Album Review: BRING ME THE HORIZON – ‘Sempiternal’

Release Date: April 29th, 2013

Genre:  Metalcore

Length:  44:11

Label:  RCA, Epitaph

Producer:  Terry Date

Background

This is it. The big one. The best possible way to start a music review blog. One of the most anticipated records of 2013, ‘Sempiternal’ is certain to be one of those albums that you just cannot ignore. It is the fourth album by Sheffield-based metalcore unit Bring Me The Horizon, the first to feature Jordan Fish on keyboards and programming after the departure of Jona Weinhofen, the band’s former rhythm guitarist.

The album was recorded from July-September of last year at the Angelic Studio in Banbury, Oxfordshire and produced by Terry Date, well known in the rock and metal industry for his work with artists such as Slipknot, Limp Bizkit, Pantera and Deftones to name a few.

Review

The record sees Bring Me The Horizon adopting a much refined and much polished sound in contrast to the previous releases of Count Your Blessings, Suicide Season and 2010’s There Is A Hell… The shift to a major label in RCA Records may have concerned long time fans of the band, with the main worry being that the record could be percieved as more commercialised in comparison to earlier releases. These fans needn’t worry; ‘Sempiternal’ is arguably the most beautifully cruel Bring Me The Horizon release to date.

Track by Track

Can You Feel My Heart is possibly the only song I can criticise on this album. It offers a rather weak opening to an otherwise well crafted record. While the much improved and much more diverse vocals of Oli Sykes ring out amongst the backdraft of a wall of electronic energy brought to the table by new keyboardist Jordan Fish, the otherwise heavy and complex riffs that Bring Me The Horizon have showcased on previous releases are firmly absent in this track. It would seem that Bring Me The Horizon have used this intro track as a way of giving people a taste of things to come. This track for me is the only real disappointment on the album.

The House Of Wolves saw me breathe a sigh of relief, as it is almost normal service resumed for Bring Me The Horizon. With a style similar to that of ‘The Fox and The Wolf’ from There Is A Hell…, this track is where the album really begins to stamp out it’s intent. Alternating between up-tempo riffs and anthemic gang-vocal orientated choruses, this track is clearly one that has been crafted for a live environment and shows the intent that Bring Me The Horizon are no longer about to play small venues and have the burning desire to fill much bigger venues. This track is one I can definitely see being stomped out live on a regular basis, with crowd involvement of paramount importance.

Empire (Let Them Sing) sees Bring Me The Horizon drawing on their previous material with the djent-orientated riffs prominent and yet beautifully intertwined with the electronic elements that let the first track down so badly. Oli Sykes’ agonising screeches backed up by melodic gang vocals are done to absolute perfection and make for great listening, a credit to Terry Date’s excellent production ability.

Sleepwalking is one of the highlights of the album, and by this point, the disappointment that was Can You Feel My Heart is almost forgotten. The track begins with a melodic electronic opening before Lee Malia’s guitar chords barge their way into the mix, complemented brilliantly by some astute drum work from Matt Nicholls. The song represents a huge turn for the better in terms of where the album is taking you. The chorus leaves you wanting to scream it at the top of your lungs – definitely another track for much bigger live venues. An absolute epic.

Go To Hell For Heaven’s Sake unfortunately lowers the tone once more. It seems to be more of a filler track than anything else. However, it was always going to be difficult to follow a track like Sleepwalking, and the track still maintains the status quo of the album by being another anthemic track.

Shadow Moses is up next. What can you say about this song? Absolutely ferocious in every aspect, from the melodic intro to the stomping opening breakdown that just makes you want to flail limbs everywhere and smash holes in everything, all the way to the anthemic choruses and gang vocals. If you haven’t heard this track yet I’m amazed you’re even bothering to read this review, let alone pick up the album. Every album has a standout track, which is usually not the one the band first releases. This is an exception. Arguably the best song Bring Me The Horizon have crafted across all four albums.

And The Snakes Start To Sing has a tough job following on from Shadow Moses and for that reason, Bring Me The Horizon have elected to throw in a much more relaxed track to offer a contrast. Sykes’ vocals sound so passionate as if he means every word he is singing, with the guitars and piano in the background seemingly taking the direction of a ballad, the sort of thing most fans won’t be frequent listeners of, but it’s great to see Bring Me The Horizon having the confidence to take on new musical directions and to pull them off successfully. Not to mention the final chorus is incredible.

Seen It All Before has been set up beautifully by the previous track, with the opening again taking on a very melodic direction which is soon stamped out by a perfect combination of chords and electronics before drifting back into ambience and continuing to alternate, with yet more anthemic choruses. Follows on from And The Snakes Start To Sing beautifully.

Antivist is one of the more controversial songs on the album. Rumours have spread that the lyrical content is aimed at ex-guitarist Jona Weinhofen, who has since claimed on Twitter that the song was written about UK metal outfit Architects. Go figure. Away from the lyrical content though, this song is one of the heaviest on the album, with an absolute monster of an intro before kicking into some sort of Limp Bizkit/RATM-esque break and then kicking back into sheer brutality. It’s interesting that Bring Me The Horizon released this as the second single from the album, given that singles are used to generate more airplay, where this song is certainly not one for daytime radio.

Crooked Young follows, with some ‘It Never Ends’ style violins accompanying guttoral guitar lines and Sykes’ trademark screaming brutality seemingly aimed in a religious direction, with lyrics such as “fuck your faith” being repeated regularly. This adds to the emphasis of this track, it’s extremely aggressive and great to see that in an album mashed with anthems that Bring Me The Horizon can still maintain the levels of aggression and brutality that propelled them to where they are today.

Hospital For Souls is just a delight to listen to. The intro is nothing short of breathtaking and being the final track it really does sum up what the album is all about. The track takes the listener on a journey that is reflective of the album and is one I can see fans reacting extremely well to should it be played in a live setting. Whilst the rest of the lyrical content on the album has seemed to be Sykes admitting he has made mistakes and making up for them in the form of an apology, this one is drenched in the self pity we saw prominent on previous releases and is a sign that Bring Me The Horizon, although they have crafted a wonderful album, have merely expanded their horizons rather than take an entire new direction with their music, and I personally cannot wait to hear even more material from these boys, although I, like many others, will probably have to wait very impatiently for 3 years or so.

RATING: 9/10

Listen to: Sleepwalking, Shadow Moses, Antivist, Hospital For Souls.