Bring Me The Horizon - There Is A Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is A Heaven, Let's Keep It A Secret.

Bring Me The Horizon
There Is A Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is A Heaven, Let's Keep It A Secret.
2010

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I suppose I should start by saying I like this album a lot more than I would ever have anticipated, and definitely went into it with that kind of blasé attitude; yup, another crappy metalcore band, why am I even bothering? Oh, because I like the sleeve artwork so much? ... umm, yeah, that's enough to spark my interest in a band/album, for better or worse. :P

Anyway, Bring Me The Horizon, at least on their 2010 effort here, play a rather sophisticated and layered form of metalcore that is, to my ears, the best utilization of the genre's dynamics I have ever heard. Fredrik Nordström produced this sucker, which is something I'm sure really worked in the band's favor, as not only does he make albums sound wonderfully but, also, arranges them fantastically too.

Tracks six through nine are the most standard here, and are thus the most uninteresting, though I must credit them for their sincere energy and passion, anyway. Otherwise, you're in for a real treat if you prefer atmospherically somewhat melancholic and heartbroken pieces woven with screamed vocals, ambient textures and some impressive choral arrangements here and there; yup, this is metalcore that doesn't rely on crappy, run-of-the-mill breakdowns.

The first three songs work quite well together, Crucify Me starting the album off rather epically with its complex arrangements and strong melodic undertones; Anthem follows and, though being a bit more predictable, still somehow sounds fresh; It Never Ends currently has a video, so can thus be assumed to be the album's "hit" and, I must say, this can easily be justified by the song itself, which is stunningly beautiful and sincere in its delivery and lyrical confession of losing an internal battle many of us are probably currently losing ourselves. A beautiful song, and one I've already listened to more times than I'm likely to admit.

Don't Go is my favorite song off of the album, easily, and could be considered to be something of an extremely climactic ballad, though the harsh vocals persist throughout its duration; it's so stunningly gorgeous, melancholy and heartfelt that I felt my stomach muscles twitching the first time I listened through it (reading along with the booklet's printed lyrics probably encouraged this reaction even moreso), which is no doubt a sign that it certainly did touch my heart. The violins are incredible, too.

Memorial/Blessed With A Curse is the last particular piece I'll mention, being also kind of ballad-like and thus more dynamic than some of the album's other tracks. Memorial is sort of an ambient interlude/intro that's rather stimulating in a relaxing way and Blessed With A Curse follows as being a strong ballad, though not quite as cathartic as Don't Go; nevertheless, it's good and would be something I'd consider a highlight.

All-in-all, I like this album a lot more than I thought I would and am glad I decided to take the plunge and grab a copy; if you can get past the genre stipulations and have a yearning for outwardly emotional listening experiences, Bring Me The Horizon's latest album will undoubtedly satisfy. Don't be surprised if this ends up on my year's end list!

7.5 // 10

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