On the 2nd of October, I had the great privilege of going to see BRING ME THE HORIZON in Auckland, New Zealand. The Metal band formed in 2004 in Sheffield, England, and have acquired a massive international following, with over 4 million likes on Facebook. With that statistic in mind, it is no surprise that news of their upcoming trip to New Zealand caused quite a stir among the kiwi metal scene, who were definitely not disappointed in the show the band put on. The support act was a local band, called PROWLER. Although many fans, including myself, were unfamiliar with their music, they put on a great show, and I'll definitely be seeking out more of their music.
BRING ME THE HORIZON kicked things off with the opening track from their latest album "Sempiternal", entitled "Can You Feel My Heart". The song begins with quite upbeat keyboard effects, but the moment the guitars and drums came in I was instantly turned into a human pinball. As I'm rather tiny, I was battered from side to side by the ecstatic crowd, who had surged forward in a relentless sea of enthusiastic mayhem. The lethal waves rose even higher once "Shadow Moses" started to play, a favourite from "Sempiternal". I held on to my friend for dear life, and we gradually made our way back so that we were still part of the moshing crowd, but not in the centre of the deadly commotion. Vocalist Oliver Sykes led the crowd with confidence, commanding the formation of circle pits, and even telling the entire crowd to sit down during the slow part of "Chelsea Smile". In spite of the chaos I managed to snap a few pics of the gig, most of them blurry, but it's hard to get a great shot when you're caught in a whirlwind of Metal frenzy.
The night continued with the multitude of tracks from Sempiternal, including "House of Wolves"; with its hostile riffs that made the crowd go wild, the bitter "Go to Hell, For Heaven's Sake"; the aggressive and anarchical "Antivist"; and my personal favourite, the chaotically catchy "Empire (Let Them Sing)", as well as a few others. They also performed a few from previous albums, including "Diamonds Aren't Forever" and the notorious "Chelsea Smile" from Suicide Season, and "It Never Ends" and the solemn "Blessed With a Curse" which appear on the album There is a Hell Believe Me I've Seen it, There is a Heaven Lets keep it a Secret. The show was closed with the popular "Sleepwalking" from Sempiternal, and the audience were left bewildered yet very satisfied with the night of carnage they had just experienced.
After learning that BRING ME THE HORIZON would be doing a signing in a local CD store the following day, I seized the opportunity to meet the awesome guys. It involved lining up for nearly two hours and missing one of my lectures and part of another, but was well worth it. They each signed my copy of "Sempiternal", and a poster I have of them, and were as sweet and polite in person as they are intimidating and brutal on stage. If you haven't heard of these guys, definitely check them out, and if the opportunity arises to see them live, do it. You won't regret it. This gang of musicians certainly brought the horizon.
