Ascend To The Church Of Gen-X-Sis: Bring Me The Horizon’s Long-Awaited Album ‘POST-HUMAN: NeX GEn’

WelCoMe bAck, Did yOu mISs us? 

We are broadcasting live from the Church of Gen-X-sis, as our founders Bring Me The Horizon behold the seventh studio album ‘POST-HUMAN: NeX GEn’ upon us. 

This gripping collection of songs brings forth the mania of pop, melodic vocals contrasted by screams and the complex guitar progressions of metalcore. It also mirrors the repetitive yet addictive nature of video games with electronics and voiceovers creating an innovative and immersive experience.

After a delay that stretched for ages, Bring Me The Horizon has finally entered the NeX GEn era. They have been teasing this new world since their headline performance at Download Festival 2023 and even during the ‘POST-HUMAN: Nex Gen’ tour in January 2024. Bring Me The Horizon made the release announcement via Instagram, giving fans less than 24 hours to prepare, igniting waves of anticipation. 

The album begins with the brief ‘[ost] dreamseeker’, a simple introduction featuring footsteps approaching…something…reminiscent of the opening of the ‘AmEN’ music video. This creates a sense of calmness before a dramatic surge of soundwaves takes over, seamlessly transitioning into the opening track ‘YOUtopia’.

The opening of ‘YOUtopia’ feels like a video game title screen after pressing the start button. evE greets the listener with “Let’s begin” as a nebulous guitar riff builds up, oozing positivity. The sound of ‘YOUtopia’ blends a 2000s emo vibe with the familiar sound of their 2019 album ‘amo.’  The lyrics are hazy, romantic and tranquil with frontman Oli Sykes singing, “There’s a place I want to take you, but I’m really not myself yet…A world’s been buried, where love is the law. A YOUtopia”. 

‘Kool-Aid’ begins with a mysterious and ominous drum arrangement that seamlessly transitions into a low-tune guitar, brought to life by Mat Nichols and Lee Malia. This buildup of anticipation is met with a gentle clap before exploding into Oli Sykes’ harsher vocals, almost chanting the lyrics “We are the children of the devolution, the infamous martyrs, the scars on the sun. Asphyxiating with the smile on your face. While they put your teeth out one by one.” 

Sykes then effortlessly shifts his vocal range to a melodic style, making ‘Kool-Aid’ irresistibly addictive. His softer vocals perfectly capture the emotive lyrics of the chorus, “Cause you got a taste now, drank the Kool-Aid by the jug. So suffer your fate, oh come here and give me a hug. Nobody loves you like I love you. Oh, my dear. But you should’ve known this was going to end in tears.” This melodic singing paired with the more intense anthemic instrumentals is the exact reason why ‘Kool-Aid’ has become so popular. Nothing short of epic. 

‘Top 10 staTues tHat CriEd Blood’ is a direct contrast to ‘Kool-Aid’ blending gives pop mania meets ultra-modern emo and a surge of video game aesthetics. However, the following track, ‘liMOusine’ featuring AURORA dives into a post-hardcore style that pokes fun at the demand for Bring Me The Horizon to recreate albums such as ‘Suicide Season’ and ‘Sempiternal as shown through the lyrics “Drag me down some more,  get me low like a basement. I hope that you wrote all your songs for me.” Oli Sykes’ coarse growls combined with AURORA’s gentler vocals create a distinct contrast that lends itself perfectly to the poppier elements and its hardcore moments. 

‘DArkSide’ explores themes of insomnia, heartbreak, and depression, but ingeniously balances these profound subjects with irresistibly catchy and infectious melodies, making the song more addictive with each replay. Lead singer Oli Sykes reveals his deep vulnerabilities in the lyrics “My dark side won today, my heart keeps breaking over and over”. Despite drawing from Sykes’ history of addiction, the song is delivered in an anthemic style. 

Heavily influenced by mid-2000s emo bands such as Three Days Grace and Linkin Park, while seamlessly incorporating elements from their 2015 album ‘That’s The Spirit’ through the use of intricate guitar arrangements, unconventional song structure and dynamic shifts. The song fuses metalcore through the use of power chords to build up to a breakdown, only to return anticlimactic to the chorus, leaving listeners yearning for more with its lack of resolution. 

‘A bulleT w/ my namE on’ featuring Underoath, revisits the styles of ‘amo’ combined with elements of  2019’s ‘Music To Listen To…’. The blend of electronic pop with catchy, clean melodies that transition seamlessly into screams makes for a varied and captivating listening experience.

‘n/A’ is a stripped-back song that acts as a support, therapy session where Oli Sykes reveals deep vulnerability, detailing his past addictions and mental state. Despite the dark subject matter, it is incredibly catchy, featuring crowd-recorded vocals from their ‘POST-HUMAN: NeX GEn’ arena tour, where the audience chants, “Hello Oli, you fuckin’ knobhead” creating a collaborative and exciting opportunity for those who attended. 

‘AmEN’  starts abruptly with Sykes’ distinct death growl then kicks in, reminiscent of ‘There Is A Hell Believe Me I’ve Seen It’ and the ‘Sempiternal’ era, igniting chaos.‘AmEN’ as a track has an interesting blend of styles and features, combining an intensely catchy chorus alongside heavy verses with the use of a choir and glitching sound effects, the music video plays into this high energy marvellously. 

Bring Me The Horizon encourages fans to ascend with the release of this experimental album. As the second chapter in the ‘POST-HUMAN’ series, ‘POST-HUMAN: NeX GEn’ showcases a remarkable collection of songs that honour past albums while introducing a fresh sound. This album unveils a futuristic and dystopian world that profoundly resonates with listeners, immersing them and drawing them deeply into the captivating narrative effortlessly woven by Bring Me The Horizon.

Ana Joy King

@anajoyking

Image: ‘Post Human: Nex Gen’ Official Album Cover