Architects and Josh Middleton parted ways back in May, and now Middleton is weighing in on why he left the band. In an interview with Guitar.com, Middleton states he and Architects simply found themselves on different musical paths. Middleton also stressed that he and Architects are still cool with one another, and that there isn't any drama behind the split.
"We were on different pages musically – that's the best way to put it. For the most part, I listen to really, really heavy music all the time. Obviously, I was getting excited about the next Sylosis record, because it's quite heavy, and I guess it's just a different direction."
"I don't know what Architects' plans are. They may do something even heavier than before. They might not. I guess you could say the partnership ran its course, but we're still friends and there's no drama. I literally spoke to Sam earlier, just sending him memes."
He later added: "There wasn't a big bust-up or anything. That's why we took a picture together at the last Metallica show. It was bittersweet: sad but, at the same time, I got to watch Metallica in the snake pit! It was a dream come true playing that stage."
At the time of the split, Architects stated: "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."
Middleton also addressed the fact that Sylosis generally writes and records their material in standard turning, as opposed to a lot of heavier bands downtuning their instruments. Middleton said he feels the tuning forces him to write better riffs and not hide behind the muddier sound of tuning way down.
"[Sylosis playing in E-standard] used to be a talking point. You'd always see YouTube comments going, ‘Oh, I can't believe this is in E-standard!' It was a badge of pride. All the bands we played with before Conclusion…, if you played their riffs in standard E, they might sound a bit shit. Whereas, if you're in E-standard, your riffs have to be good, because you can hear every note perfectly."