Every Bring Me the Horizon Album, Ranked: Critic’s Picks

Before the lockdown in 2020, Sykes wrote “Parasite Eve” – which to him, was about a Japanese virus he heard about and the anxiety he had about the unknown. Then COVID-19 struck, and the single off of Post Human: Survival Horror was shelved for a while because it “felt too close to the bone,” Sykes said. After thinking about it, the band decided to release the single a few weeks later: “In our music we’ve always wanted to escape, but there’s been too much escapism and ignoring the problems in the world.” 

Post Human: Survival Horroris about the feeling of isolation and craving human connection. It was also the next EP following Amo, and made for a total contrast with that set. The 2020 record was also the resurrection of metalcore for Bring Me the Horizon, as the set include some of their heaviest songs since Sempiternal — particularly “Kingslayer,” which would sound like a song straight off Count Your Blessings, if not for the feature appearance by Japanese kawaii metal outfit BABYMETAL.

The kid on the gram was right, this s–t ain’t heavy metal — except it’s more than all right. If this album is pop, then it’s pop perfection. Themes of love, relationships, lack of purpose and depression are on display on Amo, which might be Sykes’ most personal record yet: written following his divorce, it served as a creative outlet for him to let out his emotions, and connect with fans. The song “I Don’t Know What to Say” is a tribute to Sykes’ childhood friend who was dying of cancer, and him not knowing how to comfort someone when their tragic fate has already been sealed, with lyrics like, “Where do you start when you know it has to end?” 

Even though it was a huge departure from the band’s previous work, you can’t help but appreciate while listening how raw and real Sykes’ lyrics are on Amo, and how adventurous the band is venturing into new sounds.  

Bring Me the Horizon’s third album was the last record in their metalcore era, and a great transition between their old and new style. There Is a Hell showed they had already perfected the use of electronics — EDM superstar Skrillex even lends some additional programming to the album — when at the time, that was something a lot of their peers were still unable to pull off.  

The band’s growing maturity is also evident in songs like “It Never Ends,” which reflects the feeling of being trapped in a never-ending situation. Meanwhile, producers Henrik Udd and Dream Evil guitarist Fredrik Nordström added depth to the band’s sonics, as when Sykes’ clean vocals shine over the orchestral outro to “Fuck” — though the band was also still more than capable of creating the uncompromising chaos of “Alligator Blood.”

This was the album that shot Bring Me the Horizon into rock’s mainstream, bringing them to the same playing field as Panic! At The Disco and Pierce the Veil, some of the most successful emo bands at the time. The set also includes some of their best work to date: Songs like “Drown” and “Avalanche” break down mental health struggles (“What doesn’t kill you, makes you wish you were dead/ Got a hole in my soul growing deeper and deeper”), but the music itself is not quite so heavy — taking a different path with a now more-alternative-leaning sound and almost all clean vocals. 

“Every song on the album explores the happiness we can find in the sadness; it’s all about turning dark into light,” said Sykes in a 2015 Billboard interview. The band’s newfound sound streamlined their appeal — making them more accessible to non-metalheads — and resulted in Spirit becoming their top 10 breakthrough on the Billboard 200 albums chart, reaching No. 2 in Oct. 2015.

This is Bring Me the Horizon at their very best. The 2013 release was the album that changed everything for BMTH, and it marked a lot of firsts for the band — one being the introduction to Fish, who’s been credited as the mastermind behind so many changes the band has gone through over the years. Sempiternal also marked the first major sonic shift for the band, as it steered away from their deathcore sound and moved them into post-hardcore territory.

Not only was this album held dear by any emo kid in the early 2010s, it also was a pivotal one for Sykes — as he wrote it after his stay in rehab, seeking treatment for his ketamine addiction. It showcases the frontman completely vulnerable in numbers like “Sleepwalking” (“My skin’s smothering me/ Help me find a way to breathe”) and “Can You Feel My Heart,” which enjoyed a recent resurgence on TikTok. Yet even now, listening to the breakdowns and shredding in “Shadow Moses” leaves you wanting to risk your life in the mosh pit.