It goes without saying that Bring Me The Horizon have evolved from their deathcore beginnings. They like to keep people on their toes. Since 2015’s That’s the Spirit, the Sheffield heavyweights have taken an alternative approach to new music which has found them spanning multiple genre’s at once, creating tracks no one would have guessed was them. Taking that idea of evolving another step further, the band’s latest cut, “LosT”, a feisty blast of anthemic pop-punk, offers their audience a taste of the second Post Human installment, something that’s been a long time coming.
Having cited bands such as My Chemical Romance, The Used, 100gecs, and The Strokes behind the conception of “LosT”, the upbeat track travels through electronic, pop-punk, indie-rock, and early ‘00s influences as frontman Oli Sykes sings about self-doubt, suicidal thoughts and drug abuse with a vocal delivery as equally intense. The haunting melody, which sets the tone for the rest of the song, paves the way for painfully striking lyricism as Sykes questions “Why am I this way?” and “What the hell is fucking wrong with me” before later proclaiming he “used to go to therapy / But the doctor tried to section me / The next time that I open up to someone / Will be my autopsy.”
The relatable, emo-pop track, which is accompanied by stunning yet eerie visuals by Jensen Noen featuring a gored-up and bandaged Sykes embarking on a murderous rampage, points to multiple battles with mental illness whilst detailing the nature of those experiences; despite its vulnerable, sincere lyrics, “LosT” still manages to instill unwavering confidence. “Usually on the singles we’re looking for something that’ll help people who don’t necessarily like our band – or know our band – engage with it,” keyboardist Jordan Fish says in an interview with Kerrang! “That’s part of the reason, I know it’s not a particularly artistic one, but catchy songs end up being singles,” he continues.
“Compared to ‘DiE4u’ and ‘sTraNgeRs’, it’s a very emo-y feeling,” he adds. “That’s kind of one of the themes of the record musically, it goes a bit more there compared to the other two. It’s a bit more fun and upbeat compared to other songs we’ve done,” he notes. “Both ‘Die4u’ and ‘sTraNgeRs’ are more like ballads, so doing something a bit more upbeat and fun was cool. It was either that or do something slightly heavier, and we’ve got some heavier stuff coming on the rest of the record, so it felt like a good thing to drop now.”
Though “LosT” is undoubtedly a departure from the band’s earlier sounds, it still has some staple Bring Me The Horizon components such as Sykes’ classic screams, a riveting breakdown, and enough jarring guitar riffs to last a lifetime. It may not be for the longtime, deathcore-loving fans but there’s no denying that it’s catchy and going to turn heads.