BRING ME THE HORIZON: Post Human: Nex Gen (ALTERNATIVE ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

Bring Me The Horizon initially emphasized a metalcore spirit before revealing some melodic inclinations on their third album. The English band from Sheffield has gradually limned its extreme character by adopting a more eclectic approach, mixing alternative rock, pop music and electro. After the criticized "Amo", which followed the band's guiding principle of not limiting themselves to a single genre, Bring Me The Horizon returned to a certain heaviness on their previous opus, "Post Human:Survival Horror", released in 2020.

The eighth album "Post Human: NeX Gen" is clearly in the same vein as its predecessor. The band offers pop metal tracks as touching as they are searing. Moments of serenity follow real vocal storms. The pervasive influences of Linkin Park and Green Day prove that the band is revisiting music from its childhood, but without totally losing its identity. A track like 'Kool-Aid' proudly bears the British flag, with its big guitars, howling vocals and pop breaks, as does 'Top 10 Statues That Cried Blood', which adds a Californian punk spirit to the right kind of electro sounds. The acoustic ballad 'n/A' suffers violent blasts during its course but manages to hold its own, and this track could become a radio hit (Francis Zegut, if you're listening...). The peak of the album is reached on the final track 'Dig It', which plays on the contrasts between acoustic and electro/metal jolts.

This schizophrenic aspect of the English band's music doesn't always hold up over time, however. This need to break new ground at every turn unbalances the structure of certain tracks, and the whole is sometimes too obvious (the slowing down of 'Kool-Aid', the predictable 'A Bullet With My Name On'). An anxiety-inducing track like 'Spiritual' could have done with a little more structure, while 'DiE4u' has all the contemporary clichés. The previous album boasted the recruitment of Amy Lee (Evanescence) or Babymetal, and without denying the qualities of Aurora, Lil Uzi Vert, Daryl Palumbo (Glassjaw) and Underoath, the casting is not as flashy here. The duets aren't particularly memorable either, especially 'Amen', which is rather messy and sorely lacking in consistency.

This eighth album offers a broad overview of the band's rebellious aesthetic. Some of the album's moments are ultra-predictable, others less inspired, as if on autopilot. Nevertheless, it's a pleasant listen that makes you want to dive back into a discography as generous as it is dense. - Official website

BRING ME THE HORIZON

POST HUMAN: NEX GEN

SONY MUSIC

ALTERNATIVE ROCK