Bring Me The Horizon strayed further from their metal bedrock on amo.
Here are three metal albums that have defined the first month of 2019, and why you should – or perhaps shouldn’t – listen to them.
Astronoid – Astronoid
Astronoid are a band like no other. Combining elements of shoegaze, black metal, post-metal, power metal, djent, emo, grunge and marketed as ‘dream thrash’, it’s a genre tag that makes complete sense when you’re immersed in the double-kicking sunshine of their endlessly rolling, triumphant sensitivity. Focusing in on a peerless sound, they’ve sharpened teeth that hide below lush walls of beautiful guitar and strictly melodic vocals, meaning some of the aggressive elements are stronger as a result – but they are hardly an aggressive band. Just imagine you are listening to Circa Survive, but then Blind Guardian come and take the controls, before they pay homage to Meshuggah, and you may find yourself at the genre crossroads this band have created. On paper it shouldn’t work, but for some reason it does. This band will be remembered as a game changer.
Born of Osiris – The Simulation
Born of Osiris are a band that have visibly struggled to remain creatively relevant in the second half of their career. Once considered revolutionary alongside their fellow djent/prog/deathcore/whatever bands that spawned underneath Sumerian Records in the mid-late 2000s, their last couple of full-lengths have seen them fall into rather mediocre territory. While the band’s creativity has probably peaked, their fifth full-length, The Simulation shows that they have risen back to where they plateaued, confidently in command of their strengths and with enough self-awareness to leave the record a succinct collection of only nine catchy and futuristic mosh anthems.
Bring Me The Horizon – amo
Amo is not a metal record. In fact, Bring Me The Horizon explicitly tell us this on the chorus of the song ‘heavy metal’ – a catchy pop anthem featuring guest vocals from American rapper Rahzel – which funnily enough, ends with the album’s only moment that throws back to the brutality with which they originally made a name for themselves. However, no matter how endlessly diverse their creative paths become, Bring Me The Horizon will always be a band that came from metal, and I believe it’s that understanding that enables them to be so damn good at writing the rock, pop, and dance anthems that make up amo. Some experiments stick stronger than others, but this record is once again truly groundbreaking.
