Sad news as a fan died of an undisclosed ailment at Bring Me The Horizon’s concert at Alexandra Palace in London Friday night, November 30th. No Further information has been released at this time. The band has issued the following statement regarding the mater: “Words cannot express how horrified we are feeling this evening after hearing about the death of a young man at our show last night. Our hearts and deepest condolences go out to his family and loved ones at this terrible time. We will comment further in due course.”. After speculation began to run wild on social media, the venue made a series of tweets you can read below, clarifying what happened. Concerts are always a time of fun and revelry but please, look out for your fellow concert-goers and alert someone at the venue if someone seems ill. As fans, we all share that responsibility with each other.Continue reading →
The festival formerly known as Rock On The Range is now Sonic Temple, and it has its inaugural lineup. The very first lineup is an absolute banger with legends like System of a Down, Foo Fighters, Disturbed, Ghost, Bring Me The Horizon, The Prodigy, Lamb of God, Halestorm, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Chevelle, In This Moment, The Cult, Killswitch Engage among others. There will also be a comedy tent with Andrew Dice Clay, Henry Rollins and more. Tickets go onsale November 30th at 12 Noon EST at the link below. Taking place at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus (traditionally the home of Rock on the Range) on May 17 – 19, 2019, Sonic Temple promises all the musical firepower of ROTR, but with innovative food and drink options and other features to make it an even more impressive festival experience and more in line with Bourbon and Beyond.
Explosive political punk rock act The Fever 333 has been announced as the direct support on the new Bring Me The Horizon US tour, booked for early 2019. The Fever 333 is supporting their current EP Made In America, out now via Roadrunner Records. Tickets are on sale now from Live Nation.Continue reading →
Bring Me The Horizon has shared a brand new song and lyric video, via BBC Radio 1‘s Rock Show With Daniel P Carter. The second single off of their highly anticipated 2019 album Amo (Sony) is ‘Wonderful Life’, and you can watch it now! The clip features Cradle Of Filth vocalist Dani Filth, who also guests on the track. Continue reading →
Bring Me The Horizon have announced their new album via social media, sure to be the most hotly anticipated album of early 2019. Amo will release January 11th 2019 via their labels RCA (UK) and Columbia (USA). The album is the long-awaited follow-up to 2015s That’s The Spirit. Pre-orders are available now and enable fans early access to tickets for their upcoming European tour dates. Hear the powerful new track, ‘Mantra’ right now! Continue reading →
“Seek the antithesis: in any art form we engage with, there is need for inventive thinking that goes against uninspired standards. We grew up on music that bred fun and passion, perhaps that notion has been lost along the way”.Continue reading →
The set times have been announced for the 2016 ‘Rock On The Range’ festival which takes place May
20-22nd at the MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, OH. The festival is sold out for the fourth year in a row. You can plan your festival weekend accordingly below:
May 20th:
Monster Main Stage:
09:35pm: Disturbed
07:55pm: Shinedown
06:15pm: A Day To Remember
04:15pm: SIXX:A.M.
03:30pm: Bullet For My Valentine
02:15pm: Sevendust
01:15pm: Sick Puppies
Megadeth, by Rick Triana Photography
Stage Two:
07:10pm: Megadeth
05:40pm: Machine Gun Kelly
04:15pm: Asking Alexandria
02:55pm: Trivium
01:40pm: Enter Shikari
12:30pm: Avatar
11:45am: Monster Truck
Stage Three:
05:40pm: Butcher Babies
04:15pm: Memphis May Fire
02:55pm: Miss May I
01:40pm: Andrew Watt
12:30pm: We Came As Romans
11:45am: Cane Hill
ROTR Rolling Rock Comedy Tent:
07:20pm: Jay Mohr
07:00pm: Bethany Dwyer
06:45pm: Mike Baldwin
06:30pm: Jay Snyder
06:15pm: Adrian Cosby
Rob Zombie, by Melina D Photography
Saturday, May 21st:
Monster Main Stage:
09:45pm: Rob Zombie
08:45pm: Five Finger Death Punch
06:15pm: HELLYEAH
04:55pm: Steel Panther
03:35pm: Pop Evil
02:20pm: Saint Asonia
01:10pm: P.O.D
Lamb of God, by Evil Robb Photography
Stage Two:
07:20pm: Lamb Of God
05:40pm: Ghost
04:20pm: Parkway Drive
03:30pm: Issues
01:45pm: Texas Hippie Coalition
12:35pm: Aranda
11:50pm: Lacey Strum
Stage Three:
05:40pm: Clutch
04:20pm: Crown The Empire
03:00pm: New Years Day
01:45pm: Wilson
12:35pm: Jelly Roll
11:50pm: Citizen Zero
ROTR Rolling Rock Comedy Tent:
07:00pm: Eddie Trunk, Don Jamieson & Jim Florentine from That Metal Show
Yorkshire’s favorite sonsAsking Alexandria are back with a new full-length, determined to put the ghosts of the past behind them and seize some sort of unofficial metalcore crown and miter. This being the first album of new music since the much talked about departure of former frontman Danny Worsnop (We Are Harlot), who himself was synonymous with the band, the band has been under massive scrutiny. Factoring in the challenges of incorporating new singer Denis Stoff (Sharforostov) of AA soundalike Make Me Famous, and the fact that some of the fans doubts, you could say this release came at a critical juncture. Never being one to back down from a challenge, guitarist/band mastermind Ben Bruce and his new singer mostly crafted an album as strong or better than anything in they have done. To the most cynical, die-hard fan this music will squash any notion that the band could possibly fall off without Worsnop. The Black (Sumerian) will likely be looked back in the future as a pivotal album, the time when metalcore grew up, without watering it down as a genre.
While droves of the scene bands strive to run away from their roots (Parkway Drive and BMTH among others), Asking Alexandria has made a metalcore history lesson of sorts. The sound of the band on The Black covers where they were when they started with Stand Up and Scream (Sumerian), to the present. It is a well written, immaculately produced affair and a lot of props has to be given to Ben Bruce and his bag of licks. ‘Let It Sleep’ raucous battle cry. Straight in the typical style of the band, it is harsh, grooves, and has a terrific refrain for screaming along with. Denis just bruises his way through the track, like puncher in a prize-fight.
The title track is a beast too. The simple driving riff could be mistaken for Five Finger DeathPunch or Sevendust, but all the heaviness the band is known for bringing. The chorus is massive, and these first two songs are going to be blaring out of car windows and scarring soccer moms all summer. ‘I Won’t Give In’ follows and is kind of a unique metalcore power-ballad of sorts. It’s not the best track here, but the tempo and the delivery have the desired dramatic effect they were going for. ‘Sometimes it Ends’ is the only song that blatantly addresses the Worsnop split and the fallout. The track is phenomenal and has the power and a flavor the band hasn’t really shown before. Perhaps one of their best tracks to date in terms of brutality and songcraft.
‘The Lost Souls’ is a lament for the millennial generation and another strong cut. It seems like the band focused on making these massive tracks, but without too much clutter. Stoff gets on the Chester Bennington/Jonathan Davis level emotionally here vocally. You can just close your eyes and imagine the massive festival crowds screaming this in unison. Returning producer Joey Sturgis may have out done himself here.other strong tracks include the ‘Send Me Home’, ‘We’ll Be OK’, the epic balladry of ‘Gone’, and the closing track ‘Circled By Wolves’. There are a few tracks here that aren’t the strongest top to bottom, but none of them are skippable moments.
With this new batch of powerful songs and Stoff and his flexible vocal chords in tow, you see the band living up to all the promise and hype they have been given, instead of falling off.
If life is a journey, Bring Me The Horizon are living one helluva good one. From hated deathcore upstarts, bottled and attacked when playing support shows, to the slick, progressive metalcore of their breakthrough album Sempiternal (RCA/Epitaph), their career has been one of continuous upwards movement, both creatively but also commercially, a trend that is perpetuated by their excellent fifth album That’s The Spirit (RCA/Columbia).
While BMTH are no longer a “metal” band (while they haven’t been for a while, they’ve truly stepped outside those bounds now) their continued exploration of a poppier, slicker sound unreservedly suits them. Leaving behind the trappings of scenes metalcore and deathcore, That’s The Spirit takes the band into unchartered territories of song-writing and production to create an excellent modern rock album.
Starting the album with the subdued build of ‘Doomed’, the tone is set for something special as the reflective piece resets expectations, all subtle electronica and disseminated guitars. Partner in crime ‘Happy Song’ picks things up, utilizing a child vocal hook much like Faith No More’s ‘Be Aggressive’ before a lurching, thick riff courtesy of Lee Malia, who really shines as a diverse and clever player across the spectrum of the album, backs up the songs eponymous hook.
Smartly, …Horizon have continued their evolution, replacing the frenetic punkcore style of There Is A Hell… (Visible Noise), via Sempiternal, with a more controlled, dynamic and poppier approach; an approach that has led to a thousand-fold improvement in their song-writing. Whatever you do, don’t confuse replacing aggression with control as a sign of weakness – there is a powerful energy throughout.
They always had an x-factor, now they have refinement and intelligence and know how to channel that spark into top quality songs. Tracks like ‘Avalanche’ are enhanced by the full integration of keyboard player Jordan Fish adding strings, synth motifs and subtle electronica to back up a beast that swirls from down to upbeat, and another strong chorus, led by the excellent Oli Sykes.
Only the sedate ‘Follow You’ shows a slight dip in quality and there are highlights throughout; no less than ‘Throne’ with its poppy synth intro and Linkin Park trappings, a truly uplifting pop metal anthem. ‘True Friends’ and ‘Blasphemy’ BMTH show they’ve lost none of their cynicism, but more than that, they demonstrate the progression of Sykes from screamer to genuine lead singer, with powerful throaty moments leading to sweeping choruses, and he combines the two on the rockier catchy ‘What You Need’, a track fuelled by a juddering stadium-filling death rock bass line. ‘Drown’, initially released a year ago to prepare the way for the new BMTH sound, is an expertly crafted modern alternative rock song. Final track ‘Oh No’ closes the circle, a reflective yet upbeat poppy piece, reminiscent of the best moments of 30 Seconds To Mars, with Woah-ohs and dance synths closing things off with a smile.
Kudos must also go to Fish and Sykes for a stunning production job, with all the touches and trappings of the best pop productions balled up into huge rock sound. Influences may have switched from Norma Jean and At The Gates, but by moving beyond their contemporaries in quality, style and songwriting, BMTH now stand in class of one; truly at the top of the mountain.
If Suicide Season (Visible Noise/Epitaph) was their rebirth, There Is A Hell… the teenage ruttings of a band truly finding themselves and Sempiternal their coming of age album, That’s The Spirit is Horizon maturing into a fine young adult, confident, strong and secure in themselves and the knowledge that they are now master craftsmen.
Successfully combining every good aspect of alternative rock and metal of the last fifteen years, That’s The Spirit is Bring Me The Horizon’s “Black Album” moment.
