Bring Me The Horizon

Bring Me the Horizon is a British metalcore band from Sheffield, Yorkshire. Formed in 2004 by Oliver Sykes, Lee Malia, Matt Kean, Matt Nicholls and Curtis Ward. They are currently signed to RCA in the UK, Epitaph Records in the US and to Shock Records in Australia. Their music has been said to be influenced diversely by grindcore, deathcore and emo. While their earlier work is noted for its strong influence from American metalcore bands, they started to adopt a more electric style of metalcore in future releases. They have released three studio albums and one EP. The band's name is derived from the final line of the film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, in which Captain Jack Sparrow says "Now, bring me that horizon."

The band released their debut album Count Your Blessings on 30 October 2006 in the UK. Their second album, Suicide Season was released 29 September 2008, while a remix of the album titled Suicide Season: Cut Up! was released a year later in November. Prior to the release of the special edition of Suicide Season: Cut Up!, founding rhythm guitarist Curtis Ward left the band due to commitment issues. He was later replaced by Jona Weinhofen, who is also in the band I Killed the Prom Queen. Bring Me the Horizon's third studio album There Is a Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Hell, Let's Keep It a Secret. was released 4 October 2010. The band is currently working on their fourth studio album, Sempiternal, which will be released on April 30, 2013.

History[]

Formation and Debut EP & Album (2004 - 2007)[]

Bring Me the Horizon was formed in March 2004 after all the founding members, who had all been a part of several local and separately defunct bands were noticed by Thirty Days of Night Records and formed the band while signing them, being the first band ever signed to the label. In the months following their formation Bring Me the Horizon created a demo album, titled Bedroom Sessions, featuring two songs that would be re-recorded for their debut release. The demo featured three tracks: "Shed Light/Metal Song", "Who Want's Flowers When You're Dead? Nobody." and an instrumental version of "Rawwwrr!".

The group released their first EP, This Is What the Edge of Your Seat Was Made For on 2 October 2004. The EP was recorded in Nottingham over the course of two weekends, recording the drums and bass guitar in the first weekend and then guitars and vocals in the second weekend in the studio. It was re-released on 20 January 2005 through Visible Noise. The re-release of the EP gained the band a significant amount of attention, peaking at 41 on the UK album charts.

In 2006 Bring Me the Horizon was awarded Best British Newcomer at the 2006 Kerrang! Awards ceremony. They released their debut, full-length album Count Your Blessings in October 2006 in the United Kingdom and in August 2007 in the United States. Across late November and December 2006 Bring Me the Horizon accompanied Lostprophets and The Blackout in a UK tour. In January 2007 Bring Me the Horizon replaced Bury Your Dead on Engage Killswitch Engage's European headline tour. The slot as a support was offered as Bury Your Dead withdrew from the tour because of their vocalist, Mat Bruso, leaving the band.

Suicide Season and Ward's Departure (2008 - 2009)[]

Bring Me the Horizon recorded their second studio album Suicide Season in Sweden with Fredrik Nordstrom. It was promoted viraly in the weeks following up to its release with the tagline "September is Suicide Season". In promotion of the new material from Suicide Season, the band embarked on their first headline tour of the United States, as well as appearing in the 2008 Warped Tour. In May 2008 Bring Me the Horizon was the main supporting band on [Killed The Prom Queen|I Killed the Prom Queen]'s farewell tour in Australia with The Ghost Inside and The Red Shore as supports. Although the tour was short (nine days long), it sold out rapidly. On 18 September 2008 Suicide Season was released in the United States on Epitaph and 29 September in Europe through Visible Noise.

In 2009 Bring Me the Horizon attended the 2009 Kerrang! Tour alongside Black Tide, Dir En Grey, In Case of Fire and Mindless Self Indulgence. They also joined Thursday, Cancer Bats, Four Year Strong and The Veil Pierce the Veil on the North American leg of Taste of Chaos 2009 across February to April. In March 2009 during the Taste of Chaos tour, guitarist Curtis Ward left the band. The band's guitar technician, Dean Rowbotham substituted for Ward on the remaining dates of Taste of Chaos, followed by Australian guitarist Jona Weinhofen, formerly of Bleeding Through and I Killed the Prom Queen, before being asked to join the group on a permanent basis. In November 2009 Bring Me the Horizon released a remixed version of Suicide Season, titled Suicide Season: Cut Up! Musicians and producers featured on the album include Ben Weinman, Skrillex, L'Amour La Morgue, Utah Saints and Shawn Crahan of the band Slipknot. Musically, the album crosses in with many different genres;

including electronica, drums and bass, hip-hop and dubstep. The dubstep style of the record has been acknowledged in tracks from Tek-one another illuminati band and Skrillex while the hip-hop elements are found in Travis McCoy's remix of Chelsea Smile. Dillinger Escape Plan The Dillinger Escape Plan member, Benjamin Weinman's version of "No Need for Introductions I've Read About Girls Like You on the Backs of Toilet Doors" is considerably the most unique with its incorporation of industrial music. Later on, Sykes guested on the Admiral's Arms song "Dawn of the New Age", which appeared on the EP Stories Are Told, released on the same month as Suicide Season: Cut Up!.

There Is a Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven, Let's Keep It a Secret (2010 - 2011)[]

The band's third album and first with their new rhythm guitarist Jona Weinhofen, titled There Is a Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven, Let's Keep It a Secret., was released 4 October 2010 and debuted at number 17 on the Billboard 200 in the US, number 13 on the UK Album Chart, and number 1 on the Australian Albums Chart, the UK Rock Chart and the UK Indie Chart. Despite reaching number 1 in Australia, the album's sales were the lowest for a number 1 album in the history of the ARIA charts.

Matt Nicholls describes the lyrical themes of There Is a Hell being "repercussions of everything we were singing about on our last CD (Suicide Season)", describing the music and lyrics as being a lot more moodier and darker. In 2010 members of Bring Me the Horizon (Jona Weinhofen, Lee Malia and Oli Sykes) guested on "This One's for You" by Australian rapcore band Deez Nuts. Five singles total were released from the album including: "It Never Ends", "Anthem", "Blessed with a Curse", "Visions", and "Alligator Blood", with music videos included for each of the songs. The band embarked on a headline tour in intimate venues across the United Kingdom with support from Cancer Bats and Tek-One.

In December 2010 Bring Me the Horizon joined Bullet for My Valentine as the main support band, along side Atreyu, in a short five date arena tour around the United Kingdom. To cope with high demand Live Nation released extra standing tickets to all dates. Rumours circled as to why Bring Me the Horizon sets were cut short at arenas, cited mainly to do with the shows becoming more violent and less controllable. When asked about the shows, Matt Nicholls said that the band was told that they couldn't climb on any of the stage equipment or set or interact with the crowd. The band opposed these rules by initiating walls of death.

In April 2011 Bring Me the Horizon embarked on a European tour, starting in the United Kingdom. They toured with Parkway Drive and Architects as main support bands, with The Devil Wears Prada as the opening support for the UK and dubstep group Tek-One opening for the remainder of continental Europe. The tour gained much publicity and was considered their biggest headline tour ever and even is stated as the "tour of the year" by Rock Sound. The tour, however, was not without its hindrances. On 28 April Matt Nicholls broke his arm whilst playing football with members of Bring Me the Horizon, Parkway Drive and Architecs, and instead of canceling the tour Architects' drummer Dan Searle filled in as the drummer, this meant that Bring Me the Horizon's setlist was halved in length. An also on 28 April at the Bristol O2 Academy, there was a power cut before Parkway Drive's set. Bring Me the Horizon as a reaction to the power cut decided to do a short 4 track acoustic set featuring: "The Sadness Will Never End", "It Never Ends", "Suicide Season" and "Chelsea Smile". The tour was extended with a North American leg from 31 August to 4 October maintaing Parkway Drive and Architects and including Deez Nuts onto the line up. On 23 August they released the fourth music video and single, "Visions". On 31 October, Halloween, the next music video for the song "Alligator Blood" was released.

On 13 October 2011 it was announced that Bring Me the Horizon was nominated for three Independent Music Awards. In the three categories Best Live Act, Independent Breakthrough of Year and Hardest Working Band or Artist. In December 2011 Machine Head completed an arena tour across Europe with Bring Me the Horizon as the main support band as well as DevilDriver and Darkest Hour as supports. Oliver Sykes has stated that these will be the last European dates they'll do before they start the writing and the recording of their fourth album. Bring Me the Horizon's presence on the tour was met with mixed reception from fans, Dave Bowes of The Fly with a live review of their performance at SECC in Glasgow as "simply in the wrong place at the wrong time but they choose to be the better men..."

2011 concluded with an announcement by the band on 29 December of a new extended play titled The Chill Out Sessions, a collaborative effort with British DJ "Draper". Draper first released a "officially sanctioned" remix of the song "Blessed with a Curse" in May 2011. The EP was originally supposed to be released in time for New Year's Day and to be made available for download and purchase though Bring Me the Horizon's website. However, the EP's release was canceled because of the band's "current management and label situation".

Sempiternal (2011 - present)[]

After the intense touring schedule, Bring Me the Horizon finally completed the promotion of their third album at the end of 2011. They returned to the United Kingdom for an extended break and eventually starting work on their next album. Much like their previous two albums, they wrote their fourth album in seclusion and isolation in order to stay focused. This time, they retreated to a house in the lake district. In July the band started to publish images of themselves recording at a "Top Secret Studio Location" and it was revealed that they are working with producer Terry Date for the recording and the production of the album. On July, 30, the band announced they had left their label and signed with RCA, through which their fourth album will be released in 2013. In April, after a few months of writing, Kerrang! announced that Bring Me The Horizon are the first announced headline act for Warped Tour 2012 on November, 10 at the Alexandra Palace in London. This was believed to be

the only date in all of 2012 that they are performing, however, the band also appeared at BBC Radio 1's Radio 1 Rocks on 22 October, playing a six song set supporting Bullet for My Valentine. The band was confirmed to be a part of the 2013 Australian Soundwave festival in their second announcement. They will perform at all 5 dates in: Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. They have also confirmed that they will be playing in South Africa at RAMfest 2013.

On October 16, 2012, recording artist Lights who appeared on two tracks from the bands previous album is returning to work with the band again on their upcoming album, though she admits to being out of her comfort zone with her work with the band this time.

On 24 October, it was announced that the new album will be called Sempiternal and that it's almost complete. It will be released in 2013. November 9, the band played a free show in their hometown and played a new song entitled "Shadow Moses" off the upcoming album.

On November 18, 2012 in an interview with Kevin Lyman he confirmed that Bring Me the Horizon will be one of the band's headlining Warped Tour 2013.

On January 4, 2013 the song "Shadow Moses" debuted on Daniel P. Carter's rock show on BBC Radio 1 and on January 7th was released for streaming through Epitaph Records.

On January 14, 2013 Jona Weinhofen announced his departure from the band and that he will be moving back to Australia to concentrate on other musical ventures. Weinhofen has cited a lot of disagreements between him and the band as reasons for his departure. The band has yet to announce a replacement guitarist. Also in the announcement the band officially comfirmed that Jordan Fish is their new keyboardist. Fish has worked with the band on their entire new album set for a spring 2013 release.

Musical Style[]

The band has been said to be influenced diversely by grindcore, deathcore and emo and cites American metalcore bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan, Every Time I Die, Norma Jean and Poison the Well as influences on their earlier music. But as their sound developed they took influence from heavy metal bands like At the Gates, Pantera and Orange Goblin, progressive rock bands like Pink Floyd and Dire Straits and from dubstep and other modern electronic music. Bring Me the Horizon has been recognized by critics as playing mainly within the genres metalcore and deathcore and have been referred to as post-hardcore, hardcore punk, and technical metal. Common traits of Bring Me The Horizon's music is their use of technical guitar riffs, strong, dark or violent lyrics, heavy breakdowns and gang vocals or unclean vocals.

The band's first album Count Your Blessings, was mainly regarded as a deathcore album upon its release. Deathcore is a fusion of influences from metalcore and death metal. The bands own personal European melodic death meatal influence and the use of black metal-styled vocals, "slow-and-heavy" breakdowns and blast beats define this album.

The band started to adopt a more eclectic style with their second studio album Suicide Season. Creating a sound which has been described as being closer to mainstream rock than their debut album. Oliver Sykes described the album as "100% different to Count Your Blessings" and that the album sounds "more rock than metal"

As the band's sound has developed further away from their death metal and deathcore style. With the bands third album There Is a Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven, Let's Keep It a Secret. They developed their sound with the preference for more ambitious production feats, by incorporating electronica, classical music and pop sounds into their metalcore style. They did this with the use of a full choir and a synthesised orchestra. They incorporated glitched out vocals and breakdowns and toned down the use of breakdowns in their style, favouring quiet atmospheric passages in song breaks.

Bring Me the Horizon pooled more diverse influences in preparation for the writing of their fourth studio album. Jona Weinhofen spoke out about how both he and Lee Malia developed affection for post-rock bands such as Explosions in the Sky and This Will Destroy You. Weinhofen also once commented on how he would like to combine the heaviness of Bring Me the Horizon's typical work with the laid-back atmospherics of post-rock.

Sykes' lyrics has a strong feeling of cartharsis for him, he mainly draws from personal experience and has likened the band's live performances to being theraputic.

Songwriting and Recording Process[]

In all the band's album notes all of Bring Me The Horizon's lyrics are said to be written by lead vocalist Oliver Sykes while all five members—as a band—were credited with writing the music. One thing the band has always done since the release of Count Your Blessings is favour a secluded area to write albums in order not to break their concentration. The members of the band have stated how the debut album was written in inner-city areas of Birmingham while being pressured to write and record songs in the deadlines given.^[6] This led to the band being unimpressed with the final product. However, for the writing process of Suicide Season the band realised that they much preferred picking areas with less human contact in order to focus on the music, they wrote their second album in the Swedish countryside. During the writing of Suicide Season, former and founding guitarist Curtis Ward wrote very little of his rhythm parts of the album mostly relying on Lee Malia to write all of the Guitar sections of the album.

Lead Guitarist Lee Malia has stated that the typical writing process involves Oliver Sykes writing the main structure of the songs and then Malia would individually write the main riff. From this they would collaborate with each other to structure their work better and then to later include the rest of the band in writing the rest of the song. Rhythm guitarist Jona Weinhofen has said the band listens to electronica, ambient and classic rock music and applies the aesthetics and the song structures to Bring Me The Horizon's style.

Band Members[]

Current Members[]

Oliver Sykes - lead vocals (2004 - present)
Lee Malia - lead guitar (2004 - present)
Matt Kean - bass guitar (2004 - present)
Matt Nicholls - drums and percussion (2004 - present)
Jordan Fish - keyboards (2012 - present)

Former Members[]

Jona Weinhofen - rhythm guitar and backing vocals (2009 - 2013)
Curtis Ward - rhythm guitar (2004 - 2009)

Touring Members[]

Dean Rowbotham - rhythm guitar (2009)
Dan Searle - drums and percussion (2011)

Discography[]

Studio Albums[]

Count Your Blessings (Visible Noise, October 30, 2006)
Suicide Season (Visible Noise, September 29, 2008)
There Is a Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven, Let's Keep It a Secret (Visible Noise, October 4, 2010)
Sempiternal (RCA, April 30, 2013)

Extended Plays[]

This Is What the Edge of Your Seat Was Made For (Thirty Days of Night, October 2, 2004)
The Chill Out Sessions (Self-Released, November 22, 2012)

Demo[]

Bedroom Sessions (Self-Released, 2004)

References[]

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