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Few years ago, Bring Me The Horizon released their surprising POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR, the first installment of what was then announced as a four-part series of LPs that would ultimately see the band cement their Hall of Fame status. Part one was a frantic yet accurate reflection of society facing its first mass health crisis in a century, adapting to living in unprecedented isolation and embracing the aftermath of its countless mistakes. As such, it was expectedly relentless, volatile and dark, and adding BMTH's characteristic flair for the dramatic and visionary approach to what the modern metal scene could be, made it one of the most memorable events in a year that would never be forgotten.
With that background comes POST HUMAN: NeX GEn, more surprising, anticipated and hyped than the band has ever been, bordering on overwhelming. Three and a half years might ultimately seem like a lot for a pretty straightforward album, but the stakes were higher than ever before and BMTH have been anything but absent in that period. From that iconic collab with Ed Sheeran himself, and countless other brilliant appearances, to relentlessly touring the world and pushing forward the biggest talents in the alternative scene, and dominating charts and media with every single release, the Sheffield band left nothing to chance and paved the way for one of the biggest premieres of the year yet again.
And much in their fashion, they did it with all but a day notice causing a meltdown reserved for the biggest music stars but worthy of their name. However, the biggest question here is, is such album really worth the hype and time in 2024? BMTH are no strangers to putting out trendsetting, genre-shaping, generation-defining and gamechanging records to the point of this being expected rather than surprising, a new Sempiternal anticipated every year. This is where they shine, out of the norm, breaking the rules and ahead of the pack, which is also why it is weird listening to NeX GEn for the first time and liking it more out of necessity and peer pressure, and seeing them seemingly settle for just a great yet timid album, rather than pull another thunderous and faultless milestone, at least at first sight..
NeX GEn is not bad at all - far from it, it is a fantastic modern record but even their most fanatical and most recent fans would have to agree it is not brilliant, and is far from the exemplary output reserved for the BMTH brand. Individual tracks are outstanding, however this applies mostly to the familiar singles rather than all new fillers, and even then some are considererably more interesting than others. Although all sixteen songs and interludes are produced and polished with meticulous attention to the tiniest detail, taken as a whole they fail to sustain the energy of the leading elements. All this said and outside of my personal issues with certain parts of the album, NeX GEn is exactly what BMTH were always going to be in 2024, whether me, you or anyone like or accept it.
With almost twice as many songs and twice as long as the first Post Human installment, way too often their latest LP shifts from pure excitement from the exhilarating unknown to tedius predictability and uncharacteristic boredom, and this inconsistency and lack of focus is rather unusual. This is also NeX GEn's main and arguably only fallback, that it is a BMTH record and not someone else's, for literally every other band would be blowing up with this one, but when the bar has been set so high, just good is no longer an option. This is also the result of me being overly critical and approaching this record with expectation to be stunned, confused and thrilled rather than just entertained.
Aside from our first world problems, Bring Me The Horizon always find ways to absorb the sign of the times and mirror the dominant trends of the scene, as well as industry, culture and society as a whole. True to their reflective nature, NeX GEn perfectly captures the feel and vibe of the last three years, be it the pop punk revival of 'sTraNgeRs' and 'LosT', the emo nostalgia of 'DiE4u' and 'Top 10 staTues tHat CriEd bloOd', the glitchy dystopian reality of 'DArkSide' and 'Kool-Aid', the "baddiecore" allure of 'liMOsIne' and 'a bulleT w/ my namE On', the distorted hyperpop influences in 'AmEN!', 'R.i.p.' and 'DiE4u', the intimate yet artificial confession in 'DIg It', with all incoherent and alienated interludes inbetween that serve as the final brushwork to complete the messy impressionistic painting of our reality.
For better or worse, Bring Me The Horizon refuse to settle down, determined to keep reinventing themselves to unknown levels, and somehow it still works. At times, POST HUMAN: NeX GEn might appear as an experimentation for the sake of shock value, but it still sounds right. At others, it might be pushing the limits and disregarding boundaries more as a habbit rather than a conscious creative decision, but it still doesn't appear forced. The result is a stubborn, erratic and anxious release that sounds like a teenager that cannot wait to leave home but it is too afraid and comfortable to do it just yet.
It is still very much the Bring Me The Horizon we all know, with their genre pastiche, pop sensibility, British swagger and clever collabs, but it is also a side that we haven't seen or heard before. And once again, with Oli firmly at the helm and arguably at his best vocal and creative form, and even with Fish's unexpected and somewhat business-like departure, BMTH pull it off gracefully. Very few bands can manage a realease of this magnitude and at such stakes, whilst remaining as relevant, trendy and reflective as they are, and ultimately this should answer the question of whether NeX GEn is worth it.
And since just about everybody and their dog have already heard and read about it, the answer is clear and will keep us occupied for another three or so years, or at least until POST HUMAN: Vol. 3 drops.
Bring Me The Horizon - 'POST HUMAN: NeX GEn'
Country: United Kingdom
Released: 24 May 2024
Label: Sony Music
Tracklisting:
1. [ost] dreamseeker
2. YOUtopia
3. Kool-Aid
4. Top 10 staTues tHat CriEd bloOd
5. liMOusIne (ft. AURORA)
6. DArkSide
7. a bulleT w/ my namE On (ft. Underoath)
8. [ost] (spi)ritual
9. n/A
10. LosT
11. sTraNgeRs
12. R.i.p. (duskCOre RemIx)
13. AmEN! (ft Lil Uzi Vert & Daryl Palumbo of Glassjaw)
14. [ost] p.u.s.s.-e
15. DiE4u
16. DIg It
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