Everyone has gone through that phase where they want to listen to a certain kind of music that their parents hate. Some of the edgier people go for bands, such as My Chemical Romance, if they want something more emotional. If they want heavy metal, they’ll go for Motionless in White. This has helped bands to grow, and it allows them to know what type of music can keep them in the spotlight.

     Right now, bands are trying to find a sound that’s more unique; one band in particular is trying to make their sound more unique by adding in some techno and trap metal music in the background of their songs. That band is Bring Me the Horizon (BMTH).

    BMTH is a British metalcore emo band which formed in Sheffield in 2004. The band consists of members Oliver Sykes, Matt Kean, Lee Malia, Jordan Fish and Curtis Ward. BMTH is known for their hit album, Sempiternal. This album is known for songs, such as “Shadow Moses” and “Can You Feel My Heart” which have a dark techno-rock sound. 

    On Oct. 30, just in time for Halloween, BMTH released their third extended play (EP), Post Human: Survival Horror — an EP is basically a “mini-album.” Usually, EP’s tend to have one to three songs on them, but some bands and artists do more than five. BMTH’s EPs tend to have a little over ten tracks, but this one only has nine. Since this is a different sound from the original BMTH, fans have decided to call it a newly recognized genre, called Cyberpunk. 

    According to Shellzine, Cyberpunk in music is more industrial and has a lot more technology used than instruments. BMTH still uses instruments, but they have implications of dubstep and drum machines. The background in music in some of the songs sound too much like trap music, and it's a little hard to listen to, especially since the music is supposed to be considered metalcore.

Not much detail is known about the meaning behind this EP. Sykes told New Musical Express, the EP is about nothing truly mattering in the world because everything ends at some point. Sykes portrays each song in either a harsh tone or a softer tone depending on the topic he is singing about, such as modern day worldly or personal problems. However, like any other metalcore band, BMTH opened the EP with a hard hit.

    “Dear Diary,” is the first track on Post Human. The song fades in with a techno keyboard sound similar to the instrumentals of an action movie. Heavily distorted guitar can soon be heard along with some hard banging bass drums. Sykes soon comes in screaming the first few lyrics. I think Sykes sounds really good, but it seems like he is focusing too much on adding screams in random areas of the song. I think that if it was a bit more planned out where he would scream, the song would sound a lot better. 

However, this song is not a bad introduction. The title of this song perfectly implies that the EP is similar to someone starting to write in their diary. When it comes to the lyrics though, they are not my favorite. I think Sykes could’ve done a better job with giving more of a story or meaning to the song. 

Based on what I can read, “Dear Diary,” is referencing the problems of 2020 by metaphoring minor inconveniences with things that have happened this year. For example, in the beginning, Sykes mentions a busted TV and a barking dog, and how he is annoyed by both. This could reference the reactions we have to all the negative things on TV, such as the presidential debate.

    Another good track is track three, “Teardrops.” The sound reminds me of the band, Motionless in White, in the sense that they have the techno sounds similar to their album, Infamous. “Teardrops” begins with soft talking before shifting into simple guitar riffs. Sykes then begins to sing in a tone that sounds a bit like pop punk. This is where their cyberpunk sound is the most apparent. 

     The lyrics are written a bit better than “Dear Diary,” in the sense that you understand what Sykes is speaking about. In the chorus, he talks very clearly about feeling numb and not being able to control how he feels. They are dark and give more of a serious tone, but nonetheless, I would say that it’s my favorite upbeat track on the EP.

One track that I think is well written, but needs a bit of work is the sixth track, “Kingslayer.” This track features the amazing metal band, BABYMETAL singing the chorus. The verses sound like they are trying to match BABYMETAL’s sound which consists of more keyboards and guitar riffs. The chorus has more of a pop and techno sound. It sounds like the theme song to an anime. The only problem with the sound is that the verses and the chorus sound like two different songs. I think that if this was just a BMTH song or BABYMETAL song then it would probably work a lot better. 

    The lyrics seem to be hinting that the world is currently being ruled by different leaders who could be harming different countries. In the pre-chorus, Sykes screams, “Wake up! You’re a puppet!” According to some fans at Genius Lyrics, this means that we are all puppets to society, and how we can easily get tricked into living under a certain type of government that is harming the country. I think the timeliness of this song is perfect for what is going on today, and how different forms of government, such as communism or capitalism, can harm certain countries. 

     Finally, one of the best songs on this EP is called, “One Day the Only Butterflies Left will be in Your Chest as You March Towards Your Death.” This song is the perfect ending to Post Human not just because of the sound, but the singing. This track features “Bring Me to Life” singer and frontwoman of Evanescence’s Amy Lee as she sings a beautiful duet with Sykes. This song gave me chills the first time I heard it. It begins with back-shivering vocals from Lee. I honestly feel that she saved this song. Though Sykes  sounds really good, Lee is the only reason why I continued to listen. 

    Lyrically, this song references old BMTH songs. In the chorus, the line “How's it gonna feel without my arms wrapped around, wrapped around you?” is sung. This is a reference to their song, “Blessed with the Curse” off the album, There Is a Hell Believe Me I've Seen It, There Is a Heaven Let's Keep It a Secret. Fans have said the chorus to this song sounds very similar to “Blessed with the Curse,” leading me to believe that it is meant to give a nostalgic feel to the song, and thus, ending the EP off with a look at the past.

     All in all, Post Human: Survival Horror was not too bad of an EP. I think BMTH focused too much on the sound of it, and too little on the lyrics. Though they seem to be trying to make the lyrics talk about things that are happening today, they could’ve honestly worked on the writing a bit more. Their sound was very different, but the only addition was the sound of trap music, and the addition of some non-punk artists, such as Nova Twins that featured on the song “1x1”. I think I would recommend this to someone who is into techno rock or screamo. I think if BMTH focused more on the lyrics and collaborated with people that had similar sounds then this EP would’ve come out sounding a lot better.