Bring Me The Horizon have changed, man.
Once labelled as metalcore, their sound has progressed through deathcore to now be variously described as post-hardcore, emo-metal, pop-metal and even alternative-rock. This almost obsessive need, among fans and critics alike, to box the band into a specific genre is something lead singer, Oli Sykes, finds quite amusing.
Speaking to WatchMojo, he explained: “there’s a need for genres but people take it too far. They refer to us as deathcore, other bands are crunkcore, it’s just stupid. If you want to know what a band sounds like, go and listen to them.”
BMTH’s refusal to pick a genre and stick with it causes surprisingly intense levels of irritation among fans of their early music. But according to Oli, who spoke with Loudwire on the topic, it’s reflective of their inability to be anything but honest with what they produce. “With ‘Sempiternal’ we squeezed metal and metalcore for all it’s got and [with the new album, 'That's The Spirit'] we either did it again or pushed further.”Keyboardist, Jordan Fish in the same Loudwire interviews, adds: “It’s very hard to write music you’re not feeling. And the new stuff we were writing, we were so stoked on it [sic], we loved it so much, we just didn’t want to make ourselves write the songs for someone else.”
When asked about his take on the progression of their sound, Oli has a simple reply. “Our music is good now. The progression is we’ve gone from bad to good.”
He’s completely open with his criticism of their earlier albums. “You hide behind speed and noise and aggression, usually for lack of musicianship, and because that’s just what you want to do at first. With this album, we had the confidence to strip it back and only put in what really needed to be there.”
“We always knew it was going to be a bit divisive,” continues Jordan, “because some people just like the old stuff. And we’re so far removed now, from the band’s first album especially. You win some, you lose some. But we’ve been surprised, actually, with how well it’s been received.”
Whatever happens with the album, Oli’s not concerned. “If it tanks, we’re not going to go back, we’ll just carry on playing to 50 people if that’s what happens. 'Cos it’s the music we want to be playing. And we’re going to keep progressing. We know we’ve wrote [sic] the best album we’ve ever written. It’s up to people now to decide whether that’s true.”
The internet is full of the sullen musings of older fans who feel the band has softened up over the years. At the same time, newer fans are finding they love the latest albums but can’t stomach ‘Count Your Blessings’ or ‘Suicide Season’.
The newer, pop-infused albums have drawn the attention of a legion of teenage girls, and the intensity of their obsession has been startling, both for existing BMTH fans and the band members themselves.
In an interview with Radio.com, Oli admitted to being quite taken aback by the sudden change in the crowds he was playing to. “It is something we’ve noticed. The first ten rows now, it’s just girls. Screaming girls. And it’s strange but it’s cool. Some of them only look about 12 or 13 and it’s hard to imagine them listening to music like ours.”
While the band members themselves couldn’t care less, this multitude of new, young admirers has had a massive impact on their older fans. BMTH videos are now full of emoji-laden comments from hard-core tween fangirls with the odd scathing response from a resentful metal fan.
The fangirls’ comments are indistinguishable from the type of thing you see on Justin Bieber videos: 'I could actually listen to Oli talk for the rest of my life omg'; 'OLI IS SO PERFECTION'; 'Oli has a girlfriend. I'm done. I'm going to cry now. I didn't even know he had a girlfriend. But of course he does, I mean look at him. He’s like art. I can just stare all day long.'
And the older fans just aren’t used to being exposed to that flavour of obsession with one prevailing sentiment shining through in their comments: 'Can't they just listen to One Direction?'.
Jordan is opposed to any kind of elitism when it comes to music and he made this clear to Radio.com. “We don’t have any hang-ups about who comes to our shows. If you like it then that’s cool. We put a camera at front of house sometimes because we’ve been doing projections on this tour. And it’s cool 'cos we get to see what they look like. You used to be able to spot a Bring Me The Horizon fan but now it’s just people. I think that’s a really good thing.”
Oli shares Jordan’s welcoming attitude towards their new fans and spoke about it in his interview with Loudwire. “We want to be a gateway band to get people into this kind of music, like Linkin Park were for me. Most people say, ‘I just like metal’. Or, ‘metal’s horrible and scary’. People have these preconceived notions. We’d like to be that band that gets people into a whole new side of music.
“It might seem like we’re getting softer and softer but that’s just the route we’re taking right now. Who knows what will happen next. It could be more experimental, it could be weirder, we just don’t know.”
