Amo - Bring Me The Horizon
This week’s Bring Me the Horizon | In Review topic is a complicated one for me. When I looked at the band’s discography during my prep phase, amo was the album I looked forward to the least. All I knew about it was that it was a massive departure from their Metal-leaning sound, and that I didn’t care too much for the few singles I had heard. While my opinion didn’t wane too much after listening to the full record, I want to make it clear that I have no interest in sitting here, bashing someone’s art. Art is subjective and doesn’t have to be for everyone! This album is just not what I want from the band, but as always, I respect their effort, ability to experiment, and that this wasn’t made for someone like me. I can also see and respect that I’m the odd man out here, as this record is a critical darling! I mentioned in my review of That’s The Spirit that the sound/album would work more for me if it wasn’t Bring Me the Horizon. One of the ways I can best convey this is by comparing it to the Mass Effect video game series (my favorite game series of all time); Mass Effect: Andromeda is not a good Mass Effect game, but if it was just another space game without the Mass Effect name, it would be favored more.
Despite the overall sound not being my cup of tea, there are plenty of impressive aspects that make the album unique and worth a listen. amo, above all else, showcases the abilities of Oli Sykes and Jordan Fish to write big, catchy, arena-filling songs. I constantly found choruses stuck in my head, days after listening. This album also continues to showcase Oli’s ever-growing vocal development, with his clean vocals further evolving into a formidable force. The album is also lyrically profound in many ways, with it being a concept album about love and everything that comes with that feeling (amo is Portuguese for “I love”). “mother tongue” is a great example of this lyricism. The song is about Oli and his wife Alissa forming such a strong connection/bond despite the language barrier they initially had.
I was surprised to find that despite my aversion to this record, there were quite a few tracks that stuck with me and were enjoyable! “nihilist blues” is a building Synth-Pop and Trance track that has Oli and Grimes sharing vocal duties. It feels like a song you could get lost in while tripping in a dark nightclub in Europe – something I vibed with despite it being such a different song for the band to write. The track also feels otherworldly at times.
“wonderful life” is more of a Nu Metal track with a recurring guitar riff that left me in a near-trance state. I kept waiting for it to drop and get heavier, especially after the bridge, but it never came. Dani Filth’s (of Cradle of Filth) feature is fine, but I could take it or leave it. Despite that, I had a good time with the song, as it’s hard for me to pass on Nu Metal (a controversial genre I grew up on and always loved).
“sugar honey ice & tea” is an interesting meld of Pop and Metal, and it’s easily one of the best showcases of Oli’s clean vocals. I really enjoyed the guitar tone here and the “crunch” it has at times. One little nitpick I have is the weird, half-ass feeling screams toward the end of the track. I have no clue what the fuck Oli is doing in this part, but it brings the track down a little bit for me.
“why you gotta kick me when I’m down” blends Trap beats, Metal, and EDM in a satisfying way. The track's flow is great, with Oli rapping, singing, and slightly screaming. The song's outro has an especially memorable beat! More than anything, I’m glad they committed to the Trap/Hip-Hop beat and did something with it, unlike “Follow You” on That’s The Spirit.
Finally, “heavy metal” is my last call-out. It’s a song poking fun at the fans and critics panning them for not being Metal anymore or wanting them to play their “old shit” (which damn, I guess that’s me right now…). The lyrics gave me a good chuckle too, so make sure you pay attention to them! Rahzel’s feature is awesome here, and the beatboxing he brought was an interesting addition that kept the song fresh and served as a solid transition into the end of the song. The ending has a lightning-quick metal breakdown, almost to say “we can do this shit whenever we want to; we just don’t want to right now, so get off our case”.
amo is the band’s biggest swing yet, with the genres explored varying more than any release yet. It’s very heavy on the Electronic/Synth sound, but has flavors of Alt Rock, EDM, Nu Metal, etc. There are a lot of moments when the guitars are stripped back and clean, but it feels very out of place for the band that brought us Count Your Blessings. While the record may not be for me, I’d suggest checking it out if you’re a fan of less aggressive Metal, want to use this as a stepping stone to get someone into Metal, or you just really enjoy music experiments like this one!