Guitarist Josh Middleton Leaves Architects Months After Heckler's Attempted Assault

Architects confirmed that its guitarist, Josh Middleton, left the group years after he first joined the band.

Middleton started playing with the band in 2016 as a touring guitarist to replace Tom Searle, who died in the same year after his three-year battle with cancer. He almost got assaulted earlier this year after a heckler rushed to the stage of the band's Adelaide show.

Josh Middleton Leaves Architects

Architects released a statement on Instagram revealing that Middleton officially exited the band but clarified that the members remain close friends with the guitarist. According to the band, the decision came after they realized they needed to go their separate ways.

"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," the band continued. "We will always be grateful to him for that."

It also sent its heartfelt wishes to the guitarist as he embarks on his solo endeavors and told fans to watch out for the upcoming record that would be released this year.

Architects will push through with its performance at the Download Festival on June 9. While Middleton will no longer be part of the band, he successfully joined the group in its three albums in the past few years, including 2018 "Holy Hell," 2021 "For Those That Wish to Exist," and 2022 "The Classic Symptoms of a Broken Spirit."

Josh Middleton Almost Got Assaulted on Stage

Prior to Middleton's exit, the guitarist was almost harmed by a heckler who rushed the stage when Architects kicked off its Australian tour in Adelaide on Feb. 17.

Architects already performed four songs when a man went up to the stage and attempted to physically attack Middleton, according to NME. The heckler also used the microphone to scream obscenities before he was dragged out of the venue by four security guards.

He was soon handled by the police.

According to the attendees who witnessed the event, the man repeatedly heckled Sam Carter as he demanded the band perform older songs out of respect for Tom Searle.

"I don't know who the f**k that person thinks they are, to come up onstage and f**king try and assault Josh or f**king do whatever they were - but the other f**king thing is, when he was on the f**king floor, screaming in my f**king face, telling me to respect Tom and play some f**king old songs - I'll tell you what, we were just playing the f**king oldest song in the set, you stupid f**k," Carter continuously said, as recorded in the video shared by Wall of Sound.