At the root of almost everything there is an opinion. Opinions are good, but let's throw them out the window at this moment in time. Bring Me The Horizon are definitely not to everyone's tastes, but being coined as 'not metal' is absurd. Whether or not a band just has flourishes of metal elements or they play purely metal songs, the fact of the matter is it's metal. The Sheffield greats come out to play with our opinions once again on their fourth outing, Sempiternal. Showing an array of several different experimentations the metalcore quintet prove that maturity, having fun and simply doing as they wish makes a perfect combination on creating their best album to date.
Having Jordan Fish join the band as keyboardist in place of now ex-guitarist, Jona Weinhofen, one should have anticipated a difference in their new sound. And one may also have expected that a synth player could make things worse giving that bands like Asking Alexandria enjoy being chaotic, and frankly, terrible on the keyboards. But in actual fact, Fish's contribution adds an extra depth and balance to BMTH's brand of metalcore. It's not cheesy and it's not over used. The synths create ambient textures drawing you in closely, making it all sound massive yet slightly claustrophobic at the same time. The catchiest you'll hear the synths are on opening track Can You Feel My Heart, but even then it works.
Despite losing Jona, an obviously great metalcore guitarist, Lee Malia doesn't seem to show signs of burning out or needing support. In fact, he proves just how great a songwriter he is by messing around with several tunings and types of riffs, his guitar sound on Sempiternal is another leap forward since There Is A Hell.. in 2010. It seems as though Lee has been allowed to write freely without much dictation resulting in epic tunes such as the punchy The House Of Wolves, groovy single Shadow Moses and even the slightly Hatebreed-esque Antivist which even shows off a short solo somewhat reminiscent of what a lot of deathcore bands do but can't do very well.
Another hugely under-rated member of the band is vocalist, Oli Sykes. In recent years Oli has suffered some difficulty with his vocals especially on the recordings for There Is A Hell.. which only took him three days to record his entire vocals. However, after some rest and quite obvious practise he his back and his voice is the best it's ever sounded. His screams and shouts are now pronounced with clarity and defiance, and believe it or not, but he can even sing. Who'd have guessed that after the bands abysmal debut effort, Count Your Blessings? He may come across as arrogant, but his lyrics suggest he certainly does have a heart, and a very warm, caring and strong heart that is. Oli's voice is flawless throughout, but he really comes into his own on tracks such as Sleepwalking, Shadow Moses and And The Snakes Start To Sing. One of the best vocalists in recent and upcoming metal history? Without a doubt.
Let's not forget that Matt Kean (bassist) and Matt Nicholls (drummer) have also wrote a large part of this album, showing that the band as a whole are incredibly gifted yet remain hugely misunderstood and under-rated. If you haven't given Sempiternal a chance yet, then do so now. It's a real testament to a band that against all odds have proven themselves worthy as great songwriters. Whether in reference to the ongoing divide of opinion, or that they and their fans believe that their music is everlasting, Sempiternal does exactly what it says on the tin. 9/10
