QUICKSPINS: Bring Me The Horizon – amo

Opinions on British band Bring Me the Horizon vary along with their style, transforming drastically through each release since their debut, Count Your Blessings, in 2006. Some, attached to BMTH’s chaotic post-hardcore roots, will snob the softer, melodic, pop-influenced sound they’ve taken on ever since Sempiternal. They’ve even got a new song about this, “heavy metal”—but the truth is that this change in style testifies of the band’s surprising versatility. On their latest opus, amo, the band pushes their boundaries even further by entirely reimagining their sound through the 13 songs on the album.

This creativity is more than welcome, allowing for the birth of an impressively imaginative pop-rock sound. However, that creativity is both the album’s strength and demise, and ultimately amo fails to impress. Though some songs stand out nicely—namely, the powerful “MANTRA,” or the laid back, surprisingly sweet “mother tongue,”—others feel a little clumsy, especially lyrically, and might make one yearn for the refined product that was Bring Me the Horizon’s last album, That’s the Spirit. Despite it all, Bring Me the Horizon can only be applauded for taking that creative step forward, and amo remains worthy of a listen.

7/10

Trial track: “medicine”
Star Bar: “You need a taste of your own medicine
Cos I’m sick to death of swallowing”
Oli Sykes on “medicine”

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