#Youtopia and Venus and Love Me Not…

[sheepie-self-ships]

You know how couples will have “their song”,,,,,,,,,, guagh you need to make a playlist of songs of your selfship… like not a normal selfship playlist, these are YOUR SONGS… your anthems… your ship theme songs…

Rb and put in the tags YOUR selfship’s SONGS.

[myremains]

The career trajectory of Sheffield’s Bring Me The Horizon is something I would never have predicted. Not the change in sound and style, the sheer fame and popularity they would reach, the huge venues they’d sell out, none of it. With these guys you never know whether you’re getting some grit or mainstream appeal, it’s always a guessing game, but that adds to the mystique and mystery. 2024 marks 20 years of BMTH and in that time they’ve put out 9 very different albums.

A lot of the tracks have been out for a while now - arguably I didn’t fully appreciate some of them until now - so let’s recap. Back in 2021 we got “DiE4u” which really didn’t land with me, it was too - for lack of better words - glittery and shiny even though I can see what they went for, it just wasn’t for me. 2022 they dropped “sTraNgeRs” which I didn’t even pick up on till this album dropped and now is easily my favourite Bring Me The Horizon song of all time, another testament to the relatability between the band and the audience, the pain beckons to you and swallows you whole. Almost exactly a year ago we got “LosT”, which is extraordinarily inviting with a melancholy sweetness relatable to anyone who has suffered from mental health issues, depicting the mask we wear when the pain is scratching beneath the surface, grabs me every time. A month later we had “AmEN!” featuring Lil Uzi Vert and Glassjaw vocalist Daryl Palumbo, it was like a left hook from Mike Tyson, it’s incredible from start to finish, one of the heaviest songs they’ve put out in a long time, the ear shattering explosive drop at the end makes me so happy. October last year brought “DArkSide”, a harrowing oh so familiar story around feeling suicidal, the haunting melody entices and the darkness of the subject seeps in through the skin, chilling. Then finally and what seems to be the most popular of all the singles was “Kool-Aid”, initially I was resistant but before long I was doing the claps like everyone else, it’s beautiful metaphor for the current climate of society, with a sugary sour crashing of tones made purposefully to damage the human neck. “liMOusIne” guest features Norwegian singer songwriter AURORA, I have to tell you straight away that this is basically a Diamond Eyes era Deftones song, that’s not necessarily a bad thing as Deftones are phenomenal however the likeness is a touch too uncanny to be mistaken, I’m never going to discourage them from utilising this style in the future and quite frankly it breaks the album up with something new. “YOUtopia” is another Deftonesy track but the difference with this one I felt was that it was influenced by them rather than pretty much just being something they’ve written. “n/A” was a big track from my perspective, it’s a very steady acoustic track about addiction that picks up more and more as the track goes on, I feel an indie influence at play but that contrasted with the lyrics makes an unusual setting for lyrics such as “Make Love To A Chainsaw”, it’s my jam.

After the first part of the Post Human series, they proved they could take us by surprise and reminded us exactly who they are, it ignited a fire of hope inside me and with this big sparkling diamond of a record I believe will stand the test of time. I never thought I’d find a replication of that feeling of exploring Sempiternal again, by no means is there a replication but full evolutionary step. Ok guys, I get it, I’ll keep my mouth shut about your going soft, you just do you and keep the journey as exciting and mysterious as you’ve managed to thus far.

[10/10]