Hollow Crown is the third album by British metalcore band, Architects. It was recorded at Outhouse Studios, Reading. On their YouTube channel, there are several videos documenting the band's recording sessions. The album was leaked on the internet on 12 January 2009. Kerrang! magazine gave it their maximum KKKKK rating.
Background
The vocals for the album were recorded in 14 hours. On 18 July 2010 it was announced from the "Architects" Facebook account that they would be re-releasing "Hollow Crown" as a deluxe edition on 16 August 2010. The deluxe edition was to include a DVD documentary on their previous 18 months of touring/ recording and a remix of the title track "Hollow Crown" by the guitarist and drummer Tom and Dan Searle.
Style and themes
This album marks a change in guitar tuning for the second time, now using C# standard on a majority of the tracks and an alternate tuning similar to C# standard, but with the low C# tuned to G#. This tuning is featured on the tracks Early Grave and Borrowed Time. Also, they use a 7 string baritone on the trackDead March, which is tuned to drop A. Stylistically, the band considered Hollow Crown as a natural progression from its predecessor. Hollow Crown album displays a significant increase in clean vocals from Sam Carter, as well as a change in his harsh vocals, from the lower register on Ruin to more high-pitched screams. Also in this album, there is a further departure from the band's mathcore roots, utilising more traditional song structures, simplified riffs and more melodic musicianship, as well as a fair usage of keyboards and drum programming. Carter has stated that the lyrics on the album are of a personal nature. He has said that he wrote about everyday life and things that happen to him, these are as simple as sitting in a car with friends or hating girls.
Title and packaging
The album title has had different value to each member of the band. Dan Searle in interview was asked why the band gave it the title and he stated to him it refers to "those people you meet in life that earn nothing, but are given everything." During an interview in October 2009 vocalist and lyricist Sam Carter stated that the inspiration for him when picking the name was because despite the band's hard working nature they never seemed to progress, saying "we’ve always felt like we were a band that worked really, really hard and we never got appreciation for it".
Reception
The album was well received by critics. Kerrang! magazine described it as a "carefully layered and brilliantly crafted ". In 2012, British publication Rock Sound added Architects' album Hollow Crown into their 101 Modern Classics placed at number 76. They considered the album more of a classic than The Offspring's Americana and Bullet For My Valentine's The Poison. Stating that "back when they were young, hungry and out to impress, Architects wrote this face-melting collection of rippers and made the worldsit up." When Sam Carter was asked in 2018 whether the band would re-visit the album in full in-line for its ten-year anniversary he was dismissive, saying "I don’t see that us as that band. Also it would never be the original line-up, it would never be what it was. I love ‘Hollow Crown’ because I was a really angry 18 year old that didn't know how to look after his voice. And that was part of the charm to it."
