That's the Spirit

That's the Spirit
Studio album by Bring Me the Horizon
Released 11 September 2015
Recorded Black Rock Studios in Santorini, Greece
Genre
Length 45:01
Label
Producer
Bring Me the Horizon chronology
Live at Wembley
(2015)		 That's the Spirit
(2015)		 Live at the Royal Albert Hall
(2016)
Singles from That's the Spirit
  1. "Drown"
    Released: 3 November 2014
  2. "Happy Song"
    Released: 13 July 2015
  3. "Throne"
    Released: 23 July 2015[1]
  4. "True Friends"
    Released: 20 November 2015[2]
  5. "Follow You"
    Released: 26 February 2016[3]
  6. "Avalanche"
    Released: 23 June 2016[4][5][6][7][3]
  7. "Oh No"
    Released: November 2016[8]
iTunes cover
Artwork used to promote the album on iTunes

That's the Spirit is the fifth studio album by British rock band Bring Me the Horizon. The album was released on 11 September 2015,[9] and marks a departure from the group's metalcore roots, in favour of a less aggressive rock style.

Background

The band started teasing the album in late June when the band started promoting images of a symbol of an umbrella, all in the form of tattoos, stickers and posters posted around England, which would later be revealed as a promotional symbol for the album's first single.[10][11] The band later released a short video in early July where the words "That's the spirit" were spoken in reverse.[12] On 13 July, the band announced they had left their previous label Epitaph Records and signed with Columbia.[13]

In an interview with NME, vocalist Oliver Sykes confirmed that the album would be called That's the Spirit. Sykes also mentioned several song titles from the new album some of which include: "True Friends", "Avalanche", "Throne" and "Blasphemy".[14]

Writing and recording

Keyboardist Jordan Fish played the role as producer for the album along with Sykes, who said that an external producer was unnecessary. The band also hired a personal fitness trainer during the course of recording their album.[14][15]

Composition

Influences, style and themes

In an interview with NME, Sykes said that the album is a loose concept album about life’s darker moods, such as depression, and a way of making light of it. He cited the alternative rock bands Jane's Addiction, Panic! at the Disco, Interpol and Radiohead as influences for the new album.[14] Jon Wiederhorn of Rolling Stone stated that the album marks a change for Bring Me the Horizon from a sound "undeniably rooted in metal" to a "sound full of ebb-and-flow dynamics inspired by indie rock, alternative music and pop" in an "evolution from artsy metalcore to cinematic pop rock", and that it sounds more like Muse and Linkin Park than Metallica and Lamb of God.[16] Similarly, Daniel Furnari of Blunt Magazine suggested that "That’s The Spirit sees Bring Me The Horizon push things further than ever with a collection of stadium-standard alt-rock anthems more suited to Glastonbury than Warped Tour ... For perhaps the first time, Bring Me The Horizon have produced a record with no throwbacks to the Suicide Season days of outrageous mosh calls and downtuned riff insanity."[17]

Featuring characteristics of electronic music,[18] That's the Spirit has been considered electronic rock,[19][20] and has also been regarded an alternative rock[17][21][22][23] and alternative metal[22][24][25][26] album by several online platforms, such as AllMusic, Toronto Sun, and Blunt Magazine. Its style has also been described as pop rock by some music critics.[16][23][27] Sites such as The Guardian and St. Cloud Times have described it as nu metal.[20][28]

Release and promotion

The band's first single released from the album before its announcement was "Drown" on 21 October 2014. The first promotional single was "Happy Song", released on 12 July 2015. The second official single was "Throne", which was accompanied with a music video and the official announcement of the album's track listing and cover art.[11][29] Fish explains that "Throne" reflects the group's then current state of mind both musically and emotionally, going to say that it was one of the most straight forward songs they had recorded, but felt that it was an obvious choice for a single due to its immediate catchy-ness and level of energy.[16] "True Friends", was released as a promotional single on 22 August along an official lyric video.[30][31]

The band set up an intimate album launch performance on September 6, 2015 at the Rose Theatre, Kingston and embraked on a tour throughout October 2015 in North America, which also featured American festivals such as Aftershock Festival and Knotfest and was supported by metalcore band Issues and rock band PVRIS.[32][33] The band also played a European Tour in November 2015 [34]

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic88/100[35]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[21]
Alternative Press[36]
Blunt Magazine[17]
Ghost Cult Magazine9.0/10[22]
The Guardian[20]
Impericon90%[37]
Kerrang![38]
Kill Your Stereo88/100[39]
Renowned for Sound[40]
Rock Sound10/10[41]

Like the band's last two albums, That's the Spirit was met with critical acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic (a review aggregator site which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 from music critics), based on 10 critics, the album has received a score of 88/100, which indicates "universal acclaim".[35]

Daniel Furnari of Blunt Magazine wrote: "[On That's the Spirit,] Oli Sykes powers through every enormous chorus and infectious verse with a confidence and finesse that would have you believe he’s been singing like this for years."[17] Andy Biddulph of Rock Sound stated that the band sounded their most accomplished in the album, bursting with fresh ideas and says that no other band incorporates synth and atmospherics into music quite like the band does in this particular album, comparing the band to the likes of Linkin Park.[41] James Christopher Monger at AllMusic stated "What's most surprising is how natural it all feels, but that's due in large part to the long-form recalibration of the band's sound. By entering the mainstream one limb (album) at a time, Bring Me the Horizon are merely reaping what they've sown, and longtime fans should already feel acclimated to the water." In addition to Linkin Park, Monger compared the choruses from the album to Avenged Sevenfold, Thirty Seconds to Mars and late 1990's Metallica.[21] A more lukewarm response from Phillip Whitehead of Rock Sins, who rated it a 6.8/10, stated that while "Bring Me the Horizon have improved their musicianship once again", the pacing of the album and general tone meant "there is a real sense that the band have lost the very thing that made them unique."[42]

Accolades

The album was ranked at number 2 in Alternative Press's "10 Essential Records of 2015" list.[43] Matt Crane of Alternative Press wrote that the album shows a "genuine evolution for the band."[43] He named "Happy Song" as providing the band "rock-radio potential" and "Throne" as "an aggressive, exotic take on the groove-based synth-rock" that was popularised by Linkin Park.[43] The album was included at number 1 on Rock Sound's top 50 releases of 2015 list.[44] That's the Spirit was nominated for Album Of The Year at the 2016 Alternative Press Music Awards.[45]

Publication Accolade Year Rank
NME NME's Albums of the Year 2015 2015

Commercial performance

On 14 September 2015, The Official Chart Update reported that That's the Spirit was on track to debut atop the UK Albums Chart, being just 1,000 copies ahead of Keep the Village Alive by the Stereophonics.[47] However, four days later, after one of the closest chart battles of 2015, Keep the Village Alive beat That's the Spirit to number one by a margin of less than 1,300 copies, denying Bring Me the Horizon their first ever chart topper.[48]

The album also debuted at number one in Australia, giving the band their third consecutive number-one album there. That's the Spirit has sold 130,000 copies in the US as of February 2016.[49]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Oliver Sykes; all music composed by Bring Me the Horizon.

No. Title Length
1. "Doomed"   4:34
2. "Happy Song"   3:59
3. "Throne"   3:11
4. "True Friends"   3:52
5. "Follow You"   3:51
6. "What You Need"   4:12
7. "Avalanche"   4:22
8. "Run"   3:42
9. "Drown" (new version) 3:42
10. "Blasphemy"   4:35
11. "Oh No"   5:01
Total length:
 45:01

Personnel

Bring Me the Horizon[50]
Additional personnel
  • Al Groves – engineering
  • Dan Lancaster – mixing
  • Ted Jensen – mastering
  • Nikos Goudinakis – assisting engineering
  • Sam Winfield – additional engineering
  • Will Harvey of Parallax Orchestra – violins on tracks 1–5, 7, 10, 11
  • Maddie Cutter of Parallax Orchestra – cellos on tracks 1–5, 7, 10, 11
  • Emma Fish – additional vocals on track 2
  • Mike Bissett - horns on track 7

Charts and certifications

Peak positions

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[51] 1
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[52] 4
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[53] 5
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[54] 21
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[55] 1
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[56] 31
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[57] 5
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[58] 9
French Albums (SNEP)[59] 30
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[60] 6
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[61] 27
Irish Albums (IRMA)[62] 4
Italian Albums (FIMI)[63] 17
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[64] 53
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[65] 2
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[66] 8
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[67] 18
Scottish Albums (OCC)[68] 2
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[69] 10
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[70] 3
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[71] 8
UK Albums (OCC)[72] 2
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[73] 1
US Billboard 200[74] 2
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[75] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2015) Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[76] 37
US Billboard Hard Rock Albums[77] 15

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Poland (ZPAV)[78] Gold 10,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[79] Gold 100,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also

References

Citations
  1. ↑ "Bring Me The Horizon Premiere New Single, Throne". Kerrang!.
  2. ↑ "Bring Me The Horizon - True Friends". Banquet Records. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Bring Me The Horizon in Avalanche video - News - Metal Hammer". Teamrock.com. 2016-06-23. Retrieved 2016-08-18.
  4. ↑ *Please enter your name. (2016-06-09). "Bring Me the Horizon Talk Evolution, 'Avalanche' + More". Loudwire.com. Retrieved 2016-08-18.
  5. ↑ "BBC Radio 1 - New Music Friday - Bring Me The Horizon can't wait to play 'Avalanche' at Radio 1's Big Weekend". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-08-18.
  6. ↑ Taylor, Mike (2016-06-09). "Bring Me the Horizon Talk Musical Evolution, 'Avalanche' Single + More - The Edge". Theedgekerrville.com. Retrieved 2016-08-18.
  7. ↑ "Avalanche Lyrics & Video - Bring Me The Horizon". LyricsGaga.com. 2016-06-25. Retrieved 2016-08-18.
  8. ↑ "Bring Me The Horizon - Oh No". Vevo. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  9. ↑ "BRING ME THE HORIZON To Release 'That's The Spirit' Album In September". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  10. ↑ Biddulph, Andy. "What are Bring Me the Horizon up to?". Rock Sound. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  11. 1 2 Zadrozny, Anya. "Bring Me the Horizon Unleash 'Happy Song,' Frontman Oli Sykes Gets Married". Loudwire.com. Loudwire. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  12. ↑ Carter, Emily. "Bring Me the Horizon unveil teaser video". Kerrang.com. Kerrang!. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  13. ↑ "Bring Me The Horizon leaves Epitaph Records, will release new album on Columbia - Substream Magazine".
  14. 1 2 3 "Bring Me The Horizon On New Album 'That's The Spirit' - And Riding Around Greek Islands On Quad Bikes - NME".
  15. ↑ Carter, Emily. "Bring Me the Horizon premiere new single, Throne". Kerrang!. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  16. 1 2 3 Wiederhorn, Jon. "Bring Me the Horizon on Ditching Metalcore for Poppy, Positive New LP". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Furnari, Daniel (14 August 2015). "Bring Me The Horizon – That's The Spirit". Blunt Magazine. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  18. ↑ "Bring Me the Horizon - That's the Spirit". Exclaim.ca.
  19. ↑ Chillingworth, Alec. "Bring Me The Horizon - That's The Spirit (Album Review)". Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  20. 1 2 3 Lanre Bakare. "Bring Me the Horizon: That's the Spirit review – nu-metal reanimators". The Guardian.
  21. 1 2 3 James Christopher Monger. "That's the Spirit". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  22. 1 2 3 Tovey, Steve. "Bring Me The Horizon – That's The Spirit". Ghost Cult Magazine. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  23. 1 2 "Bring Me The Horizon Oli Sykes Upasana Chatterjee ♫ theMusic.com.au - Australia's Premier Music News & Reviews Website". theMusic.
  24. ↑ Stewart Mason. "Bring Me the Horizon". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  25. ↑ "Prince's 'HITnRUN Phase One' and new Slayer tops this week's new music". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  26. ↑ "Bring Me The Horizon Album Review". Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  27. ↑ "Bring Me the Horizon - That's the Spirit". Music Feeds.
  28. ↑ "Local CD pick". St. Cloud Times. 21 January 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  29. ↑ Bowar, Chad. "Bring Me the Horizon unveil 'Throne' video, reveal 'That's the Spirit' track listing". Loudwire.com. Loudwire. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  30. ↑ "Listen to Bring Me The Horizon's new song, "True Friends" - Alternative Press". Alternative Press.
  31. ↑ "Bring Me The Horizon: True Friends - Music on Google Play". google.com.
  32. ↑ NME.COM. "NME News Bring Me The Horizon announce tiny album launch gig | NME.COM". NME.COM. Retrieved 2015-08-21.
  33. ↑ Carter, Emily. "PVRIS JOIN BRING ME THE HORIZON/ISSUES US TOUR". Kerrang.com. Kerrang!. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  34. ↑ Pollard, Alexandra. "BRING ME THE HORIZON ANNOUNCE UK TOUR DATES FOR NOVEMBER". Gigwise.com. Gigwise. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  35. 1 2 "That's the Spirit by Bring Me the Horizon". Metacritic. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  36. ↑ Bryant, Tom. "Bring Me The Horizon - That's The Spirit". Alternative Press. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  37. ↑ "THAT'S THE SPIRIT - Bring Me The Horizon". Impericon. IC Music and Apparel GmbH. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  38. ↑ Ruskell, Nick. "Bring Me The Horizon That's The Spirit" (1585). Kerrang!.
  39. ↑ "Bring Me The Horizon – That's The Spirit". Kill Your Stereo. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  40. ↑ Thomas, Jessica. "Album Review: Bring Me The Horizon – That's The Spirit". Renowned For Sound. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  41. 1 2 Biddulph, Andy (September 2015). "Bring Me the Horizon - Thats The Spirit". Rock Sound (Review) (204). Rocksound. Rock Sound. p. 77.
  42. ↑ "Bring Me The Horizon - That's The Spirit Album Review". Rocksins. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  43. 1 2 3 Crane 2015, p. 96
  44. ↑ Bird, ed. 2016, p. 30
  45. ↑ Whitt, Cassie (18 March 2016). "Here are the nominees for the 2016 AP Music Awards!". Alternative Press. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  46. ↑ "NME'S Albums of the Year 2015". nme.com. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
  47. ↑ Moss, Liv (14 September 2015). "Bring Me the Horizon and Stereophonics go head to head for albums top spot". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  48. ↑ Sexton, Paul (18 September 2015). "Stereophonics Edges Out Bring Me the Horizon to Top UK's Albums Chart". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  49. ↑ Matt Brown (February 17, 2016). "Metal By Numbers 2/17: The charts have a cult following". Metal Insider.
  50. ↑ James Christopher Monger (2015-09-11). "That's the Spirit - Bring Me the Horizon | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-08-18.
  51. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Bring Me the Horizon – That's the Spirit". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  52. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Bring Me the Horizon – That's the Spirit" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  53. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Bring Me the Horizon – That's the Spirit" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  54. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Bring Me the Horizon – That's the Spirit" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  55. ↑ "Bring Me the Horizon – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Bring Me the Horizon. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  56. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Bring Me the Horizon – That's the Spirit". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  57. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Bring Me the Horizon – That's the Spirit" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  58. ↑ "Bring Me the Horizon: That's the Spirit" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  59. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Bring Me the Horizon – That's the Spirit". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  60. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  61. ↑ "Top 40 album DVD és válogatáslemez-lista – {{{year}}}. {{{week}}}. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  62. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 38, 2015". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  63. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Bring Me the Horizon – That's the Spirit". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  64. ↑ "Bring Me the Horizon – That's the Spirit". oricn ME inc. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  65. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Bring Me the Horizon – That's the Spirit". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  66. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Bring Me the Horizon – That's the Spirit". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  67. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Bring Me the Horizon – That's the Spirit". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  68. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  69. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Bring Me the Horizon – That's the Spirit". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  70. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Bring Me the Horizon – That's the Spirit". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  71. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Bring Me the Horizon – That's the Spirit". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  72. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  73. ↑ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  74. ↑ "Bring Me the Horizon – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Bring Me the Horizon. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  75. ↑ "Bring Me the Horizon – Chart history" Billboard Top Alternative Albums for Bring Me the Horizon. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  76. ↑ "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Albums 2015". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  77. ↑ "Hard Rock Albums : Dec 31, 2015 | Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  78. ↑ "Polish album certifications – Bring Me the Horizon – That's the Spirit" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  79. ↑ "British album certifications – Bring Me the Horizon – That's the Spirit". British Phonographic Industry. Enter That's the Spirit in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
Sources
  • Bird, Ryan, ed. (January 2016). "Top 50 Releases of the Year". Rock Sound. London: Freeway Press Inc. (208). ISSN 1465-0185. 
  • Crane, Matt (December 2015). "10 Essential Records of 2015". Alternative Press. Cleveland: Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. (330). ISSN 1065-1667. 
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