Bring Me the Horizon Album: “Count Your Blessings”

Bring Me The Horizon's Count Your Blessings is a major improvement from their previously released EP This Is What The Edge Of Your Seat Was Made For. Some of the songs on CYB had been previously recorded live and in rough demos. The two instrumental tracks, Slow Dance and 15 Fathoms, Counting [which is also acoustic], are executed amazingly and show that BMTH aren't just five little teenagers with an electric guitar, but are also talented in the non-'br00tal' genre. I don't have any favorite tracks, because all of them are different in their own way and are all excellent.

Love them or hate them, Bring Me The Horizon made it big with this album. "Count Your Blessings" is a modern-day slab of honest, adolescent adrenaline, complete with furious, technical riffs, pounding drums, heavy-as-ever breakdowns, and ever-quotable lyrics. "Pray For Plagues" features some incredibly technical riffs and a very catchy breakdown, a great song that made helped jettison them up the level of recognition they're at. Oli Sykes' vocals may take some getting used to, but up until that point, the music itself is still very enjoyable. "For Stevie Wonder's Eyes Only" features great lyrics that are pretty poetic, some very cool riffs and some of Oli's edgiest vocals towards the end. "Tell Slater..." features an awesome, speed-metal opening with a whammy-bar solo, and some awesome, melodic super-heavy riffs. "A Lot Like Vegas" is my possibly favorite song on the album, featuring a simple but flawless breakdown, some dimished-scale riffs and a great, passionate guitar solo, the sort of stuff to blast while cruising down the highway at night! "Slow Dance" is a nice change of pace, featuring a ballad-tempo and some slower, majestic guitars. Great atmosphere here, I wish this song was longer!

I could keep going on about the songs, but you get the idea: if you're into really heavy, but still melodic stuff, "Count Your Blessings" should indeed satisfy. A fair warning, though, "Suicide Season" sounds a lot different from this album, but if you're curious, pick that up, too. CYB is a great album, in whatever sub-genre you would want to put Bring Me The Horizon in. Regardless, for fans of this sort of stuff, it's a hands-down essential. Thanks for the time, and peace.

I just discovered these guys recently, so I have not heard their previous ep. However, I'm loving this album and think this band has amazing potential. 'Pray for Plagues' is my favorite, but indeed all tracks are good. The instrumentals don't do much for me though, maybe if they were longer. One of the only complaints I would have is their use of breakdowns opened by the cookie monster growls. Don't get me wrong, they do those better than most, but in every song it does get a bit old. As young as these guys are, they are definitely going to do something. The vocalist is extremely talented for this genre, and their musical abilities are no different. I think if they keep it up and stay clear of what is popular in this genre, they will stay on top.

Well, almost.

Bring Me The Horizon is one of the worst things to come out of the United Kingdom these days. The band does absolutely nothing new on this album, except play a completely watered down style of music that Through the Eyes of the Dead, The Black Dahlia Murder and the like have done in a far superior matter before. The production is awful, it sounds like it was recorded with a muffled microphone. The members lack any decent skills and can't write a decent song to save their lives. Every riff and breakdown has been done before. Oli Sykes is horrible as a vocalist; his screams sound like a cat getting hit. The drumming is worthless; it can barely keep up with the song and ends up completely sloppy. Take a look at the lyrics, sounds like 3rd rate poetry you'd find in a choppy haired MySpace user's blog. I mean, look at this: "I will always love you, but I need pills to sleep". WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? This band obviously wants to put more effort into how their hair looks than what comes out of their music. Very shameful.

Seems like this band won't last very long, because it's just what you'd normally expect from a band like this, except far worse. Here's this decade's generation of Poison for you!

...there was a time when it seemed like this band were gods or this really new and original thing in England...I'd hear constant praise for this band saying that they were really brutal and powerful...and then they got an award for being the best new British band (it was an undrground UK show however beyond most of the mainstream) so I thought I should hear this band...and the experience of course was live...as they had no singles whatsoever...

...it was indeed...awkward...there were these dissonant and twirling guitars coming in which was an ok sound but nothing I hadn't heard before...and then...the scream...which literally messed up the entire music...I think a scream should compliment the music with a percussive agression...this really just sounds like he's clashing with the sound and smothering all over it...

...so then I hear this album and guess what? Same problem the screaming literally blurs out the entire music on a genre that is based on agression not only in the voice but in the guitars as well (what's even more shameful is I share the same name with the lead singer...oh dear)...

...and now this band have disapeared...don't know where on earth they have gone but they are no longer in existence...either working on new material or have given up...who knows...all I know is they need to evolve...and fast...