The Architect (Eidola album)

The Architect is the fourth full-length studio album by American rock band Eidola, released on September 17, 2021 through Blue Swan Records and Rise Records. The album serves as a follow-up to their third studio album, To Speak, To Listen (2017), and is their first to not feature rhythm guitarist Brandon Bascom, who departed from the band in December 2017 and was replaced by Royal Coda guitarist Sergio Medina. It is also the band's first release since their record label Blue Swan Records partnered with Rise in February 2021. The album was produced by Ian Cooperstein and Kris Crummett with recording sessions taking place at Interlace Audio in Portland, Oregon.

The Architect
Studio album by
Eidola
ReleasedSeptember 17, 2021
Recorded2019–20
StudioInterlace Audio, Portland, Oregon
Genre
Length45:29
Label
Producer
Eidola chronology
To Speak, To Listen (Instrumental)
(2017)		 The Architect
(2021)
Singles from The Architect
  1. "Counterfeit Shrines"
    Released: June 29, 2021
  2. "Perennial Philosophy"
    Released: August 13, 2021
  3. "Mutual Fear"
    Released: September 14, 2021

The lead single, "Counterfeit Shrines", was released on June 29, 2021. The second and third singles, "Hidden Worship" and "Perennial Philosophy", were each released on August 13. The fourth and final single, "Mutual Fear", featuring Jon Mess of American post-hardcore band Dance Gavin Dance, was released on September 14. To promote the album, the band toured as support on Dance Gavin Dance's Afterburner US tour in September and October 2021, performed at the second inaugural SwanFest in Sacramento, California in April 2022, and will tour as support on Dance Gavin Dance's UK tour in January 2023.

Background

On June 2, 2017, Eidola released their third studio album, To Speak, To Listen, on Blue Swan Records, an independent record label owned by American musician and Dance Gavin Dance guitarist Will Swan.[1] In support of the album, the band embarked on a North American tour with The Ongoing Concept and Save Us From The Archon, which took place from August 17 to September 19, 2017.[2] On December 15, 2017, Eidola announced the headlining To Speak, To Listen Tour, with support from rock band Capstan and singer Andrés, which spanned from February 8 to March 3, 2018.[3] On the same day, the group released an instrumental version of their third studio album, To Speak, To Listen.[4] Prior to the group's To Speak, To Listen Tour, the band's original lead guitarist Brandon Bascom stepped down and was subsequently replaced by former Stolas and Royal Coda guitarist Sergio Medina.[5]

After having supported American post-hardcore band Dance Gavin Dance's US co-headlining tour with CHON in 2017, Eidola performed at the band's inaugural SwanFest in Anaheim, California on March 30, 2019.[6] In December 2019, it was confirmed that Eidola would be performing at the second annual SwanFest on April 25, 2020, in Sacramento. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SwanFest was postponed to April 2022 and the group withheld the announcement of their 2020 headlining tour.

Recording

On November 11, 2019, the band confirmed that their fourth studio album was completed and would be "ready in early 2020" with a tour announcement to follow in support of its release. In April 2020, Andrew Wells confirmed the title of their fourth record would be The Architect, but expressed uncertainty on the release date amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the music industry. The album was produced by Ian Cooperstein and Kris Crummett at Interlace Audio Recording Studios in Portland, Oregon. Recording sessions took place over the course of a year and concluded in early 2020, which was prolonged by Wells' involvement with Dance Gavin Dance. The album was postponed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the legality of their record contract with Blue Swan Records becoming partnered with Rise Records and BMG Rights Management.[7]

Singles

On June 29, 2021, Eidola released the lead single "Counterfeit Shrines", accompanied with its music video and the album's announcement and pre-order bundles.[8] On August 11, the group released the second and third singles, "Hidden Worship" and "Perennial Philosophy", to digital download and streaming services, alongside their respective music videos.[9] On September 14, the fourth and final single, "Mutual Fear", featuring Jon Mess of Dance Gavin Dance, was released along with its music video.[10]

Tour

To promote the album, Eidola toured as support on American post-hardcore band Dance Gavin Dance's Afterburner Tour from September 7 to October 20, 2021.[11] Originally, the band was scheduled to tour on progressive metal band Intervals' US run in November, yet backed out due to frontman Andrew Wells needing emergency throat surgery.[12] The band also performed at the second inaugural SwanFest on April 23, 2022 in Sacramento, California.[13]

The band will embark on Dance Gavin Dance's headlining UK tour in September 2022 along with Caskets and Volumes.[14]

Critical reception

The Architect has received mostly positive acclaim from music critics. The album was praised for the band's use of progressive rock and metal elements within their post-hardcore sound. In a review from Sputnik Music, the album was rated a 3.5/5 stars with the reviewer stating that "the album is cut too much from the same cloth as To Speak, to Listen, and while many fans of the genre will eat this up, it does nothing to push the limits and stays well-entrenched in familiarity."[15] Helana Michelle of Glasse Factory praised the album for its "melancholic nature [that] shares a real deep and personal set of experiences shared by Andrew himself."[16]

Track listing
The Architect track listing[17]
No.TitleLength
1."Hidden Worship"2:52
2."Counterfeit Shrines"4:34
3."Caustic Prayer"3:38
4."Empty Gardens"4:51
5."Occam's Razor"1:51
6."Perennial Philosophy"4:03
7."Forgotten Tongues"3:53
8."Unequivocal Nature"3:38
9."Alchemist Ascendant"1:16
10."Elephant Bones"4:25
11."Mutual Fear" (featuring Jon Mess)3:52
12."Ancient Temperament"6:30
Total length:45:29

Credits and personnel
Eidola
  • Andrew Wells – lead vocals, guitar, bass guitar, piano, string arrangements, composer[18]
  • Sergio Medina – lead guitar
  • Matthew Dommer – rhythm guitar, unclean vocals
  • James Johnson – bass guitar
  • Matthew Hansen – drums, percussion
Production
  • Kris Crummett – producer, engineer[18]
  • Ian Cooperstein – producer
  • Richard Orozoco – recording engineer
  • Gigi Zimmer – recording engineer
Additional personnel
  • Jon Mess – guest vocals (on "Mutual Fear")[19]
  • Chantelle Wells – guest vocals[18]

References
  1. "To Speak, To Listen, by Eidola". Eidolamusic.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  2. "Eidola announce summer tour with The Ongoing Concept". Axs.com. Archived from the original on 2017-07-08.
  3. "Eidola - We are very excited to announce the To Speak, To Listen tour! We are bringing out our good friends in Capstan and Andres Aparicio, and we cant wait to share this crazy experience with you guys! This is our first official full US headliner, so you wont want to miss what we've got in store! Make sure to get your tickets now at the link below. Today also marks the release of the instrumental version of To Speak, To Listen! make sure you pick up a copy at the link below and tell us what you think". Facebook.com. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  4. "To Speak, To Listen (Instrumental), by Eidola". Eidolamusic.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  5. "Eidola - 2017 was quite a year for the Eidola crew. We released "To Speak, To Listen", a very personal and profound album for us. We toured with Dance Gavin Dance, Chon, Hail The Sun, Limbs and a bunch of other incredible, hard working bands that inspire us to keep pushing forward. With all the progress and success we saw in 2017, we experienced some hurdles too. Eidola recently parted ways with our guitarist Brandon Bascom. But the new year always brings new opportunities for growth and change, so we would like everyone to welcome Sergio Medina to Eidola. Some of you may know Sergio from his other projects Stolas and Sianvar, he is an impeccably gifted guitarist/songwriter as well as a close personal friend of ours. We're heading into 2018 happy, healthy, and hungrier than ever before. So many great things in the works. Thank you to anyone who has supported this band over the years and helped us turn our dreams into reality. We can't wait to see how the future unfolds. Infinite love, Andrew, James, Matt D, Matt H, and Sergio". Facebook.com. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  6. "Dance Gavin Dance Presents Swanfest | Full Line-Up Announced". Sidestagemagazine.com. 1 February 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  7. Dowd, Rachael (18 February 2021). "Dance Gavin Dance guitarist Will Swan's label partners with Rise Records". Altpress.com. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  8. "NEWS: Eidola announce fourth album, 'The Architect'!". Deadpress.co.uk. 30 June 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  9. "EIDOLA Unleash two New Tracks 'Perennial Philosophy' And 'Hidden Worship' via Blue Swan Records/Rise Records". Sonicperspectives.com. 14 August 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  10. "Eidola - Mutual Fear (feat. Jon Mess) (Official Music Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  11. "Dance Gavin Dance 'Afterburner Tour' postponed again". NextMosh.com. 13 February 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  12. "Eidola Drop Off Intervals, Thank You Scientist, Etc. Tour Due To Singer Requiring Immediate Surgery". Theprp.com. 2021-11-03. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  13. "SWANFEST | Official Site". Dgdswanfest.com. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  14. "We are pleased to announce that @Caskets_band, @Volumesband, and @eidola will be joining us for our UK/EU tour this fall!". Twitter.com. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  15. "Eidola - The Architect (album review )". Sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  16. "Glasse Factory - Eidola's "The Architect" Curates a Beautiful Expression of Human Experience". Glassefactory.com. 22 September 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  17. "The Architect by Eidola". Music.apple.com. 17 September 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  18. "The Architect - Eidola | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  19. "Eidola on Twitter: "… "". Archived from the original on 2021-10-11. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
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