Thursday 13 September 2018

ARCHIVES

BandARCHIVES
GenresPunk / Post-Rock / Hardcore / Post-Hardcore / Emo / Screamo / Skramz / Ambient / Experimental
Related artistsBonehouseThe Fall Of Boss Koala, The Won Over, Gone Wishing and Please, Believe!.
CountryDundee SCOTLAND
Years Active2007-2008
Song: "Divine Circuitry"
Album: "Decline"
Year: 2008
For fans ofRespire, Reveries, Lessener, Suis La Lune, Via Fondo, Amber Daybreak, LKTDOV, Young Mountain, Watch For Wolves, Shirokuma, Chalk Hands, Envy, Careless, Captain, Your Ship Is Sinking, State FaultsSnøras, Yarostan and Kaddish aka PROPER SCREAMO.
Label(s): Self Released / Tokyo Jupiter Records / Dizzy Storm Records
This post's artist is from the September 2018 Mix. This is track #10.
You can download: the September 2018 Mix#9 right here or get the new October 2018 Mix#10 here.

Like many bands that I have files for on my computer, I have no fucking clue where, when or from whom I heard about them. ARCHIVES fall into this very broad category. They also fall into the ridiculous category. At least...sometimes. Hailing from the U.K. and releasing but a demo cdr in 2007 and a proper, six-song full length cd the following year. Two of the three songs from the 'Demo' show up again on the LP so I'll just whip through that relatively quickly.

The 'Decline' LP is a very good debut record from ARCHIVES. The instrumentals, guitars in particular, are stellar. The lyrics are pretty dang interesting. The vocals are hit or miss for me, as are some of the tracks in general. Two things I know for sure, "Skvotter" and "Divine Circuitry" are fanfuckingtastic.

Opener "Skvotter" is a hefty 7:11 but don't let that deter you, for it is a behemoth of a song with no lulls. It begins with a brief ambient intro before everything kicks in full throttle a few seconds later. They slow it down a tad at one minute to let some big notes ring out and then leave a lone guitar to lead the listener into the very groovy, next section. The spacey, gripping guitars weave a nice web and help transition to some very interesting parts, including a very impressive drum roll and chords at about 2:30. So all that is well and good (no, great) but holy smokes the interlaced guitar-work that begins to unfold from 4:41 is breathtaking. The drums are timed with some very fast bass action to further enhance the experience, and by the six-minute mark the final climb to climax becomes visible thanks to the inclusion of dual vocals, but the band gives you the middle finger and a lone guitar diddles away the close. Such a great song.

"Divine Circuitry" is my other jam, and for different reasons, although it also eclipses the 7-minute mark. There is a cool, post-hardcore intro that includes more of that stellar guitar tone, the screaming is very fitting and the song builds quite nicely, but primarily there is that part that begins to form from the turn at two minutes. The song shifts into an epic groove led by a ridiculously amazing guitar progression and the interplay that comes along from the other guitarist. By 2:40 the gang vocals come in repeatedly chanting the best line ever, "Your mechanical arm is a gift from god!" Hot damn why does that get me so much? So very, very sick. There's more phenomenal guitarwork from 3:30 onward with a sugary sweet guitar solo that'll have you lapping up the rest of this beautiful piece of work.

Everything in between those two tracks is good, but nothing comes close to the defining moments they create, which continue to be the only things that draw me back in.

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DISCOGRAPHY

2007 - Demo cdrEP (you got this? please upload it!)

2008 - Decline cdLP (download here)

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(2008) ARCHIVES - "Divine Circuitry" (from 'Decline')

(2008) ARCHIVES - "Skvotter" (from 'Decline')

(2008) ARCHIVES - "A Sharp Increase in Decline" (from 'Decline')

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ARCHIVES out of print mp3 discography download

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1 comment:

  1. thank you for hosting this. I played a gig with Archives a long time ago. They were incredible and Divine Circuitry has been imprinted in my brain ever since.

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