Back catalogue: Metal

Review: While there was once a time Nottingham's Bring Me The Horizon were known as the knife-edged fringe sporting MySpace era deathcore easy target, it's highly unlikely anyone ever had it on their bingo cards that within the span of a decade the band would become the torch bearers for mainstream metal, following in the footsteps of Linkin Park and 30 Seconds To Mars. Serving as the long-awaited sequel to 2020's nu-metal indebted Post Human: Survival Horror EP, their seventh full-length (and first since 2018's Amo) Post Human: Nex Gen doesn't simply follow suit, but creatively clusters essentially every sonic guise the group have adorned throughout their tenure into one singular sonic headfuck. Touching on everything from metalcore, post-hardcore, pop-punk, hyperpop, trap, nightcore and Anime music; the album is a testament to ADHD maximalism, and while it may come off as messy, obnoxious or utterly overwhelming, it's nigh impossible to not be impressed by the sleek effortlessness in which they appropriate vastly differing soundscapes like they were always theirs to begin. Marking their final effort with longtime keyboardist/programmer/producer Jordan Fish and boasting equally dichotomous features from the likes of Aurora, Lil Uzi Vert, Underoath and Daryl Palumbo (Glassjaw, Head Automatica), the second instalment of the Post Human saga simultaneously serves as the end of one era for Bring Me The Horizon, and the dawn of an equally promising new age. Report back for Post Human 3 in due course.

Review: With the tragic, untimely passing of lead vocalist Chester Bennington in 2017, it naturally appeared to be the end for nu-metal/alt rock juggernauts Linkin Park, until recently shocking their fans with the confirmed news that Dead Sara vocalist Emily Armstrong would be taking Bennington's place, while new drummer Colin Brittain would step in to replace Rob Bourdain who decided not to join the reformation. Serving as the follow up to 2017's pop focused One More Light, the band's upcoming eight full-length LP From Zero takes its title from their original early day name Xero whilst highlighting this newly defined creative origin the members have found themselves cornered into, bearing clear signs of a desire to celebrate their nu-metal beginnings without undoing the decades worth of progression they have accomplished since. With 11 tracks and just over a half-hour runtime, it's evident the project appears to be prioritising brevity and a succinct introduction to this new era without losing site of what sonically drew their legions of fans to them in the first place. It's a brave, delicate time for Linkin Park with From Zero championed as the heralding of this new chapter, aiming to hopefully bridge and appease listeners from all spectrums of their back catalogue.