Bring Me The Horizon – Suicide Season

Recently, hardcore has become so saturated with talented bands like the UK’s Bring Me The Horizon that it’s hard to appreciate even those with real passion and drive.  Bring Me The Horizon has both but falls into a very crowded and altogether predictable genre of hardcore who’s sole purpose is to cram as many breakdowns and heavy riffs into every bar and beat.  But if you can get past the rather unremarkable nature of the band, there is something worth looking at here.  But I’ll warn you, this isn’t for the weak: leave your lungs behind, because Bring Me The Horizon’s sophomore effort, Suicide Season, simply doesn’t give you a chance to breathe.

In fact, the band has so much intensity that the first seven songs translate into an intense but unremarkable listening session.  Bring Me The Horizon seems so caught up in technicalities that the end product often feels lifeless.  The tracks are heavy on breakdowns, full of indigestibly rock-hard riffs, and features throaty vocals just shy of growl territory.  Generally these tracks, particularly those like “Chelsea Smile” and “Sleep With One Eye Open,” feel like harder versions of the region’s more well-known hardcore acts like Johnny Truant.  Or in a vague, but rather truthful description, pretty much anything on Trustkill Records. But even so, listeners who know what they like will know if they want Suicide Season after a brief listen – regardless of clichés.

Lyrically the band doesn’t try anything terribly profound, instead taking a predictable path featuring content about violence and indulgence.  “Football Season”’s chorus best sums up the band’s lyrical philosophy: “party till you pass out/Drink till your dead/Dance till you can’t feel your legs.”

But for all of the band’s predictability, I will concede that there are times where Bring Me The Horizon tries broadening their, well, horizon.  For example, “The Sadness Will Never End” attempts to enter the world of post-punk by opening with the quiet and slow paced striking of a lone bell.  The final track, “Suicide Season,” also recognizes the potential in creating contrast through a juxtaposed atmosphere, with sections of ambience reminiscent to those found in post-hardcore acts like ISIS.  Still, these are rare times, and merely allude to what could have been.

Despite claims at being “the UK’s hottest metalcore band,” Bring Me The Horizon really isn’t anything special, and with Suicide Season I doubt they were aiming at breaking any boundaries.  True, the band knows how to channel energy into a raw product, and for those hungry for excessive breakdowns and brutal riffs, Suicide Season delivers – but for everyone else, Bring Me The Horizon is well intended but ultimately forgettable.