The ongoing debate regarding Artificial Intelligence in the music industry intensified this week after a fraudulent song was uploaded to the official streaming profile of the British metalcore band Architects.
Fans were initially surprised to see a new track titled “Ashes of the Kingdom” appear on the band’s Spotify account. However, excitement quickly turned to confusion and anger as listeners realized the release was not a legitimate offering from the group. The track, accompanied by artwork featuring four computer-generated figures standing amidst a burning skyline, was quickly identified as an AI creation.
The song itself bore little resemblance to the band’s current sound. Listeners noted that the vocals did not sound like frontman Sam Carter, and the instrumentation was a disjointed collection of metalcore tropes lacking the band’s signature composition style.
YouTuber Ohrion Reacts captured the incident during a live stream, where his viewers alerted him to the mysterious drop. His reaction to the material was visceral.
“Yeah, I’m kinda f**king mad, I’m kinda pi**ed,” the content creator remarked while reviewing the track.
As the song progressed to the chorus, his frustration peaked, leading him to shut the track off entirely.
“I can’t listen to any more of this, this is a fu**king disgrace,” he stated.
The unauthorized upload occurred while Architects are currently on a break. The band recently wrapped up a major UK arena tour, which included a performance at The O2 in London, in support of their eleventh studio album, The Sky, the Earth & All Between.
Fortunately, the fraudulent track was short-lived. Members of the band’s community on Reddit quickly mobilized to debunk the release and report it to Spotify. The song has since been removed from the platform. However, the incident has raised serious questions about the security of digital distribution platforms, demonstrating how easily third parties can upload AI-generated content and tag established artists to deceive listeners.
