This is a tricky one. I think rather selfishly it depends on the band and also what I thought to the sound for that band in a particular time period. The band I will use to explain this is Bring Me The Horizon.
The band started well and truly in the Deathcore subgenre. Debut album “Count Your Blessings” was a sound that typically I find a little bit too heavy. Yeah that’s not even something I am embarrassed to share. Their sound was raw and put many off (and it sometimes was not even the sound doing this…).
By the time their second album “Suicide Season” came around I had somewhat warmed to the band. With the song “Chelsea Smile” starting to form a bit of an earworm in my head. I think it was the shift toward mixed vocal stylings as well as my musical complexity.
The crazy long titled “There Is A Hell Believe Me I’ve Seen It. There Is A Heaven Let’s Keep It A Secret” continued this more melodic progression, and brought with it my favourite song by the band “Alligator Blood”. It was still missing something though, that spark to truly set the band apart from others in the same space.
Step forward the most well rounded and as far as I am concerned the best version of Bring Me The Horizon. An album that finally broke the charts and catapulted the band to a really big listener base. “Sempiternal” (Yes I do sing sandpit turtle) was the bands most commercially successful album at the time.
With much more melodic elements and a subtle electronic theme running through it. Lyrically it is the real start to the band getting deeper with what they are writing about too. With choir elements and just a bigger sense to their music , this step to finally embracing the metalcore band they always should have been was complete.
Or at least it should have been… 2015 Album “That’s The Spirit” was definitely still more than listenable, with the electronic elements taking even more of a centre piece to their sound. Almost too much though , with all harsh vocals pretty much being left out the band in the most part felt flat.
2019’s “amo” Was the sort of album that your non rock loving friend would bring over to you and claim they are finally into rock music… It had some ok moments, but lyrically to me it felt somewhat lazy, with an eye too much on the charts and not the music.
The something happened… Was it the declining sales? The 2020 album “Post Human: Survival Horror” started to feel a little bit heavier again, the music but not always the vocals. That was enough though my interest was yet again peaked. The inclusion of rap elements was something I didn’t think I would enjoy but it worked. Also they managed to make me enjoy a track with Babymetal on it which tbh I think are an industry plant.
Post Human: Nex Gen , is what I would decribe as their truly experimental album. With some really amazing songs on it and then some terrible ones. I am intrigued where the band goes in the future but to be honest the closer it is to Sempiternal the better. Here is hoping anyways!
Tell you what though I really love the pop/metal collaboration between Sigrid and Bring Me The Horizon! Let me know in the comments what you think to when bands completely change their sound!
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