Architects announce 2022 ‘For Those That Wish To Exist’ UK arena tour
Earlier this month, Architects celebrated a major milestone in their career when their new album For Those That Wish To Exist debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. charts. This feat marks the first-ever chart No. 1 in their career.
Now, as COVID-19 cases in the U.K. continue to decline, Architects are making plans to take their new album on the road next year. On Wednesday, they announced the For Those That Wish To Exist U.K. arena tour. The five-date tour kicks off in Leeds, England Feb. 22, 2022 and ends March 1, 2022 in Cardiff, Wales.
Read more: Elliot Page discusses filming ‘Umbrella Academy’ after coming out as trans
The U.K.’s live music industry can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel amid the global pandemic. Last month, Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled a four-step plan to ease out of COVID-19 restrictions. If all goes according to plan, the country could be completely out of lockdown by late June.
With the end in sight, Architects are already making their future tour plans. In early 2022, they are hitting the road in the U.K. for an arena tour. For the run of shows, Architects are stopping at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, Glasgow’s SSE Hydro, Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena, London’s historic Alexandra Palace and, finally, the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff.
Tickets for the tour officially go on sale March 19 at 10 a.m. GMT and are available to purchase here. So far, no support acts for the tour have been announced.
For Those That Wish To Exist UK tour
On sale Friday 10am GMT https://t.co/NFBwX93rVV pic.twitter.com/UIYcJZZjBs— Architects (@Architectsuk) March 17, 2021
Read more: Metallica turn the US national anthem into the ultimate guitar shred—watch
Along with their U.K. tour, it looks like Architects are planning to perform in other countries over the next few years. On Wednesday, drummer Dan Searle tweeted that Architects have even more tour plans in the works.
“I can officially announce that we will be touring other countries over the next two years,” Searle said on Twitter.
I can officially announce that we will be touring other countries over the next two years.
— Dan Searle (@danarchitects) March 17, 2021
The full list of Architects’ tour dates is below and more information can be found here.
Architects tour dates
07/23/2021 – Liverpool, UK @ O2 Academy 2 Liverpool
07/24/2021 – Leeds, UK @ Stylus, Leeds University
08/06/2021 – Kingston Upon Thames, UK @ Club Pryzm
08/07/2021 – Kingston Upon Thames, UK @ Club Pryzm
02/22/2022 – Leeds, UK @ First Direct Arena
02/23/2022 – Glasgow, UK @ The SSE Hydro
02/25/2022 – Nottingham, UK @ Motorpoint Arena
02/26/2022 – London, UK @ Alexandra Palace
03/01/2022 – Cardiff, UK @ Motorpoint Arena
More on Architects and For Those That Wish To Exist
For Those That Wish To Exist marks Architects’ first full-length album in over two years. The LP follows up 2018’s Holy Hell which was the band’s first studio release following the death of Tom Searle. In 2016, the guitarist died at the age of 28 after a long battle with cancer. After his death, Architects, Northlane and various musicians in the scene honored Tom with touching tributes and music dedications.
For Dan Searle, Holy Hell was largely inspired by the pain and coping processes Architects went through following the death of his twin brother.
“For me, broadly speaking Holy Hell is about pain: The way we process it, cope with it, and live with it,” Searle said in a 2018 press release. “There is value in pain. It’s where we learn, it’s where we grow.”
Read more: New Black Lives In Music initiative launches to amplify Black artists
Nearly two years after the release of Holy Hell, Architects returned with an explosive video for “Animals.” The track, which debuted in October, gave fans the first taste of Architects’ ninth studio album For Those That Wish To Exist.
Soon after, they tackled the threat of climate change in the powerful video for “Black Lungs.” At the time of the video’s release, Searle shared that the self-produced LP revolves around the threat our planet faces due to overconsumption, pollution and other varying environmental factors.
“This album was me looking at our inability to change to a way of life that would sustain the human race and save the planet,” Searle said in a press release. “I wanted to look in the mirror and ask ourselves the question of what are we going to do, as opposed to trying to point the finger at politicians. Change has to start on a personal level. The world has developed a culture of wanting someone else to deal with it, when we need to take our own responsibility. It has to start there.”
Then, in January, Architects unveiled a video for “Dead Butterflies.” The atmospheric visual was filmed at the legendary Royal Albert Hall in London. Back in November, Architects took over the renowned music venue for their special livestream performance.
Read more: Tom DeLonge teases new Box Car Racer-inspired Angels & Airwaves song
Just before the release of For Those That Wish To Exist, Architects also dropped a video for their single “Meteor.” The heavy-hitting track further tackles the environmental problems the world faces. As a result, the animated video shows viewers just what it’s like to live through a fiery apocalypse.
Following its release Feb. 26, For Those That Wish To Exist shot to the top of the U.K. album charts. The No. 1 debut marks the band’s first-ever chart No. 1 in the U.K. For Those That Wish To Exist managed to beat out artists such as Maximo Park, Digga D and Alice Cooper for the coveted top spot.
Read more: Trent Reznor and Chadwick Boseman earn 2021 Oscar nominations
According to Official Charts, the race to No. 1 was a close one. As it turns out, Architects beat out Maximo Park’s Nature Always Wins for the top spot by just 550 chart sales. This accomplishment also marks Architects’ first top 10 album in the U.K. Previously, their highest chart peak was No. 15 with 2016’s All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us.
On March 5, Architects took to social media to thanks their fans, family and everyone involved with For Those That Wish To Exist.
“We are blown away,” Architects said on Twitter. “Never in our wildest dreams did we aspire to this. Even one week ago, when we released this record there was no discussion between us of having a No. 1 record. We’ve been around for 16 years, and this is our ninth record. Bands just don’t hit new peaks on their ninth record but here we are. Four years ago we lost Tom and our worlds were turned upside down. The fact that we can stand here today with a No. 1 record in the U.K., having lost our songwriter, having created a record that took many risks, should be impossible but we’re here.”
???✨ pic.twitter.com/tZslcVoeJD
— Architects (@Architectsuk) March 5, 2021
Read more: Taylor Swift makes history and performs ‘folklore’ medley at 2021 Grammys
Lead vocalist Sam Carter also shared excitement about the chart debut in an Official Charts video message.
“Hello, I am here to tell you that we did it,” Carter said in the Official Charts video. “Our album is No. 1. For Those That Wish To Exist is at the top of the U.K. album charts. I cannot begin to tell you how much this means to all of us. Thank you to every single person that bought this record [and] every single person that bought it twice [or] three times. We love you so so much and we could not have done this without you. To have a record that connects this much with what we are talking about, trying and pushing for a better world, it’s unbelievable. Thank you for your support from day one. This means so much not just to us, but to everyone. I want to thank MDDN, I want to thank everyone that works for us. I want to thank our family [and] friends, but I mainly want to thank our fans. We love you as ever. Everything we do is for Tom Searle, our brother. We love you [and] thank you so so so much.”
For Those That Wish To Exist is available to stream below. The album includes collaborations with Parkway Drive‘s Winston McCall on “Impermanence,” Royal Blood‘s Mike Kerr on “Little Wonder” and Biffy Clyro‘s Simon Neil on “Goliath.”
Are you planning to buy tickets for Architects’ 2022 U.K. tour? What is your favorite song off of For Those That Wish To Exist? Let us know in the comments below.
