Something needs to be made very clear right from the start here; Bring Me The Horizon is not the same band as when they released Count Your Blessings in 2006, and if anyone has anything negative to say about that, well you’re nearly ten years late. The former metalcore kings have completely evolved their sound and have been doing so since 2010’s There Is a Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven, Let's Keep It a Secret. And if you take the band for what they have become, you cannot deny that the band is great at producing songs that can stick in your head.

Their newest release amo, which was released today (January 25, 2019) is just a continuation of the bands evolution, and features some of the biggest risks that they have ever taken. This album features a dive further into the mainstream rock sound that they showed on 2015’s That’s The Spirit and even trance/house music type tracks that I was completely not expecting.

While the amo is not a metal album in any way (there is beatboxing in one of the songs, yes, beatboxing), it certainly does have its shining moments. The lead single, “MANTRA”, features amazing riffs and is a very good song to introduce fans to amo. “wonderful life” and “heavy metal” have some of the heaviest moments on the album, and features Cradle Of Filth vocalist Dani Filth and rapper Rahzel respectively. While “nihilist blues” is a trance/house style track featuring Grimes. Being only the third song on the album, it will catch you off guard and you may even find yourself humming or singing along to the chorus by the end of the five minute track.

Where amo really falls short is in songs like “i apologise if you feel something”, “fresh bruises”, and “ouch”. These are just complete out of left field risks that the band took and for the right listener would be hits, but I do not anticipate the bands audience to latch onto these songs. Others that I feel just didn’t meet expectations were “sugar honey ice & tea” and “in the dark”; these are just songs that are good but just nothing that really stands out.

Overall this is an album from Bring Me The Horizon that will likely be all but forgotten about, like There Is a Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven, Let's Keep It a Secret.

They’re just not a metal band anymore and they’re ok with that. They still play their older heavy songs at their concerts, but they are well aware that they’re not writing it anymore. I’ll just continue listening to Sempiternal.

If I had to give it a score out of 5, it would sit at a strong, but disappointing, 2.5

Standout tracks: “MANTRA”, “nihilist blues”, “mother tongue”, “wonderful life” (basically all the singles)