Bring Me The Horizon - POST HUMAN: NeX GEn (Album Review)
Thursday, 30 May 2024
Written by Will Marshall
Expectations are a difficult thing to manage. ‘POST HUMAN: NeX GEn' has been a long time coming, allowing hype to build to fever pitch, but Bring Me The Horizon have also been hamstrung by the record’s protracted build up.
It has been almost a year since the metal titans initially intended to release the much-anticipated follow up to 2020’s excellent ‘Survival Horror’, but its eventual surprise drop essentially came and went with little fanfare. Perhaps that has something to do with the fact we’ve had a lot of these songs for a while now — Die4U has been kicking around since 2021, while Strangers released in 2022.
The opening salvo of Youtopia, Kool-Aid and Top 10 Statues That Cried Blood sets the scene well, displaying the manner in which their crunchy metalcore has broadened to include hyperpop and 2000s post-hardcore.
It's a shift that had plenty to do with the work of former member Jordan Fish, who recently left the band after helping them become the arena-filling behemoths they are today. How keenly his absence might be felt in future.
That 2000s influence is felt throughout. A Bullet With My Name On features scene greats Underoath, while single Amen has a (mostly inaudible) turn from Glassjaw’s Daryl Palumbo. And once Limousine hits, we’re in Deftones country. Darkside, meanwhile, slows things down for a more typical (if there is such a thing) Bring Me The Horizon ballad with a big, ‘That’s The Spirit’-esque chorus hook.
Fundamentally, though, this is an extraordinarily front-loaded album. Lost and Die4U remain two of the worst songs the band have committed to tape, with twee, contrived melodies and some truly terrible lyrics. There are also three ambient interludes that add little, if anything, to the overall experience. There are some good tracks here but ‘POST HUMAN: NeX GEn’ is bloated, uneven and, even at its best, frustratingly workmanlike.
Bring Me The Horizon Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Fri June 14 2024 - HRADEC KRALOVE Park 360 (Czech Republic)
Sun June 16 2024 - NICKELSDORF Pannonia Fields (Austria)
Sat June 22 2024 - DESSEL Graspop Metal Meeting (Belgium)
Sat July 13 2024 - MADRID New Madrid Festival Venue (Spain)
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