It's time to tackle one of the big ones.
Concept albums can be a difficult tightrope to walk, especially when dealing with heavier and more sensitive material. When done well, they can go down as magnificent pieces of art, really touching or powerful records that can resonate closely with lots of people. But when done wrong, be it through poor execution or complete misunderstanding or even blatant disrespect of the subject, they can turn out pretty damn horrid, even insulting. It's tricky to do a heavy subject well, and it takes either some real balls or a real personal and well-informed understanding of the subject material to try to pull it off.
Case in point? That's The Spirit, the 5th major release by British metal outfit Bring Me The Horizon, an album telling a story of dealing with depression, self-harm, and even suicidal thoughts. Yeah, that's some heavy shit, and this record does not shy away from getting pretty deep into that swirling, dark feeling of hopelessness and hatred.
But before we delve into the psychological insanity and darkness that is this album, let's talk about Bring Me The Horizon for a bit.
A deathore-turned-hard rock outfit from Sheffield, England, and that's gathered up a fair bit of controversy over the years for their drastic shift in style.
From the head-splitting deathcore of Count Your Blessings and Suicide Season to the more light, melodic sound of 2013's Sempiternal, their drastic shift from throat-shattering screaming and gory, messy instrumentation to a more nu-metal and electronic rock influenced radio metal sound, a lot of fans were turned off by the quote-unquote "selling out" the band was doing (and this is just a personal peeve of mine, people, please only use the term "selling out" if you know what it fucking means.).
Where do I stand on it?
Well, I did briefly mention my affinity with this band in my Bullet For My Valentine review, but I'm a huge fan, both of the old and the new. In fact, if I'm gonna be a bit controversial here, I kind of prefer their later stuff. Yeah, the scream-heavy deathcore of Suicide Season and especially the extensively-titled There Is A Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It, There Is A Heaven, Let's Keep It A Secret did certainly have its appeal, it kinda started to get old after a while and the more accessible and melodic sound of Sempiternal was a big breath of fresh air.
And while that sound does mostly carry over from Sempiternal here onto this record, I'd say they improved upon it even more, keeping the eclectic blend of electronica-tinged hard rock and screaming metalcore with a dash of radio-friendliness, but they also vary it up a fair bit here on this album, each track having a different sound than the last, instrumentation that weaves in and out from anthemic screaming and explosive energy to bleak, never-ending sadness back and forth seamlessly, perfectly in tune with the emotional weight of the storytelling, making this a record that truly sounds like a descent into depression just as it tells the story of one.
By adding in touched of violin, piano, and even a harp onto the heavy blast of the metal instrumentation or even over the more somber and dark tracks, this record achieves a massive, almost symphonic sound that makes this descent into darkness feel all the more apocalyptic and hit with all the more potency.
Speaking of which, let's finally dive into the individual tracks on this album, as well as the lyrics and themes and see what makes this descent into hatred and madness so incredible.
Kicking off on the softer track Doomed, the album just begins on that note of hopelessness. The minimalist instrumentation and wispy falsetto of frontman Oliver Sykes set up the atmosphere perfectly, and the songwriting pulls that feeling through perfectly, with lines such as:
You must have made some kind of mistake
I asked for death, but instead, I'm awake
Followed up directly by the chorus, where Sykes just screams:
The sun won't shine here, it never did
And when it rains, it fucking pours
But I think that I like it
And you know that I'm in love with the pain
Implying this sick, twisted fascination and enjoyment the narrator somehow extracts from this hopeless depression adds and extra layer of twisted darkness and insanity to the storytelling, and this is a theme that permeates the entirety of the album, making the story this album tells all the more morbidly fascinating.
Through the following two tracks, the singles Happy Song and Throne, the album continues its theme in trying to find beauty in the sickness, Happy Song being about trying to escape from the depression through music and escapism, and Throne being about rising from the ashes, and for the record both are musically two of my favorites on the album (the bridge to Happy Song is one of my favorite moments in music in 2015 so far, period, and the synth work and massive anthemic chorus of Throne are just downright incredible), before the song True Friends comes in, a song that starts to portray this depression, this sadness and destructiveness as some sort of character that's (metaphorically of course) stabbed the narrator one too many times, but despite the desperate attempt to shake it off, it won't go away. It never goes away.
I wasn't too big on this particular track at first, but hearing it in the context of the record made it make so much more sense and it quickly became one of my favorites, especially being probably the most heavy and metal-centric song on the album.
And from True Friends we go into the track What You Need, a song of the narrator confronting himself on his issues, through a heartbreaking and powerful display of Oli just screaming at himself to stop this, yet deep down, he knows he can't, he just feels he wants it even though he knows he;s killing himself, making this lyrically one of the most potent tracks on the album. This is also true of Avalanche, the point where it finally takes a toll on him and he loses it. It's a very striking track, both in the instrumentation, and in the way the lyrics just perfectly display the narrator's state of hopelessness and sadness.
I never stood a chance.
My heart is frozen over.
And in the track Run, that theme continues, showing him trying to run away, escape this hell he's put himself in before the leadoff single Drown shows him finally breaking down and begging, screaming for help, screaming for an escape, even though he knows he can't get there. That is why, in the context of the album, Drown proves to be one of the most striking tracks on the record.
As a final track, Oh No serves as a perfect closer to this story, a very minimal song showing just how empty and hollow the struggle with his inner demons has left him and, honestly, this bitter, bleak ending serves the perfectly potent finish to this emotional wildride of an album, leaving it on a somber and saddening final note.
In short, That's The Spirit is an instrumentally diverse, lyrically potent masterpiece of musical storytelling and emotional power, detailing a struggle with mental issues and depression, and doing so in a way that lets us see into the mind and life of our protagonist and take that wild descent along with him, whether we want to or not, because it's not like he has a choice either.
The problem with a lot of modern rock albums is they tend to have a section of filler or tracks that just don't stand out, which can really distract from the experience of listening to the full album. That's The Spirit does not have this problem. Every track adds something different and something only improves the record's musicality and storyline while running at the perfect length. It's an album better listened to as a whole.
As a brilliant and emotionally intense concept piece and possibly the best rock album of the year, as well as the band's magnum opus, That's The Spirit is a harrowing listen, attempting to make light of the demons that haunt them but, in the end, shows the pain in its most potent and true form.
Classic Bring Me The Horizon fans may be somewhat disappointed in terms of the lighter sound, but anyone looking for a fascinating and hard-hitting record that diversifies its style and delivers an incredible narrative will not be disappointed. That's The Spirit may very well go down as a modern rock classic.
BEST SONGS: Happy Song, Avalanche, Throne, True Friends, Oh No, What You Need, Drown, Run, Doomed
WORST SONG: N/A
Final Score:
9.5/10
