Bring Me The Horizon
Sempiternal

The debut ("Count Your Blessings"), the rise ("Suicide Season"), the slight misstep in terms of quality ("There's a Hell..."). Bring Me The Horizon return to the mainstream with the highly anticipated fourth album, after their previous effort left listeners with some doubts due to various unexciting moments; but it's clear that perfect records, like "Suicide Season", are written just once in an artist's career.

"Sempiternal" is, as mentioned, the fourth step on Bring Me The Horizon's long road, and aims to surprise the band's fans who would expect anything but to hear a much heavier version of Linkin Park. Indeed, Chester Bennington's band is the one that comes to mind most often when listening to the various tracks that make up the album: "Can You Feel My Heart?" bears a strong resemblance to "Lost in the Echo" thanks to its synth riff, while other tracks like "Go to Hell, For Heaven's Sake" and "Sleepwalking" wouldn't be out of place on a new, angrier Linkin Park album. "Empire (Let Them Sing)" and the closing "Hospital For Souls" feature new 'recruit' Jordan Fish heavily, who, with his keyboards, gives the tracks a slightly gothic atmosphere. The first single "Shadow Moses" is a phenomenal track, perhaps the best ever written by Oli Sykes and company: we're talking about a perfect single, where finally the influence of Lostprophets (one of BMTH's favorite bands) is shamelessly revealed (as also happens in tracks like the already mentioned "Sleepwalking") thanks to the overwhelming choruses that finally take center stage throughout the album. If "And the Snake Start to Sing" slows down the metronome, the subsequent "Seen It All Before" and "Crooked Young" bring the situation back to the usual tracks, while "Anti-Vist" is another overwhelming punch to the teeth, with a bombshell chorus and a vaguely punk rhythm.

As already mentioned, perhaps the true turning point in terms of the band's sound is represented by the new keyboardist Jordan Fish, a new addition coinciding, among other things, with Jona Weinhofen's departure due to internal disagreements with the rest of the group. The aforementioned Jordan, initially coming on only as assistance during the recording phase, ended up exerting a significant influence during the songwriting process, resulting in the album having a very electronic dimension, which led Bring Me The Horizon themselves to 'hire' him as an official member of the band.

Those who love them will probably love them even more, those who hate them will hate them even more. Bring Me The Horizon have been confirmed over the years as an absolutely dynamic band (another point in common with Lostprophets), capable of spanning multiple (sub)genres and consistently achieving more or less satisfactory results.

In light of the facts, "Sempiternal" is, in very few words, a great album.

Rating: 8.5 [out of 10]