Bring Me The Horizon Surprise Release Long-Awaited 'POST HUMAN: NeX GEn'
“Let’s begin.”
Bring Me The Horizon delayed the release of POST HUMAN: NeX GEn last September, telling their fans that it will be released on a later, undetermined date. Yesterday morning, I woke up and opened Instagram. The first thing I saw was a post from the band saying, “POST HUMAN: NeX GEn [out midnight 24.05]”, meaning that in only twelve hours from then it would be out in the world. Maybe their plan all along was to surprise the fans, the hype had only built more because of the delay. The album is heavy, electric, and absolutely perfect. It’s experimental while keeping close to their metalcore roots, and holds a delightful concept-like segue between tracks and themes.
Image via Bring Me The Horizon
The first of three interludes, “[ost] dreamseeker” opens the album with a robot like voice (which the band has named E.V.E. on their social platforms) and says “let’s begin.” This transitions into the first track, “YOUtopia”, which immediately comes in with a crunchy and mega-distorted guitar riff. “There’s a place I wanna take you / But I’m not quite there myself yet.” From the singles released prior to the full album, I had a pretty general idea of what the themes would be, and “YOUtopia” locks in my guess right off the bat. Bring Me The Horizon have always been open about mental health struggles and “digging your own grave”, it’s the subject of much of their music, but NeX GEn takes this idea to a new place. It’s the light at the end of tunnel, the way that you feel when you’re already so far at the bottom, the only place you can go is up.
The transition between that track and “Kool-Aid” is seamless and unnoticeable, something I adore. This was one of my favorite singles and I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of it. The lyrical path reminds me much of their track “Antivist” with the idea that you reap what you sow. “Kool-Aid” says “‘Cause you got a taste now / Drank the Kool-Aid by the jug / So suffer your fate, oh.” This track also holds a part that brings a specific feeling of sublime transcendence; it’s small but so powerful. After the first chorus, frontman Oli Sykes sings, “Such a sucker for an execution / The void is a vampire fat on our blood / Domesticated like a cat in a cage / While they try their hand at playing God.” Something about the way it’s delivered has stuck with me from the first time I heard the song.
Some fans have speculated that the inconsistent capitalization on most of this album is some kind of code, as the band has been giving many puzzle pieces for people to put together. Nobody has come up with definite conclusion (yet), but, as for more pieces to this puzzle, it seems there’s been clues and links hidden all over the place. Things such as a QR codes and secret websites related to the album have been discovered through the research and dedication of the band’s fans.
Next up is “Top 10 staTues tHat CriEd bloOd”, a speed-of-light track with electronic interludes and lyrics that bring me back to my original theory: “Once you hit the bottom / At least there’s nowhere to go but up.” “liMOusIne”, featuring Norwegian singer AURORA, is easily one of the biggest standout tracks on this album. The depth and heaviness of the guitars pull the listener in immediately, while the combination of Sykes and AURORA ease the intensity of the track with silky smooth vocals. It holds a dark level of emotion and power, “Do you like the way your skin crawls? / How it makes your body twitch? / Does it make you sick?”
“DArkSide” might be the one that hurts the most to listen to. While it’s extremely catchy and fun to sing along to, the lyrics reflect all the things that are hardest to put into words. “Six feet in the dirt, still breathing / Don’t give a fuck if my heart stops beating / I’m begging you to stay / My dark side won today / My heart keeps breaking over and over.” This song portrays a level of darkness I don’t think I’ve ever actually felt myself, and the fact that Sykes and the band are able to put these thoughts into music that the whole world will hear is admirable. “Can you talk me off the ledge again? / Can’t trust myself tonight.”
One thing I hadn’t expected was a collaboration with Underoath on “a bulleT w- my namE On”, and some lovely screams contributed by Spencer Chamberlain himself. The song is appealing and holds a perfect balance of electronic and metalcore, something Bring Me The Horizon seems to have mastered, while still giving some room for Chamberlain’s vocals to shine. In between this song and the next is the second interlude, “[ost] (spi)ritual”. This interlude seems to be a source of speculation and curiosity for fans trying to decipher all the hints the band has given, and it says, “Before me, Raphael / Behind me, Gabriel / To my right hand, Michael / To my left hand, Uriel.” I think they’re still trying to figure this one out, but the interlude itself is actually really cool.
“Hello Oli you fucking knobhead” a chorus of people sing in “n/A”, a special song for the fans who got to see the band live over their early 2024 tour. During the shows, the AI named E.V.E. tells the audience to sing a line back to her. That line happened to be one calling Sykes a knobhead, and the band took the recordings of this moment and actually used them in the song. Wish that were me! It’s actually a hilarious track, some of the lyrics are so out of pocket that it made me physically laugh the first time I heard it. “Kinda wanna get fucked / Make love to a chainsaw / Wrap my / Droptop round a lamp post.” Where do they come up with this stuff? It all contributes to the goofy yet self-incriminating vibe that it brings.
Image via Bring Me The Horizon
“LosT” took some time to grow on me, but because it was dropped as a single, I had plenty of time to come to the conclusion that it’s bloody awesome! This is the one that reminds me how British they are, “Serotonin’s proper on its arse,” Sykes sings. The song details the internal conflict of hating yourself for being the problem but also despising the world for everything that it’s doing to you. It’s rather upbeat for its contents, but then again, so is “DArkSide”. From a production standpoint, it’s an incredibly interesting song. Towards the last minute and a half, there’s a breakdown that once again blends the band’s tendency towards both metalcore and electronic. I’ve never seen an artist bend those genres in the way that Bring Me The Horizon has, it keeps their music interesting and engaging.
If there’s a song that truly showcases the singing abilities of Sykes, it’s “sTraNgeRs”. The track begins with just his voice and some guitar in the background, and he skillfully uses vocal breaks to accentuate the emotion in the first few lines. “R.i.p. (duskCOre Remix)” is full of energy and lots of cool electronic glitches. They have perfected their production and mix, every song is wonderfully vibrant with headphones on and even just in the car. It’s an admirable skill because the power of a song can change so much simply by how it was produced. I can feel these songs in my bones because of how good the mix is!
My personal favorite and a song that will always hold a place in my heart, “AmEN!”, shows you that Bring Me The Horizon have not forgotten how to make an incredibly detailed, hard-hitting, and energetic deathcore song. They brought on Lil Uzi Vert and Daryl Palumbo of Glassjaw as features which gives the song an exceptional roundness. There’s so many unbelievable details about this track that further prove how much production means to the band. The song opens with Sykes singing in almost a whisper, “I hope you have fun” and immediately drops a scream, “ROTTING IN HELL!”.
This, too, was released as a single, and it scared the crap out of me at first. Once I got accustomed to the intro, I knew that no other song on the album could outdo this one, and I still hold that opinion now that the whole thing is out. The screams are refined and clear which is what holds a big majority of the energy. There’s a really unique moment in this song during the last repetition of the chorus when Sykes sings, “So tell all your friends…” and the mix pauses, letting us hear raw vocal and breath with perfect clarity. It’s details like that pause that contribute to the beauty and perfection of this track, alongside another moment just before the final chorus with the line “Foul renegade.”
The vocals we’ve heard so far fall out and for a split second, are replaced by an angelic chorus singing the final syllable of the word ‘renegade’. That attribute blew my mind, it is completely minuscule but brings another layer of depth to a song that was already flawless. I cannot say enough good things about this track.
One last interlude delivers us to the final songs of the album, “[ost] p.u.s.s.-e”, a bit unhinged, but still interesting and fun. “DiE4u”, the second to last song, says, “You know that I’d die for / I’d cry for / You know that I’d die for you.” It’s a kind of twisted love song, one that holds romantic value by way of warped and dark lyricism. This track was actually released all the way back in 2021 if that shows you how long fans have been waiting for this album, and includes production work by both BloodPop and former BMTH member, Jordan Fish, as well as writing credits to Madison Love. The final song, “Dig It”, goes right back to probably the most overlying theme of this album: Digging your own grave. “But the only thing I figured out / Is life is a grave / And I dig it.” It starts on a softer note, but picks up as predicted about halfway through the track.
The most fascinating part about “Dig It”, though, is the “hidden” message. After the final verse, there’s about a two minute silence before a robotic voice comes in and introduces itself as “M8”, and this robot says, “It looks like I encountered a fatal error. Please boot me in safe mode and enter the serial number located on the side of my head. For more information, go to —” and then cuts out with a metal-like screeching. This is the first clue to unveiling Bring Me The Horizon’s divine rabbit hole, one that leads you to a mysterious website, but one that’s obviously related to the band. They have always been a band with deep lore and no accidental meanings, everything is purposeful and made with reason, this robot voice included.
POST HUMAN: NeX GEn is a roller coaster ride of different themes, genres, and best of all, energy. Each detail is a reminder of why Bring Me The Horizon will always be relevant.
