It is really easy to discard new music when it doesn’t fit in the box you try to put it in. With music, particularly metal and the heavier genres, I think we have a tendency to judge a song, an album and even an artist on their most recent work. If a record comes out that is experimental, it’s easy to write it off. It has happened countless times before, with a recent example of Linkin Park’s One More Light coming to mind. It was different, wasn’t as heavy, but it was good in its own way. That album just took time to understand.
I must admit, when I first heard “MANTRA,” the lead single off the new album amo from Bring Me The Horizon, I immediately wrote down the release date in my calendar. This record was going to be huge. I heard Oli Sykes say in an interview it was going to take fans awhile to understand amo. When I first listened to it, I realized what he meant. This album embraces EDM/Synth and a lot of pop elements. I tried to review the album several times and kept walking away from it. Not because I didn’t like it, but because I didn’t understand it. I didn’t know how to articulate it. Time has given me some perspective.
One of the heaviest songs on the album, and one I really got into, is “wonderful life” featuring Dani Filth of Cradle of Filth. An interesting anecdote: BMTH wrote the song for Limp Bizkit’s new album but when Fred Durst didn’t show up to the collaboration they decided to keep it!
Another standout track is “heavy metal,” a song about the band being true to themselves on this album, knowing it may not resonate with all their fans (it reached #1 in the U.K. and isn’t far behind in the US, so there are certainly more that like it than don’t).
“sugar honey ice & tea” is likely to be the next single on the album. The song is catchy and poppy, using a lot of voice tracks and EDM beats in the background, and is a good representation on the way the band is trending. “medicine” is another track with standout appeal, is a bit on the heavier side and has a huge chorus that is both dynamic and engaging.
Over the past few years I’ve learned the importance of keeping an open mind with new music. After all, it’s not like amo is a far cry for Bring Me the Horizon. The main tracks off their biggest album, 2015’s That’s the Spirit, were “Happy Song” and “Throne,” both of which had a heavy synth presence. amo is different, but it’s true to the band and expresses where they are.
I didn’t love the album the first time I heard it. I didn’t understand it and I was disappointed the band “dialed back”. Then I thought to myself, when Metallica released Kill ‘Em All, thrash wasn’t common or accepted. Black Sabbath was controversial and too heavy for the time. Hell, a lot of people didn’t understand what the Beatles were doing and they changed music. So I gave amo another shot, and I am glad I did. Because while it’s not as heavy as I prefer, it’s a solid album and there are a lot of great tracks.
What are your thoughts on the new album amo from Bring Me The Horizon? Catch the band on tour through February 16 with special guests Thrice and FEVER 333.
TAGS: Bring Me The Horizon
Email: jbone.spinningthoughts@outlook.com
Twitter: @JBoneBass
Share with a friend who loves music
Premiere episodes every Thursday at Midnight ET / Wednesday 9 PT on idobi Radio
Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite platform
Spinning Thoughts 