ARCHITECTS, the well-known British metalcore band, is the latest name confirmed for ARTmania Festival 2019, taking place between 26- 27 July, 2019, in the Large Aquare of the medieval citadel of Sibiu.

The group was founded in 2004, in Brighton, UK, by twin brothers Dan & Tom Searle and has been awarded titles like Best British Live Bands, while their songs have been described as “complex and impressively crafted hymns” by the British newspaper The Guardian.

Initially, the project was titled “Counting the Days” and featured a harsh sound, dominated by a chaotic energy and complex rhythms, the songs composed at time time being influenced by The Dillinger Escape Plan. After the release of the first two albums (Nightmares – the debut album, 2006 and Ruin, 2007) and Deadswans, a slip EP (2008), the group was signed by Century Media Records, which lead to release of their third album, Hollow Crown (2009).

While Here and Now marked a change towards melodic post-hardcore, their next album, Daybreaker (2012), shifted back to their original sound, but also meant a reaching of balance between the melodic sounds and the harsh ones that dominated their musical beginnings. Daybreaker was the point where political lyrics appeared, as well as other topics on the public agenda, in contrast with the fun topics of previous albums.

 

ARCHITECTS also have their own documentary, One Hundred Days: The Story of Architects Almost World Tour, released in 2003, when they also signed with Epitaph Records (an independent American label, run by Brett Gurewitz, guitarist of 80s group Bad Religion). With Epitaph Records, the band released Lost Forever//Lost Together, the album that made them famous and brought them the appreciation of international music critics, propelling them between the most appreciated names in world music.

2016 meant the release of their seventh album, All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us, but it was also a difficult time for the band – Tom Searle (founding member and main composer), dies after a long battle with cancer. Dan, his twin brother, would say this was the moment “he started wondering what was left for me, for us”, a moment when, “we, who were friends first, we needed to find something”.

And they eventually found a solution, as Dan Searle remembers: we had two options – to believe that the world we live in is a horrible place and let all these things defeat us or let everything that’s coming towards us, be it good or bad, inspire us to live the life Tom would have liked for us. And we chose the second option.

The results of this difficult choice can be listened to on Holy Hell, the first album after the death of Tom Searle. This album is considered by ARCHITECTS members a great responsibility because, as Dan would say: “We were afraid people might get a wrong impression by listening to this album. In order to prevent that, we tried leaving a ray of light at the end of the tunnel, for all those who have or are going through the same hard experiences as ourselves”. Holy Hell is the band’s eight album and its first promotional single was Hereafter.

Tickets for the 2019 edition of ARTmania Festival are already available on the official website, www.artmaniafestival.ro. At the moment, there are less than 300 available passes at the special price of 250, until stocks last but no later than December 28th, 2018. The next price category will be 290 lei, valid for 2000 tickets, until stocks last, but no later than March 1st, 2019.

ARTmania Festival, the first Romanian festival that developed the idea of joining art and entertainment, is a platform dedicated to promoting all forms of artistic expression inspired by the rock culture. Over the years, ARTmania has established itself as a regional promoter of contemporary musical projects. But, ARTmania Festival does not mean just concerts from big international or local artists. Music is a base component that started everything, but it represents just a part of the experience the festival has tried to offer Romanian and international art lovers.

From the beginning, ARTmania was built as a cultural platform destined to offer the public as many events and modes of experiencing various forms of artistic expression: concerts, exhibitions, book launches or film projections. This common meeting space of artists and audience at a sound, color, image or literary level, hosted by the Large Square and by the medieval citadel, create the space where the story and magic represent, in essence, the festival spirit.

As the longest rock festival in Romania and one of the traditional brands in the regional cultural scene, ARTmania has outlined its own identity through a bold concept an a special medium: the Large Square of one of the most beautiful medieval citadels in Eastern Europe – Sibiu citadel.

ARTmania constantly explores new paths, capitalizing from previous editions, when on the festival stage a series of important bands played; from Steven Wilson Serj Tankian and Devin Townsend, to Die Toten Hosen, Nightwish, Within Temptation, HIM, Tarja Turunen, The Gathering, The Sisters of Mercy, Lacuna Coil, Helloween, Lacrimosa, Poets of the Fall or Deine Lakaien, along many others.