Clash’s recent piece on artists to watch in 2024 noted that “for new musicians, ‘genre’ is a tag they click when uploading to Spotify or Apple Music – it’s not something they take seriously”. This has been a hard lesson for music journalists to learn, and we’re frankly still adapting: certain artists seem almost to take a sadistic delight in upsetting the expectations of their audiences, and thumbing their nose at critics whenever possible.
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bring me the horizon is just such an artist. Their return to a heavier, metalcore-inflected sound with 2020’s ‘Post Human: Survival Horror’ felt like both a victory lap – reclaiming their roots after years of radically revising their image and appeal – and a laughing swipe at the whole concept of having a “sound”, an “image”. BMTH’s performance at Manchester’s AO Arena takes this duality to another level: it’s silly, it’s emotional, it’s cathartic, it’s subversive, and it’s a hell of a lot of fun.
‘Survival Horror’ was billed as the first instalment in a four-part ‘Post Human’ series, with the delayed second part, ‘Next Gen’, due this year. It makes sense, therefore, that this tour leans heavily into the concept: video-game style graphics at the start introduce us to an AI character who reappears at various points in the gig, usually to throw out a quirky meta-joke mocking the conventions of live music. It works because it’s camp and stupid, and plays off the exaggerated seriousness of much of the music without undermining its brilliance.
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And so much of it is brilliant. The set kicks off energetically with ‘DArkSide’ (from their upcoming album) and barely lets up for a moment, showcasing just how many anthemic bangers the band has produced over the last decade or so. BMTH’s early “bad reputation” came in part from their antics on stage; tonight, Oli Sykes plays air guitar, flirts with the entire crowd (“Not to be a perv and all, but… Manchester innit”), spends a good chunk of ‘Drown’ sharing the mic with random fans at the barrier, and at one point even succeeds in getting everyone to sit on the floor before jumping up again. In other hands this could all feel annoyingly egotistical; Sykes just makes it look like lovable fun.
There are times when the wackiness feels a little distracting. ‘Parasite Eve’ is one of the set’s clear highlights, but the inclusion of go-go dancers in Hazmat suits feels tonally off, detracting from the song’s intensity. But more often than not, the blend of tongue-in-cheek theatricality and visceral, stadium-lifting sincerity works surprisingly well, carried in no small part by Sykes’ immense charisma and confidence in what he does. One of the best/worst moments is the lead-in to the encore, where the AI character’s voiceover snarkily quips: “Manchester – you guys are still here? You really want to hear more of this shite? Jesus Christ, you really are doomed” – introducing the song of the same name with a pun bad enough to have been genuinely written by AI, and all the more fitting for it.
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There’s something freeing about all this, a sense that you’re watching a band which revels in their uncoolness and wants to bring us along for the ride. BMTH might be popular with critics now, but that doesn’t seem to be important to them. They’re here for a party. “I wanna see your best dance moves!” Sykes shouts over the opening to ‘Lost’. “Shake your money-maker!” Who knew heavy music could be so joyously light-hearted?
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Words: Tom Kingsley
Photography: Danny Payne
