HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: Sempiternal – Bring Me The Horizon

2013 was a turning point for rock music. Some of the most exciting upcoming musicians were just making their mark on the world, such as Twenty One Pilots‘ major label debut, Vessel, or albums that would go on to attain legendary status in the years to come, such as SLEEPING WITH SIRENS‘ Feel. For BRING ME THE HORIZON, their fourth album, Sempiternal, is definitely the latter.

Named after an archaic English word which is about the concept of everlasting time that can never come to pass, Sempiternal showcased a turning point for the Sheffield band. Not only was it their first album with keyboardist Jordan Fish, but it marked a stark departure from the band’s deathcore days, with no trace of what made their 2006 debut Count Your Blessings and 2008’s Suicide Season so beloved. In fact, Sempiternal sounds like a continuation of There Is A Hell, Believe Me I’ve Seen It, There Is A Heaven, Let’s Keep It A Secret (2010) which kept their metal sound, but incorporated it with more electronic and experimental elements.

Sempiternal can be viewed as an album that brought BRING ME THE HORIZON back from a dark place. The lyrics on Sempiternal are mostly positive, and a lot more positive than the lyrics on There Is A Hell… However, there are still moments of darkness, such as “I can’t drown my demons, they know how to swim” on opening Can You Feel My Heart.

When hearing those electronic synths that open the aforementioned Can You Feel My Heart, you know you’re in for something special. The opener is a raw cry for help, with the lyrics pleading for redemption and forgiveness from the people around them. It is a mostly electronic song, which is mixed in with metal screams, and an absolutely stunning opening song. House Of Wolves is a classic BRING ME THE HORIZON song that wouldn’t sound out of place on any of their three previous albums; although it is interesting that it is a lot more of a metal/hard rock song instead of a deathcore song.

Whilst they might be known nowadays for being chameleons with their ability to blend into any genre whatsoever, back in 2013, BRING ME THE HORIZON were just starting to branch out into other genres. Sempiternal easily covers all the rock genres, such as electronic rock on the utterly fantastic Sleepwalking, which makes the most of Fish‘s talent.

Vocalist Oli Sykes is perfect throughout, whether he is singing or screaming; however, his stand-out moment is on the closing song, Hospital For Souls. The nearly seven-minute song starts off with a spoken word confession about starting again before delivering the mother of all breakdowns, with orchestral strings included. It would be for easy for this song to be a screaming exorcism of a song as Sykes unleashes his demons. Instead it is an intense, harrowing and haunting. It is a perfect closing song, as it is a simple but heartbreaking song about being broken down one too many times.

Of course, the album isn’t all doom and gloom. There are some hidden gems that are sadly pushed to the side by the more popular songs. Shadow Moses is a brilliant song that deserves all the love that it gets; but And The Snakes Start To Sing doesn’t really get mentioned. This could be because it is one of the rarer quieter moments on the album. But it is a beautiful song that deserves a lot more love, as it showcases a gentler yet still brutal side of the band.

Unsurprisingly, upon release, Sempiternal gained critical acclaim, with Kerrang! giving it a perfect score of 5/5. Alternative Press gave it a 4.5/5, and it won the award for Best Album at the 2014 Alternative Press Music Awards. It is easy to see why; Sempiternal is a smooth, polished sounding album with raw and heartfelt lyrics.

The extended edition of the album adds two even more well-loved songs, with the rage-inducing Join The Club and the gorgeous Deathbeds, which is a slow, raw and honest love song. Whilst Deathbeds is a brilliant song in its own right, it doesn’t really feel like a closer. Of course, it is a good song. But it’s very hard to top Hospital For Souls, and therefore Deathbeds and Join The Club sound very much like extra songs; fun and sad, but not completely necessary to the overall album.

With such an iconic and well-loved album celebrating ten years, it makes sense to tour it. BRING ME THE HORIZON have released some ten year anniversary merchandise that was snapped up within a day. However, the question on everyone’s lips is when the ten year anniversary tour will happen. The band have kept mostly quiet about it, but they have hinted that it could happen, which has only peaked interest even more. Although even on tours, the band have played more and more Sempiternal songs live, as they make up the majority of the setlist. It is clear the band love this album as much as the fans.

Overall, Sempiternal is an album that has stood the test of time. BRING ME THE HORIZON have become rock royalty over the years, and it is albums like this which show you why they are very worthy of that crown. It is an album about coming back from the brink, and one that is beloved by many fans and the band themselves. Despite the deluxe edition not bringing much to the table, and some songs being sidelined, Sempiternal is a vital record that is a defining moment in the BRING ME THE HORIZON catalogue. Most importantly, it is an album about hope.

Sempiternal was originally released on April 1, 2013 via Epitaph Records.

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