BRING ME THE HORIZON go back to the old school at Ally Pally.
ALeXANDrA PALACe, LONDON Sheffield’s mould-breaking metallers chart an epic journey
Playing two nights at Alexandra Palace is very ambitious, especially at the end of a full UK arena run, and it looks like Bring Me The Horizon might have bitten off more than they can chew, as it’s not exactly heaving at the back of the room. The following night is sold out, of course, but this additional date isn’t as tightly packed or buzzing as expected. That said, FEVER 333 come out all guns blazing with their punk-meets-hip hop anthems of defiance and unity, bringing the pit together in one amorphous mass of raised fists and dancing feet. Making their UK debut back at Download festival, this is the band’s fourth visit in five months, terrorising venues wherever they go with a frantic onstage presence and a dumpster of bombast fuelling the likes of We’re Coming In and Trigger. Ending with Jason Aalon Butler screaming into a drum he’d recently punched his microphone through, it’s quite the visual, but nothing compared to what tonight’s headliners are packing.
Two screens flank the stage as an ever-changing and moving lighting rig hovers overhead, watching over arguably Britain’s most controversial rock band about to go stratospheric. The reaction to opener Mantra is proof enough that the craving for new BMth material is insatiable. And while it looks like Oli Sykes has some mic trouble early on, the chorus hits harder than a bulldozer made of fists. With much attention paid to the genredefining Sempiternal album – which bad metalcore bands still try to imitate – nothing in the set comes from pre-2013… well, except for the little treat of br00tality. Following a triumphant Happy Song, Oli asks London if they’d like to hear some old songs… and old they are. What follows is a four-song medley including Suicide Season’s Diamonds Aren’t
Forever and Re: They Have No Reflections from their 2004 EP. It’s certainly a shock to those down front waiting for Doomed and Follow You, as Oli jokes that some of the crowd probably weren’t born when they released the Edge Of Your Seat EP.
While BMTH have softened musically over time, embracing a broader audience than the northern deathcore scene, it’s incredible to see just how far they have come tonight: standing onstage, rounding off a UK arena tour before their sixth album drops. At times it feels like the guitars have been metalled-up a bit to counteract any cynical jibes, but this is clear evidence that BMTH have the power, the conviction and the songs to move into much bigger arenas soon.