Review: Bring Me The Horizon 'That's the Spirit'

* This review was co-written with my mate Tom.

BRING ME THE HORIZON - That's the Spirit (2015, Columbia)

BMTH got us used to controversy, yet this fifth studio album will likely be the most debated move in the band's career. But that's the spirit, innit? Yet, this not-so-radical 'reinvention' had been announced by previous LP Sempiternal (2013, Epitaph), which had initiated the change in BMTH's sound, and confirmed by the sole single released in 2014, Drown. This new track premiered in the tracklist of the band's majestic show for the Live at Wembley DVD.
That's the Spirit came out today 11th September 2015. It was recorded at the Black Rock Studios (Santorini island, Greece) and produced by band members Oli Sykes and Jordan Fish. 

Tracklist:

1. Doomed
2. Happy Song
3. Throne
4. True Friends
5. Follow You
6. What You Need
7. Avalanche
8. Run
9. Drown
10. Blasphemy
11. Oh No

Drown

This record is miles away from debut metalcore album Count your Blessings (2006). The full-on screaming left place to a majority of clean vocals. Not only Oli can sing, but he has proven to improve his singing with the last couple of records. Would it be fair to say that That's the Spirit has more of a pop-rock vibe to it? I do understand the disappointment of their early-fans with regards to the band's new sound. BMTH has simply evolved too much for their liking.

Now, don't get me wrong, I ADORE this album. It is by far my favourite by BMTH and perhaps even of the year. However, it is because I personally don't really like their earlier sound. I am more of an easycore/pop-punk lover than metal. 

Anyway if anyone comes rain on their parade, BMTH got it covered: they brought an umbrella...

Yesterday on Instagram, Oli explained the concept behind this new record:

The shadow describes the part of the psyche that an individual would rather not acknowledge. It contains the denied parts of the self. Since the self contains these aspects, they surface in one way or another. The greatest power comes from having accepted your shadow parts & integrated them as components of your Self. Everyone carries a shadow, & the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. At all counts, it forms an unconscious snag, thwarting our most well-meant intentions. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. This album is a celebration of the darkness, because everything may seem bleak & black on the outside, but inside us all is a world of colour & emotion that we NEED to let take over & not ignore, & that's the long winded explanation for the album concept & the artwork. Let's get this album to no.1 & give a big fuck you to the rest of the world. Go out & pick up a physical copy of #thatsthespirit tomorrow <3

Starting slowly Doomed sets the scene: lyrically on top of the genre, the vibes on guitar build the tension. Jordan's keyboard getting a bigger place amongst the tracks. This song appears to me as a electro sequel of Can you feel my heart.

Happy Song

Happy Song was the second single put out by the band. Incorporating the title of the album, we can hear a powerful song with a strong meaning, being possibly used by many as a self-help song with lines such as But if I sing along a little fucking louder to a happy song, I'll be alright. The 'cheerleading' bit makes it a great song to make the audience participate during a gig.

Throne

Throne's video is inspired by Game Of Thrones (admitted in an interview with Jordan and Matt in Paris for OUI FM in September 2015). Here again, lyrics such as Every wound will shape me, every scar will build my throne could become the fans and emo wannabes' new mantra! This song is my personal favourite, although I have to admit that I struggled to choose one.

True Friends, What You Need and Run return to BMTH's old style with a hint of screamo and guitars making you want to shout the words out loud as to get it all out of your system. True Friend is about betrayal and its lines such as

Cause I'll forget but I'll never forgive you

Don't you know, don't you know?

True friend stab you in the front

are guaranteed to be fans' new post-fight therapeutic anthem. What You Need and Run both got a pop-rock vibe in the verses and a more powerful and louder chorus.

Follow you is a ballad. It's unexpectedly very pop. It wouldn't sound like a BMTH song at all if the lyrics were not so typical BMTH. 

Avalanche is the last track being previewed before the full release of the album and is said to be about Oli's addiction and ADHD. 

Two sentences are making this Tom's favourite track:

I need a cure for me cause a square doesn't fit a circle

Gimme a remedy, cause my head wasn't wired for this world

Drown did not change much since the first version of December 2014, but it is  still nice to hear it back on the album with full production. I remember reading that Oli wrote it to be an 'arena song' and you can judge for yourself here under:

Drown - Live at Wembley DVD

Blasphemy gets a little energy back from the hate-vibe Oli puts in, with a little guitar solo on the bridge and is a nice way to bring the record towards its ending track.

Finally, Oh No is a good finish to a great album, including a saxophone part on the bridge, allowing to build momentum and give a nudge to the last chorus.

From front to back, That's The Spirit definitely found its place the Top 3 favorite albums of 2015 for the both of us! Well placed guitar riffs,  bass and drums setting the beat, keyboards on point, lyrics as dark and poetic as BMTH's got us used to and Oli's powerful voice, altogether create the ultimate rock band we know and love. Introducing, ladies and gents, one of the most influential rock band of our generation, perhaps ready to headline Reading & Leeds next year, it has been recently rumored.

In the meantime, see BMTH live, with some awesome support acts, during their US tour (October):

 and EU tour (November), it has no date in Ireland unfortunately:

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THAT'S THE SPIRIT AND BMTH CHANGE OF SOUND? LET US KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.