Album Review: Bring Me The Horizon - POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR

If the title of Bring Me The Horizon’s latest album, POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR, wasn’t enough of a clue, the contents of this record are not exactly cheery. A haunting reflection on the rise of right-wing politics and neo-liberalism, addiction, depression, and technological dependence, it seems the perfect soundtrack to the dystopia that is 2020. The album consists of nine tracks, four of which contain features, and marks a return to the heavier style of earlier Bring Me The Horizon music, though mixed with more experimental sounds.

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A haunting reflection on the rise of right-wing politics and neo-liberalism, … it seems the perfect soundtrack to the dystopia that is 2020

The apocalyptic mood of the album starts immediately with the first track, ‘Dear Diary,’ which opens with an air raid siren. Here the heavy metal style guitar and unclean vocals bombard the listener as lead singer, Oli Sykes, declares that he is going ‘insane’ and that he ‘can’t stomach any more survival horror.’ The drums are incredibly fast paced and create a constant backdrop of noise, with a fantastic guitar solo after the first chorus promising to get you head-banging along.

The album then moves into ‘Parasite Eve,’ ‘Teardrops,’ and ‘Obey (ft. YUNGBLUD),’ which were all released earlier this year as singles. I reviewed ‘Parasite Eve’ back in July and found that its robotic sound effects and dystopian elements gave it an alien-like quality, something which I still stand by. It fits perfectly into the record, providing political and pandemic commentary over an experimental rock sound. ‘Teardrops’ might be one of my favourite songs on POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR, dealing with Sykes’s years of addiction, fuelled by anxiety and depression. It is both moving and terrifying, describing the ‘emptiness’ of mental illness and the feeling of ‘slipping away’ from reality under the influence. Accompanied by the classic Bring Me The Horizon hallmarks of catchy hooks and grinding guitars, it feels like an incredibly authentic and important song. In contrast, ‘Obey’ is a more upbeat satirical criticism of government, infused with YUNGBLUD’s infectious energy. The collaboration between the two Yorkshire based musicians, Oli Sykes and Dominic Harrison, is a long awaited one, and does not fail to live up to expectations.

‘Itch For The Cure (When Will We Be Free?)’ is the shortest track on the album, at only one and a half minutes, acting as an interlude and transitioning from a more classic metal sound to a more experimental style. It introduces an element of dance and electronic music, which is similarly reflected in some of the later songs. ‘Kingslayer (ft. BABYMETAL)’ is one of these, mixing an electro dance element with unclean vocals throughout. It is reminiscent of Bring Me The Horizon’s 2019 album, amo, which leaned into a softer, though not necessarily more upbeat, sound. The BABYMETAL feature is a nice touch, with Su-metal’s vocals cutting through Sykes’s and creating an anime-like quality, something new and exciting for Bring Me The Horizon.

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It introduces an element of dance and electronic music, which is similarly reflected in some of the later songs.

However, the stand out track for me is the last on POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR. Completely different from the rest of the album, ‘One Day the Only Butterflies Left Will Be in Your Chest as You March Towards Your Death (ft. Amy Lee)’ is both eerie and reflective, haunting and meditative. Beginning with choral style vocals, the track sounds almost like a hymn, leaning into a slower pop sound as it progresses. This is a marked contrast to the heaviness of the rest of the album, with Lee and Sykes’s voices melding together in a beautiful duet. It is unlike anything I’ve ever heard from Bring Me The Horizon before, but hopefully something they explore further in future projects.

Overall, POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR seems to stick to Bring Me The Horizon’s roots as a band, whilst branching out into some more experimental forms at times. Some of the songs are genuinely catchy and have great hooks, whereas others are designed to get you thinking about the state of the world. The album invites rage against the system, as well as moments of reflection. It seems fitting that the last song fades out slowly, allowing us to consider if 2020 really is a time of survival horror.