All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us

 


All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us was released in 2016

Track Listing:
1. Nihilist
2. Deathwish
3. Phantom Fear
4. Downfall
5. Gone with the Wind
6. The Empty Hourglass
7. A Match Made in Heaven
8. Gravity
9. All Love Is Lost
10. From the Wilderness
11. Memento Mori

Genre: Metalcore

I first listened to AOGHAU shortly after it came out in 2016 and it quickly became the theme of my summer.  The band really hit their stride on their last album (Lost Together // Lost Forever) but they perfected it here.

Nihilist - No doubt here what this album is going to be about.  The lyrics are a bit cringe but man is this song ferocious

Deathwish - A lot going on here and if meshes together so well.  Sam's vocals are a real standout here

Phantom Fear - A bit slower song, more space to build the atmosphere.  That chuggy breakdown is right up my alley.  And of course Tom's riffs are the standout here

Downfall - Metalcore is built on the mesh of clean and heavy.  Usually fast heavy verses and clean sung verses.  Man, this song nails it.  The change of pace midway is a great addition.

Gone with the Wind - This is one of the hardest to listen to songs on the album in retrospect.  A song about hopelessness and loss of faith, its clear here that Tom knew he wasn't going to make it. The lyrics are heavy and the song is just devastating. Also, this video: https://youtu.be/08KxWXySwkc?si=AajQzbHfwHvV_po1

The Empty Hourglass - Great verse riff, fun chorus but overall forgettable.  

A Match Made in Heaven - The delay on the intro was a great choice.  The riff here is so intricate, and the chorus is incredible.  Excellent

Gravity - My favorite on the album.  Sam screaming "Gravity, Hold on to Me" is a highlight of the album.  The slower parts add a lot of atmosphere to the song and give it more depth, more punch.

All Love is Lost - Slower, more atmospheric song.  Not bad, but not as good as the last two

From the Wilderness - Similar enough to songs like The Empty Hourglass or All Love Is Lost.  Nothing really stand out.  The spoken word sample is a great addition though.

Memento Mori - An epic closer.  The longest song they've ever done.  An almost industrial song at points, the speech sample really hammers the themes home.  The electronics, the orchestral elements all mesh together to make an incredible song.  

So here we have it, the last album Tom would write.  Emotionally heavy, a hopeless album that became so much more after Tom's death.  Probably Architects darkest album and my favorite.  I wish we got more Tom albums but this was a fantastic way to go out.

7 green, no red, this is about as good as albums get. 

5/5

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