Bring Me The Horizon - amo album review
Iâve been a fan of BMTH since the late-There is a hell era and obviously they surprised me once again. Iâm gonna go song by song on the album because each of the songs have something in them that differs from the one before.
i apologize if you feel something, the first track is already a lot more different than the previous BMTH albums. It begins as a typical intro with long silences between the melody. Then Oli starts to sing on a really high pitched poppy autotuned voice. You can hear no instruments whatsoever except the synth that plays the melody. Then it changes to this ambient style that somehow suits the bandâs music but feels awkward without the guitar and drums. When I first heard this song I already realized it was nothing special, just a little intro that might hype up the crowd before they start performing.
MANTRA, the first single of the album is a little less heavy than the Thatâs The Spirit era songs. A lot less heavy if you think about how Oliâs vocal style changed since 2015. It finally has drums and heavily distorted low tuned guitar and even screams in the background but it still feels like an alternative rock song just because of the verses and the high pitched bridge. The guitar riff is banging, the chorus is catchy, not a bad song afterall but it will still disappoint the old fans of the band.
nihilist blues is definitely the weirdest song on the record. Itâs basically a trance/europop song that divides the listeners to two types: the first one would say: what the fuck is this shit, iâm not listening to this album anymore, and the second one would be: wow theyâre brave as hell for doing this, Iâm looking forward for the rest. Iâm not a big expert on europop or trance or whatever electronic music genres there are but it really reminded me of an Armin van Buuren beat and apparently they copied a little from a relatively new Evanescence song as well. Grimes is featured in the song and her vocal style fits it really well. It has a creepy feeling that makes the song feel like youâre in a club full of drug addicts and the only thing left for you to survive is becoming an addict (for the music). Personally I think probably something like this was on the bandâs mind when they wrote this. You definitely wonât like this one unless you like electronic music. You can hear the drums and guitars in it (theyâre playing the electronic distorted thing with a tremolo pedal probably) but itâs barely recognizable.
in the dark, the next song has a really strange feeling. It sounds like a pop song because of the samples it uses but it still has the guitar (both clean and distorted) that reminded me of Doomed from the previous album. Both the guitars and the vocals are catchy as hell and after the first few listens you can hear what was the point of writing this song, here that âgateway bandâ thing begins that Oli mentions in a lot of his recent interviews. They want to be a gateway band that shows people the grand spectrum of music from electronic to heavy metal (or metalcore if youâre a genre-nazi) and do the same thing that Linkin Park or Limp Bizkit did for popularizing the crossover of rap and hip-hop and screamy, heavy rock music. It has the same experiencing feeling that got me into Linkin Park and even tho the song and its lyrics are kinda forgettable, the intention is clear and I personally like it a lot.
wonderful life, the second single of the album is without a doubt one of the heaviest ones on it. The intro seems like a classic BMTH style guitar intro with a little less distortion and a really weird, progressive time signature (for my ear at least). The main riff is simple, heavy and you can definitely bang you head to it. The chorus is catchy, the lyrics are relatable for the emo kids, it has a squealing scream from Dani Filth, which makes it seem like the metalcore days are creeping on the band. The outro chorus reminded me of their song âOh Noâ from the previous record just because itâs so monumental but maybe thatâs just me.
ouch is a cheap interlude in my opinion. Itâs not even 2 minutes, the samples get boring in the end. It has a drum and bass kind of feeling to it. It reminded me of Cure For The Itch by Linkin Park, just because of the placement and the âdrumâ beats on it. The nanana thing that goes on in the chorus also gets boring really quickly. The lyrics are about Oliâs ex-wife Hannah Snowdon and it has a nice throwback to their 2015 song, Follow You with the âunder your spellâ lines, and itâs clear that he left that time behind with this song.
medicine, the song with the weird-ass video is the next one on the album. If you havenât heard a single BMTH song in your life and youâre into the more pop-ish side of alternative youâll probably say: holy shit this is a banger. The first couple of lines in the chorus are really far-fetched in my opinion, itâs the âweâre edgy and cool kidsâ vibe that is either cringy or makes you feel like the band got old and they still want to appeal to teenagers and young adults. The message of the song is the same as the previous one. The melody of the chorus and the vocals overall are not that bad, theyâre catchy, but just like the intro of the album, it still misses the guitars, although this one has some really quiet clean guitars in the background. Itâs clear that the vocals are in the focus and itâs stressed by shoving autotuned Oliâs voice down our throat.
sugar, honey, ice and tea is one of my favorites off the album without a doubt. The riff is heavy, the song still feels like an alternative rock song but this time the guitar tone for me seemed like an old HIM song thatâs mixed with a Thatâs the spirit era beat, lyrics and melody. It has the same feeling when I heard Happy Song for the first time but this one has a Throne-like chorus with the samples going instead of Oliâs voice. In the outro Oli goes crazy and lets out Count Your Blessings-era styled screams which definitely help the song appeal to older fans. Itâs gonna be played at concerts for sure.
why you gotta kick me when iâm down, oh boy where do i begin. Imagine Post Malone writing a song for a no name alternative rock band. Add overdistorted guitars and a mumble rap beat and lyrics. Youâre done, you get this song. It shifts genres so fast that it seems like Oli went from âLil Sykesâ and back to himself a couple times in just 4 minutes. Itâs not a terrible song but if you donât like the style of modern soundcloud rappers and the whole mumble rap mixed with guitars thing youâre gonna hate this one.Â
fresh bruises, after the mumble rap song the boys in the band were probably like: hmmm whatâs the next popular thing in 2019 that has nothing to do with rock. Thatâs right:âlo-fi hiphop for sleeping and studyingâ radios. The lyrics are only 2 lines, the beat gets faster but itâs still boring, even for an interlude. Definitely the most forgettable song in the album.
mother tongue, is the last single before the album came out. Itâs the most honest love song from Oli that heâs probably ever gonna write. For personal reasons right now I can relate to it but if you canât, youâre gonna forget this song even after a couple of listens. It has a powerful chorus, a radio friendly pop beat, cute ass lyrics and the most important thing: it has the potential to infect the radio stations and get the band even more recognition. The chord progression is really popular, (has the same chords as Africa by Toto), the vocals (with the help of autotune) are great. It has the Follow You vibes all over again but here you get an impression of a happy Oli Sykes that is in a fulfilling relationship and has a stable mental state. This progression is really respectable even if you donât like the song itself.
heavy metal is my most favorite track from the record. Itâs basically a huge âfuck youâ to the oldest fans who only play Medusa and Pray for Plagues on repeat to this day, 13 years after their release. Itâs got that middle finger in the lyrics that makes you think: damn this band really wanted a change and nothing can stop them. The song made me feel like Meteora days Linkin Park once again because of its beatbox styled bridge and the dropped, heavy guitars. This song shows the new direction of the band once and for all: they wanna make all types of music for both new AND old fans (listen to the last couple of seconds for the Pray for Plagues style vocals from Oli) but still says that nope weâre not gonna change, we grew up, we still like our old songs but youâre not gonna hear them from us because weâre different people now. Big props to the band to be this brave and say: this shit ainât heavy metal.
i donât know what to say, the last song on the record for me seemed really off topic from the album until I read what itâs written about. Itâs about a friend of Oli who passed away from cancer. Oli didnât write a song posthomously but the lyrics make it seem like he did. The song itself would sound like an 80â˛s power ballad from a classic rock band for me if I wouldnât notice Oliâs vocals and the modern drum beat at some places. It even has a damned guitar solo, an acoustic guitar throughout, and orchestra. (which again reminded me Oh No, the closing track of Thatâs The Spirit) The song is forgettable for me, even though the message is really touching and meaningful. For a closing track itâs good but since itâs really different from the rest of the album it seems that they only put this song on just to honor that friend that itâs written about.
The album is one of the weirdest concepts Iâve heard from any rock band since A Thousand Suns by Linkin Park. The band put their heart and soul in it, you can tell by the level of production. On some songs itâs really well executed, others seem cheap and boring. My contradiction is that old BMTH is dead, theyâre still gonna play rock music as they did with their previous records but theyâre gonna expand and experiment to other directions, making it as progressive as possible just to keep the music entertaining.
izzy806
turnnoffyourmind
pixelskylines
dededos
titsay
origamiaround
