Bring Me the Horizon | amo | Album Review

RCA Records
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Some albums are a lot like clouds, passing softly by, but this one is a storm of fun. English rock/metal band Bring Me the Horizon’s sixth studio album amo truly lives up to its name in its complex portrayal of love through themes of cynicism, indifference, divorce, betrayal, and hope, all in a fantastic 13-track package.

BMtH’s newest album treads lines between three different genres: metal, EDM, and pop. Oliver Sykes’ lyrical delivery in “wonderful life” and “heavy metal” carries the vibrant bass riffs from Matt Kean, mirroring much of their previous success in past albums like 2015’s “That’s the Spirit.” Still, they add new takes and directions in their music on tracks like “medicine” and the finale track “I don’t know what to say” by drawing away from their traditional heavy metal tones in exchange for tranquil orchestral and electronic nodes.

Even their most on-the-nose track title “heavy metal” is Sykes’ response to those who do not like the band’s newest sound, which the entire album further expands upon gritty subjects as the band has always done. Whether it be “medicine” that strikes at betrayal and emotional manipulation, or its contrasting track “mother tongue” that touches on the damaged beauty of learning to fall in love and trust again, each track in amo comes together to share Sykes’ journey of heartbreak and finding a way to cope with it.

The surefire contradictions inherent in the effect of rock, metal, pop, and EDM all showcased at once, masterfully bring to light the beauty in this new experimental piece.

With much more to come, and with how much ground amo has shattered upon release, BMtH’s success is far from being a load of “sugar honey ice & tea,” and more of a “mother tongue” of cross-genre metal and a “MANTRA” for the year.