Review: Bring Me The Horizon – ‘Parasite Eve’

British rockers Bring Me the Horizon have always been known for their wide range of musical styles, making a name for themselves as a band who isn’t afraid to mix up their style every new album. Throughout their career, the band’s sound has changed drastically. Having once been known for their deathcore style, Bring Me the Horizon are now more comparable to genres such electronic and alt-rock due to their migration to more radio-friendly tracks.

Bring Me the Horizon’s most recent album, Music to listen to… (2019), hinted that the band intended to perhaps move into a much more electronic (and potentially hip-hop) style with their scheduled releases, however their latest single ‘Parasite Eve’ (2020) breaks this expectation through its experimental mix of heavy rock and electro, adding much more than I had expected.

‘Parasite Eve’ is an interesting track, and for me personally is welcomed with open arms as I thoroughly enjoy bands who are not afraid to truly experiment with their style. The track begins with a dramatic, almost choral introduction. Upon first listen, I was quickly drawn to this as it created a clear atmosphere of tension from the first note. When lead singer Oli Sykes’ deep, rough vocals come in you know that the musical build-up of the song is going to be intense. It’s not hard to picture this as a proper mosh-pit moment when they’re able to perform live when music venues re-open.

“Please, remain calm, the end has arrived
We cannot save you, enjoy the ride
This is the moment you’ve been waiting for
Don’t call it a warning, this is a war”

This insane verse is an amazing build-up before the intense drop which blasts through the speakers as you listen to Sykes’ harsh vocals. The use of heavy guitar makes a powerful atmosphere that lasts throughout the song and becomes incredibly catchy. Although the band recorded the track during lockdown, the song does not actually hold inspiration from COVID-19, however it could be argued there are clear comparisons through both the title (actually taken from a 1998 horror game of the same name) and the lyrics which hint upon escape and entrapment.

Jordan Fish and Oliver Sykes’ production of the track is brilliant with the intensity the created through the vast amount of overlays and mixture of rhythmic elements. Overall, ‘Parasite Eve’ opens up great potential for Bring Me the Horizon’s new album and I can’t wait to see what else they release with this new experimental style in tow.

‘Parasite Eve’ is out now via Sony Music.