Spotlight – Bring Me The Horizon

Love them or hate them, you simply cannot deny the effect that Bring Me The Horizon have on the metal community, and the fact that pretty much everybody has an opinion of them, be it good or bad. This Sheffield five-piece (well, four piece, plus Australian shredder Joan Weinhofen) have worked their way up from northern nobodies, into one of the hottest bands on the planet in just a few short years. Their rise has certainly been meteoric, and when they first started out, nobody would have believed that in little over five years, they would morph into one of the most talked about, and ferocious UK bands of all time.

Back in the early days, the general consensus was that of “style over substance”, with their grunting deathcore coming over as pretty ridiculous, performed by five lads with equally ridiculous “scenester” haircuts. The name “Bring Me The Hairspray” didn’t just come from nowhere. I saw them support Lost Prophets in Wolves Civic once, was back in 2006 and their 30 minute set was pure torture. I was quick to jump on the hate bandwagon, and it took me a long time to get off it, and admit what a phenomenal band they now are.

Even with the 2008 release of Suicide Season, I was so put off by their early material and live showing, that I totally dismissed this absolute beast of a record, until much later. It was their third album, last year’s “There Is A Hell . . . “ that finally helped me to see the light, and made me change my mind. The album was such an exciting and brutal record, that it immediately helped change all perspective on them as an act, and other opinions soon followed suit. It was a scintillating mix of accessible deathcore, metalcore, electronic influences, and pretty much everything else, including the kitchen sink. It was one of the heaviest albums released last year, and it was purpose built for destruction in the live arena. Live performances off the back of it were, as you would expect, incendiary, and one of the biggest secrets around was finally let out the bag; no more are BMTH the average deathcore band, but they are now one of the best bands around, justifying their tag as one of the hottest properties around in the metal world today. That record, from start to finish, completely slays, and it was no surprise to see it top many a critics Top albums 2010 list. It could simply not be ignored.

They took all the critics and the hatred, wrapped it up on one album, and unleashed it on an unsuspecting metal community. It just blew everybody away, wiping out all preconceptions in the proves. Some people will surely not have been converted as of yet, but the arguments that BMTH are not a phenomenal band are ridiculous anymore. Having been converted with their latest release, looking back over Suicide Season has been a revelation, with that too coming across as an excellent album. I haven’t yet braved their debut Count Your Blessings, but I am sure that I will at some point.

In short, any haters should really give them a chance – they will blow your tiny little mind if you let them.