Band:	Bring Me The Horizon
Album:	Amo
Style:	Electronic, Alternative rock
Release date:	January 25, 2019
Guest review by:	omne metallum

01. I Apologise If You Feel Something
02. Mantra
03. Nihilist Blues [featuring Grimes]
04. In the Dark
05. Wonderful Life [featuring Dani Filth]
06. Ouch
07. Medicine
08. Sugar Honey Ice & Tea
09. Why You Gotta Kick Me When I'm Down?
10. Fresh Bruises
11. Mother Tongue
12. Heavy Metal [featuring Rahzel]
13. I Don't Know What To Say

Let's address the main question from the off, do Bring Me The Horizon qualify as a metal band anymore? Having gone from derisory deathcore kids through maligned metalcore, the band now seem to settle on an electronic sound that permeates Amo. The band have made the conscious decision to move on, and as a result this album will serve as the severance with those who had clung onto their metal sound for all these years.

Even when looking at this through a music fan's eyes and not a metal fan, there isn't much to enjoy on Amo; it has its moments for sure and can conjure up some good moments throughout, but the band haven't fully transitioned into their new sound. Sounding forced and not like a natural fit just yet, Amo is an album caught between a rock and a hard place (irony eh?).

"Heavy Metal" ironically offers up the most compelling listen on the album; a song venting the band's anger at the metal scene, it is the sound of them flipping off the detractors while moving on to pastures new. It is the one time the emotion seems genuine and not manufactured; the band do it best when slinging mud and funnily enough should have done it more for the benefit of Amo. "MANTRA" hooks you in with a bass line that will have you following it, wondering where it will go before the band pounce on this curiosity and take you through a song that bounces along, working well.

It is a well-produced album at least, allowing the different sounds to flourish and sound like a coherent sonic construct rather than a mish mash of audio flux. Each different element coalesces into the song and does not sound out of place or thrown carelessly into the mix. The band perform well and put effort into what they're playing, fitting the mood they try to convey in the songs. Does the electronic sound suit the band? Not particularly; often they sound like a second or third rate version of what so many other bands do better.

The main problem with this album is that often the music is just bland and Sykes takes the opportunity to try (and fail) and wax lyrical on the top of it; rather than one element covering up the shortcomings of the other, they serve to compound the weakness of the other. "In The Dark" and "Sugar Honey Ice Tea" are the more prominent examples of this; neither offer up much compelling listening and as a result you can't hang onto one element while waiting for the other to catch up, falling off and waiting for the next song to pick you back up.

Does Amo serve as a clean break from the past and the detractors that the band have rallied against? Yes and no; while most metal fans will find little reason to continue following the band, the quality of Amo will probably find the band a new pool of detractors to replace what had come before. Good luck to the band for sure; for me this is where I step off the Bring Me The Horizon rid. Being a metal band wasn't the problem; the quality of the music was and still is.