Bring Me The Horizon

English rock band Bring Me the Horizon have made a steady progression from their death metal-inspired grindcore debut to melodic metalcore, maturing into a pop-savvy headline act by the end of their first decade together. With each release — from 2006′s caustic Count Your Blessings to 2013′s mainstream breakthrough Sempiternal — they dialed back the blood-curdling screams and injected more melody until capturing an alt-metal balance on their 2015 international chart-topping effort That's the Spirit. By 2019′s Amo, they had incorporated elements of electronic and even hip-hop into their edgy, genre-blurring blend. In 2020 Bring Me the Horizon issued Post Human: Survival Horror, the first installment of an ambitious conceptual series. The follow-up, Post Human: NeX Gen, landed in 2024. The group was formed in 2004 from the ashes of several Sheffield-based outfits, with the 2003 Disney film Pirates of the Caribbean serving as the inspiration for the band’s name. Singer Oliver Sykes, guitarists Lee Malia and Curtis Ward, bassist Matt Kean, and drummer Matt Nicholls initially established their own label, Thirty Days of Night, to release their debut EP, 2005′s This Is What the Edge of Your Seat Was Made For. Upon signing to the higher-profile label Visible Noise (whose roster also included Bullet for My Valentine and Lostprophets), they reissued the EP to a wider audience. Bring Me the Horizon’s full-length debut, Count Your Blessings, appeared in October 2006, with an American release following one year later courtesy of Epitaph Records. With their second album, Suicide Season, Bring Me the Horizon moved in a more accessible direction and wound up cracking the U.K. album charts. Not everyone approved of the new sound, though, and Ward left the band in early 2009. His temporary replacement was Jona Weinhofen, formerly a member of I Killed the Prom Queen. Weinhofen ended up staying with the band and the group returned to the studio with producer Fredrik Nordström in March 2010 to begin work on a third album. The resulting There Is a Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It, There Is a Heaven, Let's Keep It a Secret was released during the latter half of 2010, several months after the band wrapped up their engagement with the Warped Tour. A fourth album, the critically lauded Sempiternal, arrived on Epitaph in 2013, and peaked at number three on the U.K. albums chart. Around this time, Weinhofen parted ways with the band and was replaced by Jordan Fish for their next effort, which marked a stark departure from the sound they’d been honing since their debut. Released in 2015, the loosely conceptual That's the Spirit saw the group dropping some of their metalcore tendencies in lieu of a more melodic, alt-metal approach, capturing mainstream ears with the singles “Happy Song,” “True Friends,” and “Avalanche.” Their highest-performing effort to date, the set topped charts across the globe, peaking in the Top Three in their native England and in the U.S. Riding the success of Spirit, the band staged an ambitious charity concert benefitting the Teenage Cancer Trust. Backed by the Parallax Orchestra and Simon Dobson, the group set their hits to orchestral backing on 2016′s Live at the Royal Albert Hall. In the summer of 2018, Bring Me the Horizon continued down an increasingly experimental path with the mainstream-ready anthem “Mantra” and the surprisingly poppy “Medicine.” Both tracks landed on their sixth full-length effort, Amo, which was released in early 2019. Their first U.K. chart-topper, Amo incorporated electronic dance elements and trap production, featuring guest appearances by Dani Filth (Cradle of Filth), art-pop singer Grimes, and rapper Rahzel. As the band toured the globe, they joined a stacked roster of artists for the soundtrack to the video game Death Stranding, contributing the track “Ludens.” At the close of 2019, in addition to Amo receiving a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Album, the group issued a surprise project titled Music to Listen To.... The experimental foray dabbled in electronic atmospherics, ambient noise, and trip-hop, reimagining tracks from Amo in the process. Guests on the release include Halsey and Theresa Jarvis of Yonaka. In early 2020, the band quarantined in their home studios during the COVID-19 pandemic to record their next effort, which was heavily influenced by global events. During the summer, they issued “Parasite Eve” and the industrial-tinged “Obey,” a collaboration with English upstart Yungblud. These tracks landed on 2021′s Post Human: Survival Horror, the first installment of a proposed multi-part EP series. In addition to the previously released singles, the set also included appearances by Babymetal (“Kingslayer”), Nova Twins (“1x1”), and Amy Lee of Evanescence (“One Day…“). The first taste of the follow-up, the more melodic and anthemic “DiE4u,” arrived that September. A string of high-profile collaborations marked the band’s 2022 output and included featured appearances with Ed Sheeran (“Bad Habits”), Machine Gun Kelly (“Maybe”), and Sigrid (“Bad Life”). Continuing the lead-up to their proposed Survival Horror sequel, which was titled Post Human: NeX Gen, the band spent 2023 touring and releasing more singles, including “Lost,” “Darkside,” and “Amen!” with Daryl Palumbo (Glassjaw) and Lil Uzi Vert. At the end of the year, longtime keyboardist Fish left the band. Weeks later, the four-piece released “Kool-Aid,” the sixth offering from NeX Gen. After a brief delay, that sprawling effort finally arrived in May 2024, featuring additional guests Aurora and Underoath. The album tackled dark emotional themes and featured genre-blurring hyperpop flourish, pop-punk energy, glitchy electronic chaos, hardcore aggression, death growls, and pop choruses. ~ Neil Z. Yeung