Architects - Ruin [Picture Disc]

Ruin is where Architects found their voice, quite literally, and this limited picture disc revisits the Brighton band's second album.

Released in 2007, it was the first record with vocalist Sam Carter and bassist Ali Dean, and Carter's arrival steered the band away from straight screaming toward a forceful, hardcore-style bark. Recorded at Outhouse Studios in Reading with producer John Mitchell, it saw the band drop their tuning and push into darker, more fluid metalcore, laying groundwork for everything that followed. Lyrics are credited to Carter, with the music written by the band as a whole.

Buried at Sea opens the album with crushing intent, while Hunt Them Down and Heartless showcase the late Tom Searle's intricate, angular riffing alongside his brother Dan's precise, punishing drumming. Carter's vocals bring a raw urgency to the heavier moments, the first sign of the presence that would become central to the band's identity.

Listening now, it is fascinating to hear the seeds of the group that would go on to fill arenas, still hungry and still figuring out exactly who they wanted to be.

For longtime fans the picture disc makes a striking collector's piece, and a vivid reminder of the moment one of Britain's most important heavy bands began to take shape.