With That’s the Spirit, released in 2015, Bring Me the Horizon cross a decisive threshold. The Sheffield band, once rooted in an aggressive metalcore, here fully embraces a rock aesthetic of vast reach, where electronic pads and unifying choruses take precedence over screaming. This turn, long in the making, is achieved with a confidence and coherence that make the album one of the most significant of their career.
An embraced turn toward the mainstream
Oli Sykes largely sets aside the scream in favor of a clear, melancholy, at times almost vulnerable singing. The compositions, driven by Jordan Fish’s keyboard work, gain in clarity and accessibility without renouncing all heaviness. The result sounds like a stadium alternative rock, cut out for the crowds, yet shot through with a darkness that keeps it from tipping into pure ease.
Light and shadow
Beneath its catchy choruses, That’s the Spirit hides dark themes: depression, addiction, malaise, disillusion. That contrast between the sweetness of the melodies and the pain of the lyrics is the beating heart of the record. Oli Sykes stages his own demons with a disarming honesty, turning suffering into cathartic anthems the audience will sing back at the top of their lungs.
A successful reinvention
Of course, longtime purists cried betrayal, mourning the aggression of the early days. But reducing this record to a simple denial would be unfair: it is rather a logical evolution, that of a band daring to widen its horizon without losing its emotional identity. The polished, modern production serves that ambition perfectly. Some tracks skirt pop formatting, and the album at times lacks the rough edge that made the band unique. But the effectiveness is undeniable, and the sincerity of the message defuses most of the criticism.
That’s the Spirit stands as a pivotal record, the one that propelled Bring Me the Horizon toward the summits while owning a radical transformation. Accessible without being hollow, melancholy without being crushing, it captures the mood of an era and confirms that the band had become far more than a metalcore act: a phenomenon capable of touching a vast audience.
