Bring Me The Horizon “Post Human: Survival Horror” EP Review

If there’s one good thing to come out of this year, it’s all the new music that has been written in lockdown with the current corrupt state of the world as its sole inspiration. Before the pandemic, Yorkshire genre-defiers Bring Me The Horizon had already announced their plans to start releasing new material more frequently as EPs. With several ideas already up their sleeves, the downfall of 2020 has overflown them with fuel for creativity, resulting in the Post Human tetralogy. The first of the four-part series, Post Human: Survival Horror,has surpassed fans’ and critics’ expectations with its unforeseen aggression as the close follow-up to 2019’s pop-driven amo. Its fusion of nostalgic heaviness and cyberpunk influence from video game soundtrack artist Mick Gordon creates an immense sound that Bring Me fans have been craving for years.

Opening with what is easily the heaviest song they’ve released in a long time, the burning “Dear Diary,” is sure to have you immediately hooked if you’ve been missing the band’s earlier days. The raucous guitars and ferocious screams sound like they would fit right into There Is a Hell… (2010), while guitarist Lee Malia’s short but sweet solo is reminiscent of Count Your Blessings (2006). The track’s erratically turbulent movement vividly captures vocalist Oli Sykes’s growing frustration with isolation as he spits lines like “The sky is falling, it’s fucking boring / I’m going braindead, isolated.” The song is refreshing proof that even after exploring every crevice of pop and electronic, Bring Me are still perfectly capable of writing thrashing metal tunes that feel just as authentic as they did ten years ago.

The seething “Parasite Eve” has an apocalyptic edge and more relevant lyrics that were surprisingly written before the COVID days, with the original inspiration coming from a Japanese superbug Sykes had been reading about. It kicks off with a Bulgarian chant that locks in your attention, and the rest feels like the build-up of a riot or a war. Sykes demands, “When we forget the infection, will we remember the lesson?” in the uproarious chorus as shrieking synths battle with roaring guitars. It’s not until the breakdown, however, that pure chaos erupts with Sykes repeatedly screaming “This is a war” followed by an ear-splitting screech.

Linkin Park influence shines brightly for “Teardrops,” a rumbling electronic rock tune full of vigorous melodies and blaring instrumentals. Sykes explained in his interview with BBC Radio 1, “This song is about how our moral compass is a little bit skewed because we’re so numb to the bad news every single day and it’s hard to know what we should actually do about that.” He belts out one-liners like “The emptiness is heavier than you think,” condemning the normalization of world corruption – which then leads into the anarchic “Obey” advising, “Just don’t wake up and smell the corruption.” This one features a surprisingly fitting performance from fellow Yorkshire artist YUNGBLUD, one of several Bring Me The Horizon collaborations that proves musicians from different genres can work together sensibly. Despite the concept’s pessimistic outlook, each song is a rallying cry that brings the world’s most pressing life-and-death issues to light, calling out to humanity for change.

Survival Horror also includes the 2019 track “Ludens” which fits effortlessly into the bunch. Originally made for the video game DEATH STRANDING, it was written and recorded in five days in a hotel room due to a strict deadline. From glitching white noise to a brutal breakdown, this song has elements of each of the band’s last three records. It starts off sounding like it could be a bonus track from amo (2019), but when it builds up for the massive second chorus it sounds like That’s the Spirit (2015). Then when Sykes suddenly screams “Give me a BREAK” and the breakdown erupts, it unexpectedly unleashes major Sempiternal (2013)vibes.

“Itch for the Cure (When Will We Be Free?)” makes a clever reference to Linkin Park’s “Cure for the Itch” and serves as a crucial introduction to the valiant “Kingslayer,” both featuring vocals from BABYMETAL. The contrast between Su-metal and Sykes’s voices enhances their unique strengths. Packed with industrial elements, clashing electronics, ambitious lyrics and a dynamic range of screams, these tracks sound like they belong in the climactic scene of an anime movie. The jolting energy carries on for “1×1” with its savage guest performance from Nova Twins beautifully complementing Sykes’s distinctive cleans. They sing together about humanity’s guilt from being programmed to harm other species, as well as people of different ethnicities, religions, genders and sexualities.

The record’s final track is boldly titled “One Day the Only Butterflies Left Will Be in Your Chest as You March Towards Your Death,” ending the record with a heart-rending piano ballad between Sykes and Evanescence vocalist Amy Lee. The evocative lyricism narrates a graphic story in which Sykes represents humanity and Lee represents Mother Nature. They each deliver haunting vocal performances with a sinister tone that is goosebump-inducing, perfectly encapsulating the devastation in a catastrophic aftermath. The song ends with muffled deathcore screams of “Love isn’t in the air” that suddenly come to a halt to finish the EP with a gripping cliffhanger.

Although Post Human: Survival Horror is full of surprises that showcase new sides of the band, those very surprises are what makes the music classic Bring Me The Horizon. It wouldn’t be a Bring Me record without stylistic curveballs being thrown constantly, and knowing them, the next part of the Post Human series will likely be something entirely new all over again. From thrash metal to a stripped-down ballad, they continue to prove that they thrive best when they do whatever they want, disregarding any genre barriers in order to free themselves of creative limitations.

Favorite tracks: …all of them?