POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR

Crashing head-long through a wall of corroded metal and glass shards, Bring Me the Horizon redefines their heavy sound once again with the potent EP POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR. The first of a proposed series of shorter non-LP efforts, this set is a pure assault of physical, riotous aggression designed specifically for the existential dread and global turmoil of 2020. Recorded while the band was stuck in quarantine lockdown, the anxiety and uncertainty course through these nine tracks in a manner that both amplifies paranoia and comforts with cathartic release. On the thrashing opener "Dear Diary," frontman Oli Sykes screams, "God is a shithead/And we're his rejects," while Matt Nicholls' jackhammer drums pummel and Lee Malia's guitars tear through Jordan Fish's cacophony. The trap-sludge "Parasite Eve" is a cinematic epic, unveiling a neon dystopia where war and strife reign, while the stomping "Ludens" -- first heard on the Death Stranding video game soundtrack -- pleads for a new leader to help carry the world out of the darkness. "Teardrops" tackles addiction and hopelessness in one of the album's standout moments, channeling the hybrid sound of Linkin Park (later they pay additional homage to the genre-blurring outfit with "Itch for the Cure," a direct nod to the American sextet's "Cure for the Itch"). An inspired roster of guests elevate SURVIVAL HORROR even further. English upstart Yungblud joins the band for the electro-industrial collision "Obey," a deranged dose of nihilism that lambasts systemic corruption, while Japanese outfit Babymetal join the apocalypse party for the unhinged industrial tempest "Kingslayer," which pairs Su-Metal's innocent lullaby vocals with Sykes' guttural cries of "Get the f*ck up!/Wake the f*ck up!" The most impressive collaboration -- "One Day the Only Butterflies Left Will Be in Your Chest as You March Towards Your Death" -- arrives at the close of the album, as Evanescence's Amy Lee duets with Sykes on a mournful heartbreaker that leaves no hope in sight. Despite the graphic descriptions of death, it's a beautiful moment of respite after an unbroken stretch of turbulence and hostility. Longtime fans displeased with their late-era pop shift should be appeased with the increase in crushing breakdowns and more dirty vocals than on mainstream breakthroughs That's the Spirit and Amo. Indeed, SURVIVAL HORROR is one of the band's best distillations of their extremes, providing just enough brutality without sacrificing their evolving vision of how melodic and experimental a metal band can be.
© Neil Z. Yeung /TiVo