British outfit Architects have announced they’ve parted ways with guitarist Josh Middleton. The band made a statement on Instagram yesterday, writing that 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,” the band wrote. “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.”
Josh Middleton Departs Architects: “We Will Always be Grateful to Him”
Middleton joined the band following the death of founding guitarist Tom Searle, who passed away in 2016 after a three-year battle with cancer. Middleton first joined as a touring guitarist, and then became a full member in 2017. The guitarist also has another project, Sylosis, which has continued to run alongside Architects – their new album will be released later this year.
Middleton has played on all the band’s studio records since 2018, including their most recent: 2022’s The Classic Symptoms of a Broken Spirit.
While on tour in Australia this year, Middleton was nearly assaulted by a crowd-member who rushed the stage. The man had reportedly been verbally abusing frontman Sam Carter, demanding the band play older material in honour of Tom Searle.
“In all my fucking years of being in this fucking band, giving our fucking energy and our fucking lives and working so fucking hard, to turn around and see someone fucking run on stage and fucking run at Josh, and fucking grab the mic and start shouting whatever the fuck he was shouting. That is fucking insane,” Carter told the crowd after the incident.
“This isn’t a fucking game. This is our fucking lives. I don’t know who the fuck that person thinks they are, to come up onstage and fucking try and assault Josh or fucking do whatever they were [doing].”
“We respect Tom every single fucking day of our lives,” he added.
Further Reading
Watch Architects’ Sam Carter Address Stagecrasher at Adelaide Show
Brisbane Architects Fan Moves Dan Searle To Tears With Heartfelt Tribute To His Late Brother
Architects Say They’d Love To Team Up With Hayley Williams Or Phoebe Bridgers
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