Album review by Cody-James Henderson
When it comes to the barriers of what ‘Metal’ music can be classified as, there is no better band at defying this than Bring Me The Horizon. A band whose legacy is built upon being one step ahead of the game and laying the foundations for the future of the scene who just when you think have settled into a groove that you can follow, have jumped lanes to find something new they can toy around with.
This time around, the lanes have settled longer. Since dropping ‘Die4u’ in 2021, fans have eagerly awaited the follow up to 2020s Post Human: Survival Horror a genre-spanning collection that saw the band return to some heavier roots. But after a plethora of varying singles and the departure of longtime member Jordan Fish after 10 years in the band, the band sprung on us with only a few hours notice that after 3 years of waiting, Post Human: NeX GeN was going to be here soon. So how does it weigh up to the first chapter of the ‘Post Human’ era as well as the entire catalogue?
Well in the words of intro track ‘(ost) dreamseeker’…
Lets Begin.
‘YOUtopia’ begins the New Gen with an uplifting, almost Pop-Punkish collection of chords that comes crashing in with a punch of melody. No strangers to a positive sounding track here and there, the combination of Oli Sykes optimistic outlook of better days coming soon with a major sounding arena tune is a welcome change of pace from the grim end of the world outlook we’ve grown to love. Or is it really? As the transition leads us into the ever heavy ‘Kool-Aid’. A tangible combination of old school meeting new school, if the melodic hooks of ‘YOUtopia’ did nothing for you then maybe the intense screaming of a cult based thematic is more up your alley.
With a song of the year candidate ‘The Top 10 Statues That Cried Blood’ take us back up the rollercoaster of emotion that ‘YOUtopia’ graced us with but doubles down on it with a lyrical testament of tragedy and recovery. Taking pieces from Deathcore, HyperPop, Pop Punk, Metalcore and even the odd sounding video game noise, this 4 minute anthem is a contender for not only the best song of 2024, but potentially one of the best songs Bring Me have ever graced us with. It may be a step away from what fans will truly appreciate, but this risk equals reward. This is a true statement to keeping to your roots and blossoming differently.
‘Limousine’ features our first guest on the album in ‘Aurora’. This clearly Deftones influenced track slows things right down once more taking a darker route to match its lyrical content. Aurora’s calming voice feels right at home with BMTH in an almost eerie kind of way. The combination between her and Oli allows their voices to float over such a mood dampening guitar tone. This one is absolutely for the goths. And while we’re back in the late 90s, we may as well cover the Nu Metal-esque ‘Darkside’. It’s no secret that the band was heavily influenced by the likes of Linkin Park, and this song feels exactly like a Meteora B-Side (and I mean that with all positivity). This has quickly become a live favourite as demonstrated on the bands recent Australian Tour. With its big sing-a-long chorus, expect this to be a staple for setlists for years to come.
“And if Jesus Christ returns, we’ll just killer that fucker twice.”
Controversial? Yes. But when you combine the outspoken Bring Me The Horizon with former Christians and Metalcore heavyweights Underoath well I guess you get what you expected. ‘A bullet w/ my name on it’ is a time warp back to 2012 latter day MySpace-Core. This incredible piece from start to finish that is heightened by the likes of Spencer and Aaron, giving us a song that will be talked about for all the right reasons (or the wrong ones if you ask people on Twitter).
As we reach the first interval of the album ‘ost (spi)ritual’ I find myself processing that this is one of the strongest openings for a Bring Me album I’ve ever heard. It’s incredible to hear how a band has circled back to sounds that they began with and brought them forward 2 decades.
‘N/A’ give us a 4 chord acoustic intro with a detailed and slightly outrageous look into Sykes mental status from the perspective of an addiction intervention. From hearing a crowd of people scream “Hello Oli you fucking knobhead” before telling us he’d “make love to a chainsaw” it’s hard not to be concerned about his current state of mind. This one will absolutely resonate with anyone who has struggled with demons before. It mightn’t be a favourite of mine, but it’s brutal honesty isn’t to be ignored.
HyperPop rears its head again with ‘LosT’ and even months after its release, I still can’t find myself wrapping my head around this one. Whilst its stylised and unorthodox sound is commendable and incredibly catchy, I find the effort lyrically isn’t as well coherent as predecessors on this album. It’s not without charm, but it feels somewhat out of place. ‘sTraNgeRs’ feels like a more uniting version of what LosT was aiming to be. Its feel is reminiscent of ‘That’s The Spirit’ but structurally I feel like I’ve heard this song before. That’s not a bad thing, but everything I’ve heard up to this point has felt like its own entity.
‘R.I.P. (duskCOre) is a bass heavy tune granteed to get you moving one way or another. What seems like a friendship/relationship ending song however definitely may come across as a diss to former member Jordan Fish who suddenly parted ways with the band with little to no reasoning in late 2023. And its interlude at the end of the track paying tribute to ‘Mr Redacted’ may just drive that home. Whether this track is remembered fondly or not is up to the future to decide.
“I hope you have fun rotting in Hell”
‘AmEN’ is 20 years of Bring Me The Horizon blended down into a 3 minute masterpiece. From the return of Sykes Deathcore style vocals, a gigantic arena based chorus, a hardcore feature by Daryl Palumbo of Goassjaw, a rap verse by Lil Uzi Vert blast beats, scale slides, cult based lyrical content reinforced with empowering synth work all in the genre defining space of 3 minutes? There’s no wondering anymore as to why Bring Me are one of the biggest bands in the world. If you need a song to show your friends who this band is, make it this one.
The final interlude ‘{ost} p.u.s.s.-e’ (stop giggling you little schoolgirl, i know you are) this drug induced rave track produced by ‘CYNTHONI’ (who used to make Bring Me remixes on YouTube back in the day) is an intense moment to try and catch your breath on. But when ‘DiE4u’ comes around, you get a moment to reflect on the trip you’ve been on so far. As much as I would’ve been more interested in hearing a new track here as opposed to a track we got almost 3 years ago, it does feel like a full circle moment going back to where we all began this journey of NeX GeN all that time ago.
‘Dig It’ closes this melancholic journey with a depressing reflection of your struggles impacting those around you. This really ties in to tracks like ‘N/A’ with a personal and almost downright emotional heartache of struggling to live with a life so broken. This one may be one you need to play a few times to wrap your head around, or maybe it’s a one & done with how it may impact you. Regardless of this, stick around for another 2 minutes after the silence to hear a little Easter egg bonus from the A.I track you hear throughout the album!
So after 55 minutes of varying genre defying mayhem, what do we think?
To me, this album may have taken a few listens but what Bring Me have achieved here is their cementing in Metal history. Whilst it has some of the strongest tracks I believe the band has ever written that will stand the test of time, it isn’t without its occasional flaw or moments of wanting more out of it.
Is this album going to be loved by all? Maybe not. However, regardless of how you feel about it, this album was written for everyone that has been a part of this journey no matter where you got on.
Its Post Human characteristics allow NeX GeN to be a modern staple in the evolution of Bring Me The Horizon.
OVERALL RATING: 8/10
STANDOUT TRACKS: The Top 10 Statues that Cried Blood, Darkside, A Bullet w/ My Name On It, AmEN
