Since the release of their seminal album Sempiternal in 2013, Bring Me The Horizon have graduated from angsty deathcore upstarts and cemented themselves as one of the most popular British metal exports. The band have released a variety of commercially successful albums, headlined the world’s premier alternative festivals and even crossed over into mainstream attention. High profile collaborations with Ed Sheeran and Lil Uzi Vert having no small part in their meteoric rise. Whether it be the crushing heaviness of tracks like “Dear Diary,”, the pop-tinged melodies of “medicine”, or the experimental electronica of Music to Listen to…, Bring Me The Horizon have effortlessly influenced the trends of modern metal like no other.
In the build up to their new record, the Sheffield outfit had released a number of hit singles such as “Kool-Aid”,”LosT” and “sTraNgeRs”, promising to culminate in the ever-elusive follow up to 2020’s excellent POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR. This all changed on the 23rd of May. Bring Me The Horizon‘s new album, POST HUMAN: NeX GEn, was surprise announced to be releasing the next day.
Coming in at just under an hour, POST HUMAN: NeX GEn is the band’s most creative work to date. The record blends elements of hyperpop, Deftones-esque post-metal and metalcore into a futuristic soup of alt-rock and modern popular music. Starting proceedings is “YOUtopia”. A riff-heavy song with a thick chorus, the track sets the scene for the rest of the release. The aggressive, ‘in-your-face’ mix, is immediately apparent and sounds great. Hats off to Zakk Cervini and Dan Lancaster for their contributions to the production. This colossal opener is swiftly followed by the one-two punch of pre-release banger “Kool-Aid” and new song, “Top 10 staTues tHat CriEd bloOd”. The latter is a bouncy emo anthem that features one of NeX GEn’s hookiest tunes and feels closely related to the aforementioned “LosT”, bringing a more accessible sound to the record.
“liMOusIne” is a nu-metal inspired dirge that chugs along in true Deftones fashion. Lee Malia, BMTH’s resident riff magician, knocks it out of the park on this cut; further emphasising his place as one of metal’s premier guitarists. A welcome appearance from Aurora (perhaps in place of the long rumoured Billie Eilish feature) also adds a unique element to this track with a standout, ethereal vocal performance.
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Other highlights include glitch-laden “R.i.p. (duskCOre Remix)” and Weezer influenced “n/A”. Not something anyone would have expected from Bring Me The Horizon in 2024, “n/A” sees lead singer Oli Sykes deal lyrically with topics such as: substance abuse, mental health and suicidal thoughts. The candid track catapults into action at the one minute mark, leading the listener on a zany genre-less journey full of breakdowns, sugar-sweet melodies and huge gang vocals. For fans that attended the band’s recent tour, this will be an especially interesting moment on the album, as the loud exclamations of “Hello Oli, you fuckin’ knobhead” and “Did you think you had us fooled?” are largely the work of UK audiences. See below for a clip of the recording process during the band’s Cardiff gig:
The crowning achievement of the record, is most definitely the pre-release single, “AmEN”. A crushing return to the band’s deathcore roots, it starts in an explosive manner and never really lets up. If there was ever any doubt surrounding Sykes’ vocal abilities; they are very quickly squashed on a first spin, as he pulls off screams that harken back to 2008’s Suicide Season. Features from Glassjaw and a surprisingly fitting verse from Lil Uzi Vert, round out what feels like a real highlight in the band’s twenty year career so far.
NeX GEn is not entirely without fault, however. Peppered throughout the album are three ‘[ost]’ interludes that, whilst adding to the moody atmosphere, I can’t see many people coming back to after their first playthrough. The bizarre inclusion of an almost three year old single in the form of “DiE4u” is another misstep. In isolation, “DiE4u” is a solid song with a massive arena-ready chorus. Here, the track feels entirely out of place; both in tone and in production value. Closer, “DIg It”, also somewhat misses the lofty mark set by the preceding material. It takes too long to start, only really getting going in its closing moments, before fading into an overly long silence.
These minor nitpicks don’t stain the quality of the overall album though. What Oli and the band have done here is nothing short of miraculous, pulling off a bizarre and ambitious release that somehow works despite all of its abrupt tonal shifts. For years, Bring Me The Horizon have been at the top of their game, captivating audiences with their forward thinking blend of genres and acting as trendsetters for vast swathes of the modern metal scene. With POST HUMAN: NeX GEn, the band show no signs of letting up.
Raised on the evergreen rock gods of ‘Priest and ACDC, Max has been surrounded by music that’s hard and heavy from a young age. Music; among many other interests such as sci-fi, fantasy, sound design and herps (reptiles and amphibians), has always been a part of his life and Max is never happier than when he finds a new band to share with the world!