Album Review: Sempiternal by Bring Me the Horizon

Photo from Wikipedia

Words by: Emily Racanelli

Imagine being able to relive the darkest time of your life. The time that left you feeling empty, addicted, and in a world where time stood still. Sounds unsettling, doesn’t it? What if the darkest time ended with the brightest light, with a road to recovery? Imagine being able to experience this journey over and over again, basking in your triumphs and tribulations. Sempiternal, the fourth studio album from U.K. natives Bring Me The Horizon, is not just an album. It is a story documenting the painful road to recovery.

Each of the eleven songs on the record chronicles a step forward (and a major step back) towards overcome drug addiction. Specially, lead singer Oli Sykes wrote these songs about his personal battle with ketamine. Of course, if this album were to keep up with BMTH’s typical inaudible screaming and lack-of melody songs, it would be nearly impossible to convey the message of beating the odds. The song’s first track is a prime example of this new and (as far as I’m concerned) better style of music. “Can You Feel My Heart” starts with an electronic-infused keyboard melody. Drums soon join in while the anticipation builds, leaving fans confused as to why they aren’t head-banging already. While the melody may be a high point, it is nothing in comparison to the bridge. Repeated three times to convince the listener that these words are genuine, it states “I long for that feeling to not feel at all/The higher I get, the lower I’ll sink/I can’t drown my demons, they know how to swim.” Every word hits home with those who have not only battled addiction, but possess that ‘empty chest feeling’ where absolutely nothing makes sense. If you listen carefully, you can hearing Oli whispering the vocals in the background, further propelling the listeners into a pit of despair.

Once the self-loathing stage ends, the floor collapses beneath your feet and sends you into a realm of anger. Head-bangers fear not, your time will come in “The House of Wolves.” Reminiscent of the typical power-chord driven Bring Me The Horizon tunes, it goes beyond just metal core and anger. (Disclaimer: tuck your cross necklaces into your shirts because Jesus most definitely won’t want to read these lyrics) The song attacks organized religion, screaming “Show me a sign, show me a reason to give/A solitary f**k about your god damn beliefs.” If you listen to this song out of context, you might think you are being condemned to the depths of hell. However, it keeps with the theme of the album, expressing antipathy for a supposed “savior” that leaves you fighting off your demons alone.

And just when you thought you buried your demons, they rise from the graves and complicate your breathing. BMTH does not sugarcoat anything on this record; there are no simple rhymes or poppy riffs. The closest we get to that is the electronic keyboard, which surfaces again in “Shadow Moses.” Its slow, group intro quickly changes tempo into an anthemic fight against relapse. Oli conveys his struggle to stay clean, saying “I thought I buried you and covered the tracks/You’ll have to take this with your cold dead hands.” It serves as a warning to listeners, indicating that even when you think you have moved on from your mistakes, it is an incessant battle to stay clean.

So long as you keep fighting this battle, there will be recovery. The album’s final track opens up with a spoken reality-check, in which Oli acknowledges that there is so much more to life than temporary ecstasy. The most powerful lines in this entire record are found here: “There’s glimpses of heaven in every day/In the friends I have, the music I make, the love that I feel.” This is the perfect ending to an album that will establish a personal connection with every listener. We may not all encounter addiction, but we will face setbacks that make us believe there is never a chance at happiness again. As was previously stated, this album is straightforward in its message. The fight to stay on the right track is just as the title indicates, sempiternal.

Bring Me The Horizon have found a way to make their music more marketable and melodic with clean vocals and electronic sounds, while also paying homage to their heavy roots. Suicide Season fans can relax, as I doubt we will see a day when BMTH releases a record without the word “c**t,” but I also doubt they will ever again release a song with entirely unclean vocals. The band is expected to release their next album in the fall of 2015, and if latest single “Drown” is any indication of what’s to come, the more mellow BMTH is about to take the music scene by storm.