel ...
who had filled in live for Tom since his passing and had become a full-time member of the band. The band also finished the touring cycle for the album with a sell-out headline show at
Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is a Grade II listed entertainment and sports venue in London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. It is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and the later Tottenham Wood Farm. Origi ...
in London, performing alongside
While She Sleeps While She Sleeps are a British metalcore band from Sheffield. Formed in 2006, the group consists of vocalist Lawrence Taylor, guitarists Sean Long and Mat Welsh, bassist Aaran McKenzie and drummer Adam Savage. They are currently signed to t ...
and
Counterparts Counterpart or Counterparts may refer to: Entertainment and literature * "Counterparts" (short story), by James Joyce * Counterparts, former name for the Reel Pride LGBT film festival * ''Counterparts'' (film), a 2007 German drama * ''Counterp ...
in February 2018 in front of 10,000 people.


Critical reception

''All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us'' was met with critical acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic (a review aggregator site which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 from music critics), based on 7 critics, the album has received a score of 82/100, which indicates "universal acclaim". Writing for ''
Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...
'', Stephen Hill praised the album, particularly for "ripping up their own rulebook" and drawing on a diverse range of influences, making comparisons to bands such as
Cult of Luna Cult of Luna is a Swedish heavy metal band from Umeå founded in 1998. They are known for post-metal music similar to the contemporary bands Neurosis and Isis. The band was signed to Earache Records in the early 2000s and released five albums, i ...
,
Biffy Clyro Biffy Clyro are a Scottish rock band that formed in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, composed of Simon Neil (guitar, lead vocals), James Johnston (bass, vocals), and Ben Johnston (drums, vocals). Currently signed to 14th Floor Records, they have r ...
, and
Lamb of God Lamb of God ( el, Ἀμνὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, Amnòs toû Theoû; la, Agnus Dei, ) is a title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. It appears at John 1:29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, "Behold the Lamb of God wh ...
. Hill singled out the closing track 'Memento Mori' for particular praise, describing it as "not just the most important song this band have ever recorded; it's the moment where Architects make the jump to stand utterly alone." He closed his review by writing that "In an album full of loud noises, the loudest noise above it all is the sound of every other metalcore band on Earth choking on Architects' dust." Writing for ''
Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...
'', Griffin J. Elliott gave the album a positive review, calling it "so goddamn heavy and fast it sounds like what one could only assume smoking crack cocaine with
Northlane Northlane are an Australian Heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Sydney, formed in 2009. The band comprises guitarists Jon Deiley and Josh Smith, drummer Nic Pettersen and vocalist Marcus Bridge. Northlane have released six studio albums: ...
sounds like." On 24 August 2017, the band won Best Album at the inaugural Heavy Music Awards in London for ''All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us''.


Accolades


Track listing

Notes * Initially, the track 11 "Memento Mori" appeared to be misspelled on the album's iTunes pre-order page as "Momento Mori". This misspelling was also present on external publications documenting the album and on external merchandise websites. However, it was fixed before the album's official release.


Personnel

;Architects * Sam Carter – lead vocals * Tom Searle – lead guitar, keyboards, programming, electronics, strings, brass instruments, lyrics * Adam Christianson – rhythm guitar * Alex "Ali" Dean – bass * Dan Searle – drums, percussion, programming, electronics ;Additional musicians * Linda Seare, Rebecca Bill and Jennifer Allen – violin * Michael Rollins – viola * Sara Cerrato and Elizabeth Clarke – cello * Elizabeth Shill – French horn * Tom Francis – bass trombone ;Additional personnel *
Architects An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
– production, engineering * Henrik Udd –
production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...
,
engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
, mixing, mastering *
Randy Slaugh Randy Slaugh (born October 3, 1987) is an American music producer and composer based in Salt Lake City, Utah. He has worked with artists such as Architects, Sleeping With Sirens, Skillet, The Amity Affliction, Periphery, Trace Cyrus, David Arch ...
– production, engineering, arranging *
Fredrik Nordström Björn Tom Fredrik Nordström (born 5 January 1967) is a Swedish musician and record producer, best known as the guitarist of heavy metal band Dream Evil. Nordström is one of the leading melodic death metal and power metal producers in Sweden ...
– additional production, engineering * Ken Dudley – assistant engineering * Joey Simmrin – management * Adam Sylvester, Anna Bewers, Josh Kline and Paul Ryan – booking * Nick Steinhardt – design


Charts


References

{{Authority control 2016 albums Architects (British band) albums Epitaph Records albums UNFD albums Albums produced by Fredrik Nordström