We're on a bit of a discovery mission at the moment with our eyes locked firmly on the United Kingdom and European metalcore, which is showing plenty of promise with the next generation too, and today we're pumped to bring you the new single for Northern Ireland act ARCHIVES.
Blending djent-riffed guitars with a thumping metallic-hardcore sound (think The Ghost Inside and Stick To Your Guns meets Architects), there's no denying these lads mean business. 'Matriarch' is as rough as it is intricate, with plenty of layering that doesn't take away from frontman Adam Holland and his yells. Stewart Ferguson shines on the lead guitar and cleans, while drummer Jack Woods bashes away on his kit.
On the new single, which officially drops tomorrow, Friday, May 26th, the band reveals:
"'Matriarch' is a song about how human beings process loss & grief in many different forms. In this case, hiding away from the reality of losing someone - even if it means you may never get to properly say goodbye - in order to save your last memory of a loved one being a positive one & not bedridden. Grief is difficult."
Right in the feels.
The guys have been breaking down since 2020, with debut album Decay and standalone single 'Self Inflicted' putting their name on our radar. Like what you hear, hit that pre-save and help the lads get some spins on #NewMusicFriday tomorrow.
We grabbed lead guitarist/clean vocalist Stewart Ferguson to give us an introduction to the band, their conception and future plans following this new song.
G'day ARCHIVES! Great to hear from you with this new tune - First of all give us a rundown of how you came to be a band back in 2020?
Hi man! Thanks for having us! Well a few of us had been friends for a long time, bouncing between different bands growing up. We finally decided we were going to give it a serious go, so we formed ARCHIVES and here we are.
You've already released one album, Decay, back in 2021 - what was your biggest hurdle with that and how does the band compare now?
Well unfortunately shortly after forming the band, covid hit and we were all forced into lockdown. This created a massive hurdle for us because we had decided on recording the album Decay. Not being allowed to meet up and practise the album was hard, but everyone having to learn it remotely was even harder.
'Matriarch' is a brutally-themed song. Holding onto the positive memory of someone on their deathbed hits home, for a lot of us. What are three things from the recording process you'll remember for the rest of your careers?
1. Huge emotion in the studio
2. Huge excitement as this track is a slightly different direction for us.
3. Using a lot of swear words in the process haha
Your sound on this one is very reminiscent of Stray From The Path and The Ghost Inside, with everyone's favourite, djent. Who would you say are some of the band's biggest influences in the scene?
I would say our biggest influences would be Polaris, Architects and Invent Animate.
Tell us about the Northern Ireland heavy music scene. Where was the last show you played, what capacity, and what's the scene like?
The heavy scene in Northern Ireland is actually very good. There’s lots of really talented guys over here that know what they're doing and the gigs over here actually pull really really good crowds! We always love playing Belfast and seeing lots of familiar faces.
Well, the last show we played was actually in Cambridge in England on tour which pulled a decent crowd! I say roughly 100-150 capacity and there wasn’t much room to move! Hah
https://www.instagram.com/p/Crabdw5Njni/
What can you tell us about the future of ARCHIVES?
Well, 2023 has been a busy year for us so far and we have ALOT more planned for this year. We hit England again this August and there’s more tasty stuff in the pipeline. We think our fans will be super excited with what’s coming in the next 2-3 months.
Well you've made it down under, so things are starting already. Any final thoughts for new and old fans?
Thanks for your never-ending support and believing in ARCHIVES. We have some great news coming your way that we know you’ll love! For you guys that haven’t listened yet, where have you been? We’ve been waiting for you?! Ha
Interview by Paul ‘Browny’ Brown @brownypaul
Follow ARCHIVES on socials via LinkTree
ARCHIVES are - Adam Holland (unclean vox), Stewart Ferguson (lead guitar/clean vox), Samuel Irwin (rhythm guitar), Paul Douglas (bass) and Jack Woods (drums).
Pre-Save/Stream 'Matriarch' here
