Post Human: Survival Horror by Bring Me the Horizon: An Unrelenting but Flawed Masterpiece

Bring Me The Horizon is having an incredible decade. Their 2015 album 'That’s the Spirit' was instrumental in bringing about the revival of British heavy metal for a mainstream audience. It was an album that Blended R&B and trap production, EDM, mainstream pop, emo and metal-core to create a sound that was at once iconic, raw and brutal. 

Several more projects followed including the strong (but not necessarily as ground-breaking) 'Amo,' the genre bending 'Music to…' and not forgetting their electro-punk track 'Ludens' for the Hideo Kojiema package-delivery-sim-on-acid Death Stranding. 

Now they have released the epicentre of all these projects, an EP that brings together their strong interest in video games, Oli Sykes unforgettable lyrics and their love of all things metal. 

That EP is Post Human: Survival Horror. 

As it implies in the title this is not a stand-alone EP. It is the start of a planned 5 EP long-form concept album with each EP based on a different game genre. And be prepared it’s an EP that is as unrelenting as it’s producer Mick Gordon's other masterpiece, the nerve shredding, heart-pumping soundtrack to Doom Eternal. If that's not enough then guest performances from acts including Baby Metal and Youngblud may convince you that this is not an EP for people looking for a relaxing time.

To counter the claims made by Joe Goggins’ in The I Newspaper’s review, it's not a ‘diversion’, it's a step back to the early days and the original sound of the band before ‘That's The Spirit.' And that will be a turnoff for some of their more casual listeners. 

An early example of this comes in the third track, 'Teardrops.' At turns it’s aggressive and emotional. It’s lyrics are a plea for some sort of normality in a world gone sideways. But it's music is the relentless sound that characterizes both early BMTH Tracks and Mick Gordon’s production and that's the factor that may divide the fanbase. 

However, tracks like Parasite Eve, an ode to the Japanese Survival Horror RPG game from which the track takes it's name, pitches the balance perfectly. It channels the same pocket symphony status as BMTH’s 'Ludens.' It's a mix of powerful electronics, doomy guitar dubs and Ollie Sykes voice practically tearing into the microphone that is instantly schlocky, pulpy and fun.

Similarly 'Obey,' their collaboration with Youngblood, is thundering industrial metal that wouldn’t be out of place in a Silent Hill game, its fuzzing, glitching sound making early Nine Inch Nails look tame in comparison.  

In some ways then its no surprise that as a listener by the end I felt exhausted. And in some ways this is where the EP falters. It's so caught up in its own unrelenting drive that it can feel as though you are merely just a punch bag for wave after wave of noise. 

Despite this the EP is imaginative, wearing its inspiration firmly on its sleeve with possibly some of the best material that BMTH has produced in a long time. 

And if this is only the beginning I can’t wait to hear what they create next.