Bring Me The Horizon have come a long way since Count Your Blessings, their debut album released in 2006, and Sempiternalmarks a brave leap for the Sheffield five-piece.
The opening electronic beats of ‘Can You Feel My Heart’ are an indicator of what is to follow throughout this album – a more mature, melodic sound which experiments with new musical elements. With the absence of Skyes’ guttural screams and the rawness predominant in much of their earlier music, comes a more refined sound, showing off the young frontman’s increased vocal range. This is evident in ‘And The Snakes Start To Sing’, which creates a sound very different to what we are used to hearing from BMTH, but no less effective in its power and delivery. This creation of more intimate, cohesive melodies makes their music more accessible and adds the potential to win over many new ears.
However, although they have grown as a band, BMTH have by no means lost their aggressive energy. Oli Sykes’ powerful vocals persist with emotionally charged lyrics such as the opening line to the latest single, ‘Sleepwalking’, “my secrets are burning a whole through my heart” and more familiar, expletive-ridden cries in ‘Antivist’, a high-tempo song more comparable to their earlier material. From the anthemic choruses of ‘Shadow Moses’ and ‘The House of Wolves’ wielding chants that one can imagine being echoed enthusiastically amongst a live crowd, to the powerful, balladic ending and my personal favourite, ‘Hospital For Souls’, Sempiternal offers a diverse yet consistent collection.
The move away from the piercing deathcore sounds of their earlier material is by no means sudden, since their third album, There Is a Hell, Believe Me, I’ve Seen It. There is a Heaven, Let’s Keep It a Secret,released in 2010, introduced elements of synth, clean vocals and even choir vocal samples. However, Sempiternalgoes a step further to create an entirely new sound for the band, drawing on a number of electronic influences, which help to create a somewhat euphoric sensation. Earlier this year the band saw the departure of guitarist Jona Weinhofen and the addition of keyboardist Jordan Fish, a change which arguably reflects this new music style.
Whether Bring Me The Horizon’s new sound has anything to do with their recent move to a major record label – the Sony Music Entertainment subsidiary label, RCA – is debatable. Undoubtedly Sempiternal marks a progression for the band towards more mainstream hardcore rock. The real question is whether this will disappointment the longstanding fans, myself included, who, back in 2006, fell in love with the brutal thrash metal riffs and high-pitched screams/throaty growls of ‘Pray For Plagues’, or whether the band’s development will be seen as a necessary endeavour, a ‘coming of age’ as such (and a relief to our eardrums!).
In my opinion, although it is sad to see BMTH surrender to more mainstream metal, they have not lost the raw energy that we love, just refined it and this album represents a significant and welcome progression for the band.
