For Those That Wish to Exist

Editors’ Notes In a genre that can be unkind towards too much change, Architects' ninth album aims to challenge that mindset. "We can do whatever we want," drummer and primary songwriter Dan Searle tells Apple Music. "The ultimate question is, do we like it? And the answer is yes." For Those That Wish to Exist showcases the British quintet taking new risks, such as incorporating an orchestral approach into their abrasive sound ("Dead Butterflies" and "An Ordinary Extinction"), expanding vocalist Sam Carter's range beyond just screaming ("Flight Without Feathers" and "Demi God"), and focusing more on accountability and less on nihilism. "I just realize that there might be a universe that prevents us from having control, taking the reins to see what's going on in the world," explains Searle. "I wanted it to be something a little bit more responsible. I began to question why I was so passive in my role in making the world a better place." Below, Searle walks us through For Those That Wish to Exist's 15 tracks.

Do You Dream of Armageddon?
“It's lyrically alluding to a sense that we're all in the same boat, and we're heading in that direction. And it doesn't feature anyone in the band except Sam.”

Black Lungs
“I really felt like it was the only way to open the record. I love the chorus. It really is like a showcase of every style. It's easing you into the record, because we stray from the usual path a number of times.”

Giving Blood
“When the song originally came together, it was just drums and synth. The guitars came later. Obviously, a lot of it is still a heavy rock song. But this is sort of your first taste of the band moving into new water, so to speak.”

Discourse Is Dead
“This is a good song to make enemies with because it's kind of a critique of just not speaking to each other and trying to move forward. But I know that compromise is not popular at the moment. People are more polarized than ever. And it's leading us further away from creating a better world.”

Dead Butterflies
“It starts just with the strings and the bass. We planned around those ideas and developed it into something that worked for the band. It sat around for ages on the shelf, and eventually we sat down with it and worked it out. I think it's one of the best songs on the record.”

An Ordinary Extinction
“Probably the heaviest part of the record despite the trippy nature of this song. It's still very Architects, but then you get tossed into the verse straight away and it's something completely different again. It's super heavy and it's in a key that fits Sam's voice.”

Impermanence
“It just felt like a stompy end-of-the-world song. And kind of thematically leading on from where we left off in [2018's] Holy Hell, a little bit more concentration about mortality and the nature of our existence.”

Flight Without Feathers
“This is like the pit stop on the record almost. I wanted to write a song that was just basslines, so I wrote all the vocals and built the rest of the song around it. It’s one of three songs on the record without any drums—without me actually performing on it at all. So it's really got to shine just on the quality of the basic parts in it.”

Little Wonder
“We all see what is wrong with the world, but at the same time we avoid wanting to see it because we all want an easy life. I think the lyrics are a little bit of a cheeky nod to the fact that this song is so stylistically different for us.”

Animals
“This song went from text message to done in about 48 hours, and it was just one of those magical moments. And if we tried to make an 11-track record, we would have never gotten to this song. I'm so glad that we did, because I think it is probably the best Architects song.”

Libertine
“We thought the record needed something like this—something big and aggressive, something with a little bit of space in it. And in the end, it's an absolutely cool album track.”

Goliath
“I thought this sounded just like a metal Biffy Clyro song and we've got to try to get Simon [Neil] on it. We just thought it'd be cool to have the singer of one of UK's biggest rock bands singing over one of the heaviest parts of the record. It's kind of all over the place.”

Demi God
“It's really dark and it's a bit of a late jam on the record that I'm really proud of. I felt like I didn't want to create a long record that just fizzles out, I wanted it to stay stronger and still be providing interesting surprises throughout.”

Meteor
“There's no point in pretending that this song isn't an arena rock song, because it is an arena rock song. We typically play in a genre where arena rock is forbidden and taboo. So this song is probably the boldest track on the record. And yes, this song is very much about us knowing that we're heading for disaster.”

Dying Is Absolutely Safe
“I decided that it should be an acoustic track because it felt like something that the record hadn't stepped into. But I think fans will get it. I think there's something in there that's pretty special.”