Album Review: Bring Me the Horizon-Sempiternal

England's Bring Me the Horizon has never exactly been my favorite band in the world. Their first two records, Count Your Blessings and Suicide Season, are amongst the most generic and just plain worst metal records I've ever listened to. Their last record There is a Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There is a Heaven, Let's Keep It a Secret had some nice ideas and a couple of good songs, but it often went back to their generic roots and wasn't really worth the listen overall. I checked out their latest record Sempiternal based on the reception it's been getting and I have to say I was genuinely surprised with the results. 

Sempiternal is completely unlike anything Bring Me the Horizon has done in the past. It's primarily rooted in post-hardcore/rock with touches of ambient and electronic music opposed to the metal/deathcore they've explored in the past (To be fair, there were bits of post-hardcore and experimentation on their last record, but nothing quite like this.) The change in sound is a welcome one for the band, who undoubtedly crafts the finest music of their career thus far on Sempiternal. Save for the singles "Shadow Moses" and "Anti-Vist", Nothing on this album sounds like anything they have ever done before. I honestly can't even believe this is the same band that recorded songs like "Pray for Plagues" and "Chelsea Smile". The music on Sempiternal is catchy and often atmospheric. There is an unexpected plethora of cool synth lines, interesting string arrangements, and quality riffs from guitarist Lee Maira. The first two tracks, "Can You Feel My Heart" and "The House of Wolves", are particularly impressive from a musical standpoint and managed to get stuck in my head immediately. Who knew that a band that had been so generic for so long was able to create something infectious and memorable? The amount of melody and complex song structure is a far cry from the breakdown-heavy material we're used to hearing from Bring Me the Horizon and while it might drive away some of their old fans, they've never sounded better musically.

For all the progress they've made musically, there is still one thing dragging Bring Me the Horizon down: vocalist Oli Sykes. Sykes turns in yet another poor vocal performance that all but ruins the strong music the band was able to create on this record. I will admit that his clean vocals that are used on a majority of Sempiternal are better than his screams, but that's really not saying much since his screams we're a large part of why their first couple records are so intolerable. Sykes's cleans are stagnant and strained and don't really fit the style of the music they are going for on this record. Tracks like "Crooked Young", "And The Snakes Start to Sing" and "Empire (Let Them Sing)" would've been excellent with solid vocals, but Sykes completely drops the ball and makes these tracks only listenable from a musical standpoint. It's really a shame that an album that is great musically ends up being average due to weak vocals.

Sempiternal is a frustratingly average record. It could've been so much more if Oli Sykes wasn't the vocalist. Sykes's presence on this record makes a very good album instantly mediocre. That being said, this still is a major stepping stone album for Bring Me the Horizon. The evolution this band has gone through on Sempiternal makes me very optimistic for their future. They have just about completely abandoned their boring old sound and have found a new niche in the post-hardcore/ambient community. If they had a different vocalist, Sempiternal would be one of the best records I've heard so far this year, but sadly it's one of the more average ones solely because of the feeble vocals of Oli Sykes.

2.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.The House of Wolves
2.Can You Feel My Heart
3.Hospital for Souls