‘And when you die the only kingdom you’ll see, if two foot wide and six foot deep!’.
Sempiternal by UK lads, Bring Me The Horizon truly is something else. A clear progression can be heard in the aesthetics of this new material, with sweeping guitar riffs accompanied by swelling synthesizers and vocal experimentation. These melodic power ballads are both ball-breakingly heavy and emotionally invoking: a true artistic reflection of life, love, death, pain and associated injustices.
‘Can You Feel My Heart’, kick starts the album with an anthemic and atmospheric intensity but only builds from there. Following straight up, ‘The House Of Wolves’, is reminiscent of past tracks such as ‘Alligator Blood’ and ‘Fuck’ – it is brutal, heavy and catchy as hell – a song to inspire many circle pits, no doubt! The album’s second and recently released single, ‘Sleepwalking’ is the first of several songs to exhibit vocalist Oliver Sykes’ softer side with well performed clean vocals: a definite ear-catcher in the midst of the album’s heaviness. ‘Antivist’ is potentially the album’s heaviest track. Interpret it how you please but it is most certainly a big slap in the face to an over-indulgent, egocentric and delusional way of life: ‘If you really believe in the words that you preach, get off your screens and onto the streets!’
As the album winds down, we are left once again with Sykes’ softer side on display in ‘Hospital For Souls’. For those who have steered clear of BMTH simply because they are ‘too heavy’, this is the album to make you reconsider. It is a healthy mix of cleans and screams, up-tempo beats and ‘get-your-lighters-out-and-sway’ tunes. Older fans will consume it instantaneously and it will no doubt attract new fans along the way.
When all is said and done and the final second ticks over, one is left with an insatiable need to press the replay button and start again.