By Cassidy Reyna
Bring Me The Horizon’s new album “Post Human: Survival Horror” is a nostalgic mind-blowing album.
Over the years, Bring Me The Horizon has strayed away from its metalcore roots with its most iconic album being “Sempiternal,” making them a staple in the rock scene.
The band has evolved from a deathcore sound to a mix of alternative-rock and metalcore.
Over its past few albums after “Sempiternal,” the band did not hit the mark like it normally does. With its previous albums “That’s The Spirit” (2015) and “Amo” (2019), the band continued on and didn’t care what possible listeners thought.
However, with “Post Human: Survival Horror,” Bring Me The Horizon finally found a way to bring the sounds it was experimenting with full circle, making a perfectly balanced album.
The new album features many amazing artists, a couple of which are up-and-coming like the alternative-rock artist Yungblud and the English rock duo Nova Twins.
Not only did the band bring rising artists into the album, but iconic artists in the rock scene, such as Japanese band Babymetal and the talented Amy Lee of the band Evanescence.
“Post Human: Survival Horror” consists of 9 songs in a 32 minute time frame.
The lead singer Oli Sykes, said this album was his way of expressing how this year has progressed, as rock music is known for talking about the dark side and addressing it in music.
The album opens with the song “Dear Diary,” which brings listeners back into the sound the band had with the albums made in 2013 and previous years. The song alludes to the video game “Resident Evil,” in which it refers to the current state and events in the year 2020 but comparing the coronavirus to the zombies in the game. With lyrics like “Dear diary, I don’t know what’s going on, but something’s up. The dog won’t stop barking and I think my TV is bust. Every channel is the same, it’s sending me insane.” The song being about the chaos of the year and how the media makes things worse, Sykes has said.
The next song “Parasite Eve” brings a hauntingly dark sound to the album, also continuing the theme of the dark worldly events.
Each song intertwines with the themes of the world’s current society. Following “Parasite Eve,” “Teardrops” talks about younger generations growing up with an addiction to technology as well as depression and anxiety.
“Obey” brings listeners into the realities of real life struggles with the first feature of the album, Yungblud. The song talks about the oppression people go through and suffer from politicians and world leaders. Sykes wrote this song in the perspective of the oppressor, expressing the ideals of how citizens are desensitized from what world leaders put people through.
“Itch for the Cure (When Will We Be Free?),” is a small interlude into the next song. Listeners can see that this may be another nod to the coronavirus pandemic, and the stress of not knowing when people will be able to live normally.
“Kingslayer” has the next feature with the Japanese metal band Babymetal. “Kingslayer” brings a little more of an electric feel, with the song being based around the idea of a person who will fight for what’s right even if it’s illegal as the band has stated. As well as referring to the game “Call of Duty” and a ranking earned in the game. Even though the song does have some Japanese lyrics, it fits so well the listener will be mind blown by how good the song is. It’s as though this track is straight out of a video game, which fits perfectly into the theme of the album and the “Call of Duty” reference.
“Kingslayer” then leads into the final three tracks of the album. “1×1” featuring the Nova Twins, talks about how humans can feel guilty for destroying other species as well as causing people to feel less based on who they are.
“Ludens” was made in one week specifically for the video game “DEATH STANDING: Timefall’s original soundtrack,” and ended up being the lead single of the album. The song is based around the ethos of one of the main characters from the game and it fits perfectly into the album’s concept.
“One Day the Only Butterflies Left Will Be in Your Chest as You March Towards Your Death” is the final song on the album and features Amy Lee of Evanescence. This track is a beautifully haunting ballad and ends the album on the right tone, with Sykes representing humanity and Lee representing mother nature. The song talks about how humans need to preserve what they have, ending the album in a hopeful tone.
Overall, “Post Human: Survival Horror” is an outstanding album that sets the tone of what’s to come in Bring Me The Horizon’s future albums.