Architects

Architects' new album "Holly Hell" has quickly become one of my favorites for 2018.  Their music can be described as metalcore or post-hardcore and their lyrics are sometimes a bit hard to comprehend as their vocalist, Sam Carter, utilizes both screaming and melodic choruses.  It's kind of like Linkin Park of old but with a heavier edge.

I know very few people like this style of music, but I wanted to try and give a bit of color/complexity to a genre of music that is generally dismissed as angry and shallow.

Background

The band Architects was formed in 2004 by twin brothers, Tom on the guitar and Dan on the drums.  Tom was also the principal song writer and lyricist.  His lyrics ranged from the low key angsty subjects (After all, he was a teenager when the band was created) to surprising activist stances, anger on global warming, religion and politics.  The band had a generally favorable run of albums leading to 2016's "All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us."

In 2012, Tom discovered a mole on his leg that was bothering him - while doctors initially thought it was nothing, after getting surgery to remove it he was diagnosed with melanoma.  I'm reading this after the fact, but I don't believe fans were told that he was still battling cancer until on August 21st, 2016 they announced his passing.

While the lyrics in "All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us," were already heavy, in the light of his passing they took on a darker feel.  In the song "Gone With the Wind" Tom writes:

I'm always gone with the wind
Crawling in and out of my mind
God knows I lost all my faith

A sickness with no remedy
Except the ones inside of me
You ever wonder how deep you could sink into nothing at all?
Disintegrate, annihilate me

The entire song seems to be about his struggle with mortality.  You'll find bits and pieces of it scattered throughout the entire album - especially on the last track "Momento Mori" (Latin expression for "be mindful of death.").  More on that later.

Death is Not Defeat // Momento Mori

The album Holy Hell came out just recently (November 2018) and while I enjoyed it after first listen, the music felt the same as their last album (which in hindsight is pretty awesome).  I was about to write it off but on a whim I decided to read the lyrics.

Since Tom's passing, the music and lyric duties were given to Dan.  In one interview Dan remarks on his brother's death:

Ultimately, there were two choices, feel sorry for yourself and believe the world to be a horrible place and let it defeat you.  Or let it inspire us to live the life that Tom would have wanted us to live.  I was very worried about people taking away a despondent message from the album.  I felt a level of responsibility to provide a light at the end of the tunnel for people who are going through terrible experiences.  For me, broadly speaking Holy Hell is about pain: the way we process it, cope with it, and live with it.  There is value in pain.  It's where we learn it's where we grow.

The first song, "Death is Not Defeat" really blew me away with it's parallels and callbacks to "Momento Mori."  In "Momento Mori" Tom wrote in the chorus "Dismantled piece by piece" and then at the bridge "It'll wear you down through skin and bone..."

Here's the chorus from "Death is Not Defeat:"

When I leave this skin and bone
Beyond my final heartbeat
I'll dismantle piece by piece
And I will know that death is not defeat

Dan's opening lines establish a direct link to the song created two years earlier by his brother.  It's a great little call back that wouldn't register (or you would think lazy song writing) if you weren't paying attention.

It goes on further...

Momento Mori's second verse:

When my heart skips two beats...
I am hidden deep, fast asleep
...the sea will part where oceans meet
Finally complete.

Compare that to the first two lines in the bridge in "Death Is Not Defeat" where Dan invokes that imagery:

Now you're finally complete
I will see you where oceans meet

It's a beautiful recall - one brother contemplating his death and the other brother with a message of hope.  On top of all of this, during the bridge they play the bass line lifted directly from Momento Mori (in half time?) - just to make sure you know it's not a fluke that they're using the same imagery.

For those wondering what the songs sound like, I'll link to youtube videos:

Death is Not Defeat

Momento Mori

I think I have more to say on the subject of grief and loss, but I'll save that for another time.  I know this post isn't going to make anyone metalcore fans, but hey, it felt good to write.

Santa Rosa Fire

Santa Rosa Fire - October 9th, 2017

Alycia and I woke up at around 2:00 AM to some popping sounds and sirens.  At first, I assumed some people were playing with firecrackers around the area but Alycia got up and looked out our window to see an orange glow in the distance.  I checked my phone and saw an alert mentioning a fire coming toward Santa Rosa (Thanks creeper Google).

We got dressed and started to assess the situation...  I heard our neighbor outside, so I went down.  After a quick conversation he mentioned that the fire hopped the freeway and may be headed in our direction.  For about 10 minutes, we both hosed down our backyard, fence and sides of the house.  As I was doing it, it felt pretty futile.  Alycia in the meantime was packing some stuff and gathering the cat...  After a bit, we decided to leave so we took off in both cars.  Alycia left first while I gathered more items.  We came up with a game plan to get off the main road and head to her mom's place about 20 miles away.

The traffic was just as bad as expected, but everyone was being orderly and surprisingly civil.  The traffic lights were out but people weren't being jerks.  Have you guys seen Silent Hill where the ash is falling from the sky?  It's weird to actually be in that situation - I didn't think that was actually a thing.  Driving down, I saw a lot of people gathered in parking lots, probably trying to figure out their next move - I assume if we didn't have a place to stay we would have done the same.  The drive there was ended up being uneventful other than having a cat who thought the world was going to end.

Once we got settled down, I actually had a decision to make - October 9th was my first day at my new job in SF!  I ended up going since there was really nothing to be done other than watch the news.  It was a little odd to be at work trying to pay attention to the onboarding presentations while worrying about the house!

Happily everything turned out OK in the end - I did accidentally forget to bring the small fireproof safe that has our passports and little items (we're not ballers stashing $$$) but Alycia went with her friends to pick it up.  (side story:  After we evacuated the next thing we had to worry about were looters.  Yay USA) Some neighbors stayed behind and posted the "you loot, we shoot" around - so now I know some people are packing firepower around here.

I think we got to go back to the house after 4-5 days but we were without gas for another 2.  Cold showers are a small price to pay for being so lucky.

Stuff

So I say this in afterthought, but while I was packing I realized I answered the question of what I would take if I only had a few minutes...  Turns out I'm not a very sentimental guy (who knew?) all the "stuff" I have really doesn't matter that much to me - Other than the essential clothes and towels I grabbed my external hard drive but left everything else.  While waiting to see if the house was still standing or not, I honestly didn't feel that sad about the stuff I left behind.  I guess in the end, I could do without the old console games, the monitor, or any smaller things I happen to accumulate throughout the years.  I don't think that means I'm going to go all minimalist in the future, but maybe it's something for me to reflect on!