Compared to other bands, Bring Me the Horizon hasn’t been around for very long. Nonetheless, it is obvious that like any other band, this one from Sheffield, Yorkshire aspires to launch an international invasion through both their music and music merch. The may be on the right track to it.
The band’s name isn’t an unfamiliar one. Fans of the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, would recognize it as a cut from Captain Jack Sparrow’s line, “Now, bring me that horizon.” Despite their name being a bit whimsical, fans have come to expect only the best of metalcore from this young band.
Band Story and Albums Out
Three distinct periods define the history of Bring Me the Horizon. The first period spans 2004 to 2007 and marks the band’s formation and early years. The members of the group originated from different local bands. Members included Oliver Sykes on lead vocals; Matt Kean on bass guitar; Lee Malia on lead guitar; Matt Nicholls on percussion and drums and Curtis Ward on rhythm guitar. Ward later bowed out of the group and was replaced by Jona Weinhofen who eventually settled in as vocalist, keyboardist and programmer.
At this point, the group’s first album Count Your Blessings came out in 2006 in the U.K. and in 2007 in the U.S. Bring Me the Horizon saw some serious band action when they toured with I Killed the Prom Queen, The Haunted, Lostprophets, Killswitch Engage and blackout among other bands. They also played in the 2007 Download Festival.
The second period of the band’s history from 2008 to 2009 saw some major changes to the group’s lineup. In 2009, Curtis Ward went his own way and Jona Weinhofen jumped onboard two months after. This was supposed to be a temporary arrangement for a couple of months but Weinhofen was eventually recognized as an official band member in mid 2009.
Aside from band member changes, one other important development for the band was the release of their second Bring Me the Horizon album, Suicide Season. This was a bit unlike the milder first album. Fans consider it to definitely belong to the metalcore genre. It was so well received that it shot up to the 28th spot in the Australian ARIA Albums chart.
Near the end of 2009, the group released the remix version of their album under the title, Suicide Season: Cut Up! This version was a collaborative work among various individuals including Shawn Crahan, Ben Weinman and Sonny Moore. Hence, it features various musical elements including hip hop.
The band’s third phase is from last year to this year. It is expected to be punctuated by the summer 2010 release of the third Bring Me the Horizon album. Fans eagerly await this development and perhaps the release of some tour merch as well.
Recognitions Received
In the short span of time that the band has been around, it has reaped a couple of awards. These include the 2006 Kerrang! Award for Best British Newcomer, Rock Sound Best British Band and the Best Album for Suicide Season. Despite these distinctions however, the band has had mixed reviews from listeners. The group was tagged as the 2008 Worst Band by the Kerrang! Reader’s poll. The album Suicide Season was also named the Worst Album by the Rock Sound reader’s poll.
Despite mixed reception however, the group has showed no signs of throwing the towel. There may be a couple more years for this young group to appear in numerous band posters.