Architects have parted ways with guitarist Josh Middleton. The UK metalcore giants announced the apparently amicable split overnight via Instagram stating "It is with a heavy heart that we announce Josh's time in the band has come to an end. It has gradually become apparent that we need to go our separate ways, but we remain close friends. "Josh was a life raft for the band after we lost Tom and he gave us a way to keep the band alive through the hardest experience or our lives. We will always be grateful to him for that. "We wish him the best in his future endeavours and we suggest that everyone keeps an eye out for the new Sylosis record later this year." You can view the band's full post below.
Middleton has been an official part of the band since 2017, having initially joined as a touring musician in 2016, following the heartbreaking death of guitarist and co-founder Tom Searle. The lead guitarist and vocalist for British extreme metal act Sylosis, Middleton has been a contributor to the past three Architects albums, 2017's Holy Hell, 2021's For Those That Wish To Exist and 2022's the classic symptoms of a broken spirit.
The announcement comes shortly after the band completed an arena support run with Metallica. Speaking to Maniacs prior to touring in January, vocalist Sam Carter commented on Middleton's role in the band, offering his thoughts on the delicate balance he had to maintain between the Architects and Sylosis fanbases in the wake of Architects' continued sonic exploration.
Do you feel like it took people a little bit of time to come around to the idea that just because you'd added the guitarist from Sylosis, it didn't mean that you were necessarily going to go full-on tech death or something?
"Definitely. It definitely seemed to spook some people. It’s funny with Josh as well, because when people slag off Architects, they seem to forget that he loves us and he writes for us too. So when Syslosis fans say “what is this fucking shit, play more Sylosis”, he’s like “I’m in both bands, leave me alone, let me enjoy doing both things”. He’s pretty funny with it, he doesn’t read any of the comments, and he doesn’t care to know about any of it really."
Carter also shared Middleton's excitement at the prospect of supporting Metallica.
You’re about to do something really fucking cool, and that’s support Metallica. Is that something that you dreamed about as a kid?
"I can't even believe they know who we are, you know? I’m just stunned. It’s especially cool for Josh because he is such a big Metallica fan. So am I, but they are his favourite band of all time. I think for us, it’s still like ‘how does this happen?’ How do you get to the point where this is even possible? But we're gonna do our best, we’re gonna go out and play these enormous fucking venues and sort of see how we get on. Hopefully, their fans are kind to us."
The timing of Middleton's departure seems to have been made to enable him to live out a lifelong dream before turning his energy to Sylosis. A replacement lead guitarist has yet to be announced. Sylosis released the single Deadwood in March of this year. Watch the video below.
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