On Sunday 9th March 2014, I went to Sheffield’s Leadmill to watch ‘Architects’ on the third night of their European Tour.

‘Architects’ are a metalcore band from Brighton who were formed ten years ago. To promote the release of their sixth studio album ‘Lost Forever // Lost Together’, the band have embarked on a European tour that sees the four piece travel all over the UK, as well as playing shows in Germany, Spain, France, Italy and many others. Sheffield’s Leadmill venue was the location for the third night of the tour following performances in Manchester and Glasgow. The anticipation for the show, which also saw some high quality support acts, was massive and by the time the evening arrived it was sold out, with fans queuing some distance to get in to the venue.

The openers were ‘Landscapes’, a melodic hardcore band from the UK whose set had just began as we made our entry into the venue.  The band, for whom this year has already seen give support to ‘Defeater’ on their European Tour’, kicked off the show in style. Landscapes’ powerful seven-song set included a number of tracks from their debut album ‘Life Gone Wrong’, including the opening track of the night ‘Cemetery’.

The venue was filling up close to capacity by now and fans battled to get as close to the front as possible. It wasn’t long before the moshpits got into full swing as the second, and in my opinion most impressive, support act of the night – ‘Northlane’, burst on to stage. The metalcore band all the way from Australia are fast-becoming one of the biggest names in metal music despite only forming in 2009, and judging by this showing it is easy to see why. Many fans were just as excited to see this Australian group as they were the main event at this show. And with an entertaining set that lasted around 40 minutes and included songs from both of their albums, nobody in the 900-strong crowd was left feeling disappointed.

Hailing from Long Island, New York, ‘Stray From The Path’ were the final support act of the night. With the bands name splashed across the back wall of the stage, they played arguably the most energetic set of all the supports bands. The band have released a remarkable seven studio albums and front man Andrew Dijorio was clearly very humbled to be playing on this tour, telling the sell out crowd how their first show took place in an arcade in New York! 13 years on and a packed-out Leadmill was enjoying the bands hardcore sound; moshing and crowd-surfing for the duration of the set.

It was now almost time for the main event and the crowd chanted ‘Architects’ as the tension inside the venue built. Finally the band, consisting of Sam Carter, brothers and original members Tom and Dan Searle, and Alex Dean, make their entry and opened the set with ‘Gravedigger’ – the opening track of the new album. Another new track, ‘C.A.N.C.E.R’, followed before the group continued with a few older songs, including the fantastic ‘Alpha Omega’ from the album ‘Daybreaker’.

Front man Sam Carter, who has been with the band since 2007, was hugely energetic and also clearly very honoured to be headlining the sold out show. He chatted and joked with the crowd between songs, poking fun at the North/South divide and claiming ‘We wish we were northerners’ which brought a huge cheer from the northern crowd! It was also clear how honoured and thankful they were for their success, continually thanking the Sheffield crowd and saying that they are no better than any one of them. It is refreshing to see a successful band remember and thank their fans, as it seems to be so easy for many to forget where they came from.

‘Naysayer’, which in my opinion is the best song from the new release, followed to a huge reception from the Sheffield crowd as the atmosphere really peaked. A number of other songs followed, including ‘Daybreak and ‘Black Blood’, as well as ‘Colony Collapse’ from the brand new album. ‘Broken Cross’ was the final song performed before the band left the stage temporarily, Carter asking the crowd to get down on their knees at one point in the song before they all simultaneously leaped in the air – a terrific sight.

The Architects weren’t gone for long though as they quickly returned for the inevitable encore. Another new track – ‘Red Hypergiant’, began the encore before the band played possibly their most famous song ‘These Colours Don’t Run’ to bring the gig to a close in great style. The band had lived up to the hype, putting on a fantastic show for the sold out Leadmill crowd.

Setlist: Gravedigger // C.A.N.C.E.R // Alpha Omega // Even If You Win, You’re Still A Rat // Day In Day Out // Naysayer // Daybreak // Follow The Water // Colony Collapse // Black Blood // Devil’s Island // Early Grave // Broken Cross // Red Hypergiant // These Colours Dont Run //