Friday, April 5, 2013

New Album Review; Bring Me The Horizon - "Sempiternal"


Bring Me The Horizon - Sempiternal
Released on April 2nd, 2013, "Sempiternal" is Bring Me The Horizon's fourth studio album, and a follow up to the highly acclaimed "There is a Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There is a Heaven, Lets Keep It a Secret". "Sempiternal" builds further upon the musical styles explored in "There is a Hell...", and, with a great effort, comes close to perfecting it. 

Clocking in at a solid 45 minutes (without the bonus songs), "Sempiternal" doesn't drag along, and yet, doesn't seem too short either; steamrolling along with pounding riff after riff. Every song on the album is at least 3 minutes long; a hard hitting, blitzing song called 'Antivist' is the shortest, and the longest, 'Hospital of Souls', an almost 7 minute epic, closes out the album with a haunting chill. 

Picking highlights from the album is an almost impossible chore; 'Can You Feel My Heart' starts the album off with a chilling look at emotion and the demons we all face; and Sykes sings like he's got nothing left; "I'm scared to get close, and I hate being alone / I can't drown my demons, they know how to swim"...

But of course; BMTH doesn't turn away from being direct and to the point with lyrics; songs like 'The House of Wolves', 'Antivist', and 'Crooked Young' bring this directly to the forefront. The no-holds-barred approach to these songs could be off-putting, if they weren't so forceful. Each of the songs charges ahead with reckless abandon, and yet, never seems to far off the chain. 'Crooked Young', especially, makes a statement, with it's catchphrase; "Fuck your faith! No one is gonna save you!"...

Oliver Sykes, lead singer, has always been more of a screamer than a singer, but when he wants to, his singing voice is a force to be reckoned with; 'And The Snakes Start To Sing' and 'Seen It All Before' best exemplify Sykes willingness to explore the bands vocal and musical range, and both are wonderful additions, and at the very least, great breaks from the blistering pace of the rest of the album. 

BMTH's talent and willingness to be creative is never more evident than in the song 'Sleepwalking'; one of the released singles. A hard song that manages to somehow stay mellow as well, 'Sleepwalking' does anything but sleepwalk; it presses on and manages to always keep you wrapped up inside the wonderful soundscapes that the band creates. 

'Hospital of Souls', the final song on the album, is a masterpiece of creativity; building wonderfully into a song that just cannot be ignored; "Hold me close, don't let go, watch me..." is repeated multiple times before finally rising into a screamed cry for help; "Hold me close, don't let go, watch me burn!" The pure emotion Sykes sings with is unrivaled and really finishes the record off with a chilling exit.

Bring Me The Horizon hit a high point with "There is A Hell...", but they've pushed the envelope even farther with an amazing effort in "Sempiternal"

1 comment:

  1. I'm not the biggest fan of this genre, but it was a well written review! Nice work, Brody, keep it up. You will not regret it.

    One thing to keep in mind, this is your blog. Do what you want and you can always branch out. A simple music blog in time can become a wonderful surplus of general topics about many mediums of entertainment, but it's also completely respected to stick with one thing and put in as much effort as possible.

    Just keep it up, again, nice work!

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