Bring Me The Horizon are one of the country’s biggest rock bands right now. Having headlined Download in June, Sheffield’s metalcore/screamo kids turned alt-rock anthem gods have a tour opening in Cardiff – ostensibly promoting new album POST HUMAN: NeX Gen, though its release date has been subject to multiple delays. For anyone unfamiliar with the musical output of Oli Sykes and co, meanwhile, Joshua Williams chooses five songs to check out as a prelude to entering BMTH’s world.
Mantra
In January 2019, Bring Me The Horizon dropped their sixth album Amo, engineered by Cardiff’s own Romesh Dodangoda, and heralding its arrival was this absolutely massive slice of stadium rock. Overall, though, Amo marked the arrival of a more poppy sound for BMTH – spawning no less than seven singles, including a collaboration with Grimes. No surprise that the album hit number one in the UK album charts, meeting with acclaim from critics on its release – it’s bloody good. Luckily, then, it’ll almost certainly get an airing in the Arena.
Drown
Now, this… this is a proper emo banger. Originally released as a standalone single in 2014, Drown is absolutely huge. The band’s highest ever charting single, it’s fair to say that Drown was a ‘moment’ for BMTH – so much so, it made it on to the band’s fifth album That’s The Spirit in 2015, where it sat alongside the likes of Throne and Happy Song. The album reached number two in both the UK and US charts, and it’s safe to assume that Drown, and probably a decent chunk of That’s The Spirit, will be played in the Welsh capital.
Chelsea Smile
Those of a certain age remember the days when Bring Me The Horizon were a screamo band, one who would have certainly never collaborated with Ed Sheeran – that this happened, a rework of Ed’s Bad Habits, feels surreal to write even now. Chelsea Smile, however, is an outrageous piece of screaming metalcore which just about sums the band’s early material up and was the anthem of those edgy scary ‘alt’ kids at school in 2008. Found on BMTH’s second album Suicide Season,Chelsea Smile hasn’t been played regularly for a number of years now, but has popped up in recent sets; if it happens, expect a massive pit and a lot of people in their thirties suddenly rediscovering how to mosh.
Parasite Eve
A rare example of sharp topicality for this band is 2020’s Parasite Eve, released that summer at the height of the COVID pandemic – though the song started life a little earlier, before lockdown was imposed, it was actually shelved for a bit over concerns it was a little too close to the bone at the time. Eventually, the nu-metal-influenced banger emerged in June and sold well enough to have since been certified silver in the UK. It’ll probably be played in January – in fact, it’d be a bit disappointing if BMTH didn’t pull it out the drawer again.
Shadow Moses
Shadow Moses was the moment the band began their shift into the mainstream rock consciousness with their fourth album Sempiternal (not ‘Sandpit Turtle’, soz internet}. This one’s a gargantuan banger. Genuinely colossal. Enormous. The chokehold this song held over alt-rock kids in 2013 cannot be understated, with Sempiternal itself being certified gold on both sides of the Atlantic, and it’ll almost definitely be played in Cardiff. Maybe don’t try and recreate the music video inside the Arena though – last time we checked, they don’t allow flares in.
Bring Me The Horizon, Utilita Arena Cardiff, Tue 9 Jan
Tickets: £47.50 (sold out). Info: here
words JOSHUA WILLIAMS
