Bring Me The Horizon combine their old and new sound with their trailblazing new release.
There’s a reason that Bring Me The Horizon have remained one of the biggest names in alternative music since they crashed onto the scene in the mid-2000s. Their ability to adapt and constantly evolve their sound by breaking the genre boundaries that prevent so many alternative bands from truly breaking through has pushed them to become a worldwide phenomenon. 2019’s ambitious pop-influenced album ‘Amo’ scored Bring Me The Horizon their first UK number one record, while their following release ‘Music to Listen to…’ saw the band take a complete left turn into the world of experimental electronica. Not all fans are happy with Bring Me The Horizon’s new music, however; it’s a far cry from how the band started out and many believed they would never return to their old, heavier sound. Was this the end of Bring Me making heavy music as these fans believed? Absolutely not!
‘Post Human: Survival Horror’ is the latest release from the Sheffield five-piece and the first of four EP’s to be released under the ‘Post Human’ name. ‘Survival Horror’ hits a perfect blend of old and new sounds for Bring Me, mixing the crisp production and electronic influences of their most recent efforts with the heaviness and energy that defined their earlier releases to create an entirely new sound that will no doubt become the staple sound of the alternative scene in years to come.
‘Survival Horror’ certainly lives up to its name, featuring constant lyrical references to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic and the end of the world. “Please remain calm, the end has arrived, We cannot save you, enjoy the ride” is spoken by a haunting AI voice throughout lead single ‘Parasite Eve’. Named after the 1998 Playstation horror game, ‘Parasite Eve’ continues to Bring Me the Horizon’s tradition of huge anthemic lead singles (see ‘Shadow Moses’, ‘Throne’ and ‘MANTRA’) that would have surely been 2020’s staple emo club night anthem had Covid-19 not existed (although this song most likely wouldn’t have existed without it). Fans of Bring Me The Horizon’s earlier, heavier days need to look no further than the opening track ‘Dear Diary’. The perfect apocalypse anthem, ‘Dear Diary’, is filled with blast-beats, fast, crunching riffs and piercing screams reminiscent of nothing that Bring Me have released in the past ten years and prove that they definitely aren’t going soft as many may say. The inclusion of 2019’s stand-alone single ‘Ludens’ may confuse listeners at first and may initially feel out of place but on subsequent listens the track starts to merge nicely with the rest of the release and shines a whole new light on the song.
Elsewhere the album is filled to the brim with collaborative efforts; from the surprisingly heavy Yungblud collaboration ‘Obay’, to the nu-metal throwback ‘1×1’ featuring Nova Twins, to the highly anticipated and insanely catchy Babymetal collab ‘Kingslayer’. ‘Post Human: Survival Horror’ absolutely thrives off of its collaborations, very rarely will rock bands find themselves including even one feature artist on a release, let alone the majority of the album including them, and it helps to show just how varied in style ‘Survival Horror’ is. Closing track ‘One Day the Only Butterflies Left Will Be in Your Chest as You March Towards Your Death’ may well be the single best collaboration present. The incredible vocals of Evanescence singer Amy Lee compliment Oli Sykes perfectly to create a beautifully vulnerable closing track that will stick with you way past finishing the record. In a year so historically terrible, Bring Me The Horizon shines through to give us what is easily one of the best things to happen this year. ‘Post Human: Survival Horror’ is exactly what 2020 needed and will no doubt stand as one of the biggest and best releases from Bring Me The Horizon for many years to come.
Text by: Sam Challis
GEM Magazine 