ALBUM REVIEW: Bring Me The Horizon - POST HUMAN: NeX GEn
“Is Bring Me The Horizon The Best Band In Music Right Now?”
by Jesse Smith
20 years ago, a couple kids from Sheffield would start the biggest band in Alternative Music. Who would have thought, right? A Deathcore band would turn into a musical empire. Well here we are in 2024 and that band from Sheffield released their 9th studio album titled ‘POST HUMAN: NeX GEn’ and I believe they’ve solidified their place at the top of Alternative Music. I’m not just including metalcore anymore, because you can’t, they have transcended from any one genre and have been completely off the rails for years. Bring Me The Horizon has paved new paths for music and this record is going to define this generation of music.
“Artwork for POST HUMAN: NEX GEN”
2015 we got a completely different album than anyone was expecting with “That’s The Spirit” which was the transition from Metalcore scene to Mainstream Rock. After that was “Amo” and that was a controversial release. You can all act like it wasn’t but it 100% was. We thought we were losing our champion, because remember as they were seeing mainstream success, they would respect their core fanbase which is how they kept the rally behind them. So even with a Dani Filth feature, this leaned more into the mainstream and pop arrangements. Not exactly sure what “Music to listen to..” was about, but that happened. But leads us to 2020 with “POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL ERROR” which for the time was fitting. This album leaned back into the heavier side of Rock with songs like ‘Parasite Eve’ and ‘Kingslayer’ which has the dopest feature. But now, that leads us to NeX GEn.
Listening through this 16 track album (Which is almost double what their previous albums have been at 9) I was so unprepared to hear what I heard. I have heard some of the singles like ‘LosT’ and ‘STraNgeRs’ which definitely fit the album, but I wasn’t thinking that they would really lean back into the metal side of themselves. Here is what really blew me away, It wasn’t leaning into their old style of metalcore. No No, this was leaning into the current state of metal NOW. This album is riddled with fast double bass, intricate rhythm patterns, and screams! But it wasn’t just that. The incorporation of Glitchcore, Synthpop, and straight pop music was so on the nose with what is dominating TikTok and other social media. “Top 10 staTues tHat CriEd bloOd” was a standout track to me and is one of my favorites. The energy and genre bending that this song is from front to back is incredible. Fast, aggressive, energetic and interesting. This song had help from Rj Pasin who has gained a massive following creating cool guitar loops on TikTok that sounds very processed and easy for Glitchcore and Hyperpop artists to use. You hear that same kind of influence in ‘LoST’. ‘AmEN!’ is another monster track which is one of the heaviest on the album and it features Daryl Palumbo of Glassjaw & Lil Uzi Vert. This to me is one of the largest tracks on the album, and by large I mean that it would be that I can feel that it would have a heavy impact live. Another notable song is ‘a bulleT w/ my namE on’ which features Underoath. This is another high energy track but I felt this melody was super catchy and when the song does have its heavy parts it hits! I could go on and on about these songs but my favorite is ‘liMOusIne” and this was the one that shocked me the most. It is the heaviest track on the album but not in a metalcore way. Recently, the sexy heavy nu metal sound that Deftones perfected has reemerged with bands like Sleep Token. This track is right up that alley and frankly it was jaw dropping. They nailed that sound almost like a nod to the music scene now saying “Yeah, we can do this too, and we can do it just as good if not better”.
Bring Me The Horizon has been ahead of the curve their whole career but this album came at the perfect time. This album feels different in a sense that they took everything that influences them and did what every artist tries to do and blends them and make something new. They didn’t hold back this time, there was no barrier and if there was, they broke it down with minimal effort. They made the music everyone wanted but were too scared to make. NeX gEN took everything popular and made something so unique and incredible that there is no way that anyone can tell me there is a better band out there right now doing what they’re doing.
So.. Do you think BMTH is the best band in alternative music?