Ranked: Bring Me The Horizon
Written by Brighton Bischofberger
Well, this should stir up some rousing conversation. I’ve been tasked with ranking every Bring Me the Horizon album and boy oh boy am I excited. I, like most scene kids have definitely jammed my fair share of BMTH. Although they aren’t one of my favorite bands of all time, I really enjoy all of their releases and are a band that I hold a lot of respect for in the industry. They are legends in the scene through and through. Starting as a Deathcore outfit from Sheffield, England, BMTH have grown into something much bigger than they probably ever imagined. Over 4 Million Spotify listener’s monthly and playing massive festival dates and tours, they’ve reached a pinnacle that many bands in the scene wish they could reach. As always, being at this high of a level brings just as much criticism as praise. With a gradual change in sound that saw them shift away from their Deathcore beginnings, BMTH are no strangers to feeling the fire of hot takes. It’s all a part of being the torchbearers for the younger bands in the scene. With that in mind, it’s time for me to step up and throw my hat into the ring. I’ll rank each album in numerical order (1 being the highest ranking) and explain briefly why I think it deserves that spot on the list. I’ll also list some of my favorite tracks from each release as well. Also note I will only be covering their six studio releases (No live albums, remixes, or EP’s)
Feel free to share your rankings in the comments and let me know what you think of my list! Let’s do this.
Ahhh to be a young scene fan in the early-mid 2000s again. I know I’m probably going to get some flak for putting this album low on the list. This album is cult classic for a lot of fans and I totally understand why. Let me also say that I don’t hate CYB at all. This album is heavy, simple as that. It features some really punchy and solid instrumentals along with young Oli Sykes screaming his guts out in every line. The breakdowns are so much fun and many of these songs have been on my workout playlists. So why is this album ranked where it is? The answer is simple to me. This album is heavy, and that’s pretty much about it. Maybe it’s just because I am not a gigantic fan of Deathcore in itself, but compared to their later releases, this album just doesn’t have much else to offer besides its heaviness. The nostalgia carries this album a lot and it feels so much like peak 2006 Scene-Core. Crazy song titles, big breakdowns, and swoopy hair. Nothing wrong with that, but this album just feels very dated compared to their other releases. That’s why it is sixth on the list.
Favorite Tracks:
Pray for Plagues
Braille (For Stevie Wonder’s Eyes Only)
(I Used to Make Out With) Medusa
Yeah go ahead, get your pitchforks out now because these next three spots get pretty dicey. Before I say anything else, let me start off by saying that this is a great album. “Chelsea Smile” and “Diamonds Aren’t Forever” are absolute classics that should never be forgotten in the passage of time. There are so many other great tracks on this album as well and it’s such a cool thing to hear the progression from Count Your Blessings to this album. Things overall feel much more organized, tight, and done with purpose. The riffage is once again so solid and each track has a ton of energy. This is in no way a bad album. However, I put it lower on the list for one simple reason. I think this album with all of its strength only scratched the surface on what BMTH would eventually create with their sound. It created a couple of their most famous tracks and was an excellent next step for the band after their debut, and I fully understand how much this album meant to the scene when it came out. It really helped push BMTH to the next tier. With that in mind, this album as a whole doesn’t quite offer what their later releases do (which I’ll explain when we get to the top 3 spots). It is a cohesive effort, but outside of the noteworthy tracks, many of the songs don’t stand out much from each other.
Favorite Tracks:
Chelsea Smile
Diamonds Aren’t Forever
The Sadness Will Never End
Death Breath
3. That’s the Spirit/Amo
Yeah ok, maybe I’m cheating by lumping these two albums together. To be fair, I’ve probably already ruffled some feathers by ranking these two albums above Suicide Season and Count Your Blessings. These two albums are not only their most recent releases but have caused a ton of discord among fans. I think That’s the Spirit was probably better received overall as it featured songs a bit heavier in nature, but both albums carry their own ups and downs. They are both so different in their own ways and that’s why I chose to rank them together rather than apart.
Now to do a quick dive on both releases.
I think a lot of fans were taken back when this album dropped and felt that it was a departure from their heavier style of the past. One thing I respect about the band so much is that they’ve never been shy about their musical progression. Some bands sugarcoat and dance around the topic. Between lead singer Oli Sykes’s bouts with vocal strain and a motivation to experiment, you could tell that this was coming and that’s ok. As I covered in my previous article “When Push Comes to Shove, What’s the Difference Between Staying True and Selling Out?” bands should go through a natural progression and there’s nothing wrong with that, as long as it is done genuinely and with passion. I wholeheartedly feel that both releases do this.
TTS leans a bit more into the Hard Rock and Pop world than previous albums and this combination to me felt like a solid transition point for the band. They don’t nail every song on this record, but gosh the ones that they do are just awesome. Some of my favorite BMTH tracks are from this album. The production is just so solid (as with most of their albums) and if I had one complaint, it would be that some of the songs tend to blend into one another. The tracks that don’t stand on their own are definitely guilty of this, but for a follow up to hint hint, one of their best albums, this was a really solid addition to their discography. Drown may be one of the emotionally strongest songs they’ve ever done and it just has so much behind it. It’s one of my all-time favorite BMTH songs. You can tell that the band had a lot of energy behind this record and it shows in the songs. They were excited to try out new sounds and they jumped at the chance to. It’s a solid album that holds up well and will continue I believe for years to come.
Favorite Tracks:
Drown
Follow You
Avalanche
Happy Song
Doomed
Ahhhhh. The moment we’ve all been waiting for! This album made some big waves in the scene this year as it really divided a lot of people who just didn’t quite know what to make of it. Some praised it for its creativity and uniqueness, while others absolutely hated it and wanted to burn all evidence of it ever existing. This album took a lot of the pop influences from TTS and turned them up even more as the band even added in some EDM touches to create a flourishing mix of Hard Rock, Pop and Electronic influences.
Now I totally get why some wouldn’t like this album. If you don’t like a more pop-influenced sound, then this probably isn’t the album for you. Again, just like in my previous blog post, a band incorporating pop sounds into their music isn’t necessarily a bad thing in my opinion. Just like any experiment, as long as the music is coming from a genuine place, there will always be something to take from it. Yeah there’s a lot of atrocious pop music out there, but there is also a lot of good stuff out there as well. It’s also really hard to make genuinely good pop music. Let me tell you, BMTH can make solid pop songs. Now just because a band has pop sounds doesn’t mean they are automatically the next Coldplay. BMTH’s pop sounds are at a technically higher level than a lot of basic pop music and I promise if you take some time to compare and contrast, you’ll see what I mean. The proof is in the little details. The horn section on “Wonderful Life”. The twinkling synths and backing strings on “Mother Tongue”. The dark atmosphere of “In the Dark”. These are pop-heavy songs no doubt, but they carry a bit more than your average pop song, and the boys deserve credit for pulling that off.
I think BMTH did a really ambitious thing here with Amo. No matter how big a band gets, I still believe there is an area of risk that can easily make that band irrelevant as fast as they become relevant. Maybe they didn’t nail every song they tried on this release, but at least they tried to make something unique and boy oh boy did they. There are a lot of songs on this record that feel just like older BMTH songs, just with a different brush of color on them. Nihilist Blues, Wonderful Life, Mantra, and even In the Dark with its darker tones all show different semblances to their older works. It’s not Deathcore, but it works for them never the less.
The lush and melodic synth layers are still there, just like in their last few releases. The vocal hooks are really catchy overall and although there isn’t really much screaming on this record, the band still finds ways to inject their heavy roots. Yes, there are a couple of songs that feel very disjointed and don’t really work, but the ones that do are just straight-up cool. Personally, I’m really curious to see what BMTH does next as to whether they continue to tweak this sound or go back to the drawing board. I’d honestly be down to see them continue to dial in these different influences a bit more. The songs that work on this record are honestly so unique and they are the tracks that will hold up over time.
Favorite Tracks:
Sugar Honey Ice & Tea
Heavy Metal
Mother Tongue
In the Dark
Medicine
Wonderful Life
2. There is a Hell Believe Me I’ve Seen it, There is a Heaven Let’s Keep it a Secret
This. Freaking. Album.
This was such a tough call because this album as a whole is just so damn good. The energy is turned all the way up to 100 and every song just hits you square in the face like a brick. This album is a perfect example of when a band perfectly dials in their sound and hits a home run. Out of their more Deathcore leaning albums, this is the best combination of their heavy elements with a slight hint of the more melodic elements they would start to incorporate for albums to come. I remember hearing “Anthem” on a free Alternative Press sampler and my god, I was blown away. It’s like a hurricane coming out of nowhere with gale-force winds and tearing everything down. “It Never Ends” is such a cool song and still stands out to me as one of their most interesting songs to date. It’s beautiful, haunting, and has that trademark BMTH edge to carry it home. Anytime BMTH adds a choir into the mix, you know good things are about to happen.
Why do I rank this album over their earlier releases? Simple, it best combines the heaviest parts of their sound into a fresh and impactful combination. It has a purpose and at the time, was a groundbreaking album for the scene. Everyone wanted to play songs like this after it blew up. It became uniquely BMTH and is an album that is going to stand the test of time. Like my earlier overarching message, play songs with purpose and intention and beautiful things will happen.
Favorite Tracks:
It Never Ends
Alligator Blood
Anthem
Crucify Me
Fuck
Don’t Go
1. Sempiternal
Well, lookie here. We made it to the number one spot! I hope everyone is still with me reading along and if you are, thank you!
This album to me is just perfect. I don’t know what else to say. It is BMTH’s crowning achievement and to date best combines their heaviness with melodic touches. It ebbs and flows and takes you on a journey not forgotten. From the massive opener anthem of “Can You Feel My Heart” to the soaring “Sleepwalking”, this album just has it all. The guitar work is so fun on this record and the drums hit hard. The synth work on this record, in particular, is really enjoyable as well. Jordan Fish has always done an excellent job of setting the mood with the keys and on his debut effort with the band, he really shined through. His work really helped build that euphoric, but melancholic vibe that the band wanted for this album.
Besides the latest release of Amo, this is easily the best that Oli Sykes has ever sounded on vocals. There’s so much definition and clarity in the production and from his wailing melodic screams to lower growls, it all just works together so damn well. Lyrically this album shines brightly as well. Every lyric has intention and is delivered with passion courtesy of Oli and Jordan (a strong supporter as always). Though the content is a little less dark than previous albums, it still has its edge and revolves mainly around reflection and understanding after being in a dark place mentally.
It’s a smart album that is pieced together extremely well and accomplishes everything it set out to do. The production is gorgeous and the whole album has this massive feel to it that you just can’t shake. It surrounds you and grabs hold and won’t let go. I could go on and on. There are really no low points on this record and everything is paced out well. You get your moments to breathe and soak in the melodic elements, then you’re right back to moshing your heart out. This album perfectly encompasses everything that makes BMTH so great and that’s why it grabbed the top spot in my rankings. This album is a landmark release that is going to be seen as a classic for years to come. It may not have been their breakout album, but it is their masterpiece and one that fans new and old will flock to for years to come.
Favorite Tracks:
Can You Feel My Heart?
Shadow Moses
Sleepwalking
Antivist
The House of Wolves
And the Snakes Start to Sing
Empire (Let Them Sing)
*Header photo by Brooke Champine*