Weekly Update #20 – June 2, 2024

FEATURED ALBUM
Bring Me The Horizon // Post Human: Nex Gen
Released: May 24, 2024

Bring Me The Horizon is so back. There’s a lot to talk about, and I think this is the longest review I’ve ever written, so let’s get into it.

For me, this is the biggest comeback of all time. BMTH was one of my favorite bands from 2006-2013, but I hated the turn they took in 2015 on ‘That’s The Spirit.’ Then they released ‘Amo’ in 2019 and that was even worse. I had almost written them off entirely, so imagine my surprise when ‘Survival Horror’ came out in 2020 and claimed the number one spot on my album of the year list.

Still, I thought it might be a fluke – BMTH had burned me before and it was impossible to predict where their sound might go next. But as they started releasing the singles for this album, I realized that I was genuinely more and more excited for each one. And look, I tried my best to resist. I love being a hater, but BMTH did the impossible, and I have to give them credit. They turned things around in 2020 in a way that I never expected, and this new album is an amazing continuation of that.

It also seems like the band is poised to keep that momentum up. The ‘Post Human’ project was initially planned to be a four part series, so if they see it through to completion, that would mean we’re only halfway there. And while each part is supposed to have its own style, I’m back on the hype train and have high expectations for BMTH’s future music. I can’t take heartbreak again so I’m praying that we can just remember 2015-2019 as the dark ages and never go back.

There is so much to love about ‘Nex Gen.’ Its variety of styles guarantees that there’s a song for everyone. More than anything else, the album is a ton of fun. It’s upbeat, dynamic, and every single song has a part that gets stuck in my head. The choruses are phenomenal, and the use of electronic effects keeps the energy high. I’m not great with genres outside of metal, but I’ve heard some of the tracks described as “hyper pop,” and honestly, that seems fitting. Sometimes the glitchy effects are a little overkill, but it’s clearly part of the futuristic, cyberpunk theme.

Oli’s singing is excellent and his personality shines through each track. His vocals are personable in a way that most metalcore bands can only dream of. It’s like listening to early Blink-182 where it just seems like they’re having a blast. “N/A” starts off slow but listen to the transformation as it ramps up.

Oli’s screams are also back in full force. “Amen” and “Kool-Aid” are two of the heaviest tracks, and there are a few growls that are reminiscent of BMTH’s early deathcore days. The band has also masterfully merged its heavy moments with catchy choruses and melodies, giving the songs a chance to gain some traction with fans that might prefer BMTH’s softer side. 

I’m very happy with the level of heaviness throughout ‘Nex Gen.’ Even the softer songs like “Youtopia” and “Darkside” have harsh cleans and yells, giving them an interesting edge.

BMTH also showcased some new influences in their music. “Youtopia” has a 90’s vibe and “Limousine” is obviously inspired by Deftones. There was some drama from people claiming that BMTH ripped off a relatively unknown band called Moodring when they made “Limousine,” but that’s a pretty big reach. 

For starters, Moodring’s entire sound is based on Deftones. Moodring’s vocalist, Hunter Young, used to have “knockoffchino” as his Twitter username (referencing Deftones’ vocalist, Chino Moreno). He also has a face tattoo of a white pony, the cover art of Deftones’ 2000 album, ‘White Pony.’ BMTH couldn’t rip off Moodring because Moodring doesn’t have an original sound to rip off. “Limousine” is clearly BMTH paying homage to Deftones’ classic style.

“A Bullet With My Name On” also stirred up some controversy. It features Spencer Chamberlain from Underoath, one of the most prominent Christian metalcore bands of all time, screaming “And if Jesus Christ returns, we’ll just kill the fucker twice.”

Oli later clarified in a comment that he specifically chose Spencer Chamberlain to sing that part due to his religious background. Although Chamberlain and Underoath have since distanced themselves from Christianity, having Chamberlain involved was a hint that the lyric isn’t meant to be taken literally. The song is a critique on how the public discusses and views geopolitical issues.

Without wading into those topics myself, I’ll just say that it’s interesting to see Oli go out of his way to explain that he’s not purposely dunking on religion (because he has done that a lot in the past). Instead, he mentioned that he is spiritual and believes in a higher power, just not a personified God.

Anyway…I should probably mention that this album was originally scheduled to come out in September 2023. However, due to “unforeseen circumstances” that prevented BMTH from completing the record to a standard they’d be happy with, it was delayed. A few months after announcing the delay, Jordan Fish was kicked out of the band. Many people speculate that Fish was the cause of the delay.

Although Fish was primarily the keyboardist, a seemingly minor role, he also helped produce BMTH’s sound and has been acknowledged by Oli as being instrumental in helping Oli bring his vision for the band’s sound to life. Losing such a major contributor would derail a less talented band, but based on recent interviews, the other members were happy to step up and be part of the creative process. Looking to the future, this album seems to indicate that BMTH will be just fine without Fish moving forward. 

The delay did impact the album’s logistics though. First and foremost, the album was originally going to be shorter, but the delay meant that the band had to release additional singles to keep the hype up. By the time the album came out, people had already heard six of the songs, the first of which had been released almost two years prior. I’m having trouble finding the source, but I remember hearing that BMTH decided to add more songs to the album so fans wouldn’t feel like they heard most of it before it even came out.

The result is that ‘Nex Gen’ has six songs that people knew from the singles and 10 new songs (but three of them are interludes). So far, I’m surprised that the familiar songs haven’t impacted the album’s replayability for me. After a dozen listens or so, there is enough variety to combat any sense of repetition that I would’ve expected.

It’s essentially guaranteed that you’ll see this album among my top 10 at the end of the year. It’s 55 minutes long, but as soon as I finish one listen, I’ll start it over and go for another. Perhaps its greatest accomplishment is that it remains interesting despite being incredibly accessible. That’s normally a trade off that kills bands (see A Day To Remember’s recent efforts). 

Playlist of New Songs

Quick playlist highlights:

– John Robert C. (previous vocalist of The Last Ten Seconds of Life) is killing it in Crystal Lake. Ryo Kinoshita was a monster, but John is incredibly talented himself. This song feels closer to Crystal Lake’s identity than other recent ones – I think they’ll dial their sound in even more as they continue working with John.

– Thrown has another new song. It’s good, but it’s one minute and thirty seconds long. Guys, for real, I’m starting to worry that Thrown actually can’t write a song longer than an intro. Their new album comes out on August 30. It will have 11 songs and we’ve already heard five of them. Those five songs last 10 minutes and 22 seconds. This album might legitimately be like 23 minutes long.

– It’s time for A Day To Remember to hang it up. Absolutely embarrassing music. The worst part is that they doubled down on making bad music and called out their fans in the chorus which says “If I wanna hear your feedback, I’ll let you know.” Well, whether they asked for the feedback or not, every single YouTube comment is negative. This song somehow sounds like an even worse version of what Asking Alexandria has been doing for the last few years. It doesn’t even sound like Jeremy on vocals anymore. Completely unrecognizable compared to the ADTR we grew up with.

– I’m normally not the biggest fan of Slaughter To Prevail‘s brand of deathcore because it can get a bit disorganized at times, but I’m liking this quite a bit. The guitar riffs bring a lot to the table and I’m surprised by how good the melodic parts sound.

– This is the most exciting song from Bury Tomorrow in a while. I hope they’re finally breaking away from the safe sound they’ve unfortunately settled into.

– Bonecarver is wild. Certain parts remind me of Acrania’s classic sound. They just released an EP and each song features a massive deathcore vocalist.

– fallingwithscissors put out an EP earlier this year that I’m just catching up on. Very cool sound if you like what Vein and Soulkeeper have been doing.

– Invent Animate just released the Definitive version of ‘Heavener.’ It features three new songs that weren’t on the album. This new one is fine. “Sleepless Deathbed” is easily the best of the three. This marks the end of the ‘Heavener’ era. Excited to see what they do next.

– Quick combo shout out for Tidebringer, Red Handed Denial, and Downpour for their recent releases. Not sure if I’ll do a full review or not, but they’re worth hearing. I’m especially enjoying Tidebringer right now – a lot of their screams remind me of Emmure which is amazing.