REVIEW & PHOTOS: BRING ME THE HORIZON @ ADELAIDE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE
Bring Me The Horizon (UK), Sleep Token (UK), Make Them Suffer & daine
Adelaide Entertainment Centre | Wednesday, April 17
Review By Will Oakeshott | Photos by Dave Rubinich
Sheffield’s Bring Me The Horizon have toured Australia an astonishing nine times since 2007. Remarkably, it was only their debut visit in ’07, where they opened for thrash icons Megadeath, and their last jaunt in 2019, where the four-piece – comprising vocalist Oli Sykes, guitarist Lee Malia, drummer Mat Nicholls and bassist Matt Kean –skipped over the frontman’s former hometown of Adelaide (Sykes lived in our festival state for a few years as a child).
These experi-metal-pop Brits have remained faithful to our City of Music, as recognised by UNESCO. Bring Me The Horizon have played HQ Complex (both as support and as a headline act), been billed at Soundwave Festival, ascended to the Thebarton Theatre, and closed the Adelaide Entertainment Centre stage. Their last metallic destruction here occurred in 2017.
It's been seven years since the outfit returned to South Australia. But that doesn’t mean BMTH haven’t been busy. The then five-piece (former keyboardist Jordan Fish left the outfit December 2023) released their sixth studio album, AMO, in 2019, followed by an abundance of singles exhibiting their experimental nature and artistic motivation.
A sold-out crowd at Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Wednesday, April 17, had their fingers crossed that the band would let slip when their seventh LP, POST HUMAN: NeX Gen, was slated to arrive in the world (the due date ‘Summer 2024’ is creeping closer). Alas, we’re still uncertain (and those are ‘Fresh Bruises’). However, the 11,000 or so people in attendance didn’t seem to mind – in fact, they were largely revelling in the moshpit mania that ensued from the four-bill lineup and hopefully soothed by the ‘Medicine’ of this show, which will undoubtedly remain memorable for years to come.
Melbourne’s daine had the enormous honour of opening this entire tour. Yet with this distinction, there was a slight downfall – the exceedingly early start. Every obstacle possible seemed to consequently prevent an immeasurable amount of fans from entering the auditorium on time (including this writer). It was saddening that undergoing the full experience of the emotional and experimental scream-pop artist was practically an impossibility. Arriving to the eccentric sounds of the single ‘Writhe’ – which combines the eerie twang of rusty guitar, electronic beats, screamed auto-tuned vocals, and nu-metalcore nuances in a peculiar yet compelling fashion – it appeared the Melbourne muso was still in their blooming stage. Perhaps the upcoming tour with Canadian electropunk Alice Glass will help grow daine’s ‘Baby Teeth’.
“Adelaide! Get the fuck up!” demanded Make Them Suffer’s frontman Sean Harmanis and we happily obliged. The (mostly) Perth-based synth-metalcore quintet was booked as the second act, and have moved in leads and bounds since the release of their third LP Worlds Apart (although, in our opinion, MTS were already soaring after their debut full-length Neverbloom).
‘Ghost of Me’ incited the crowd bounce with its electro-djent recipe, as Sean and keyboardist/vocalist, Alex Reade, traded off screams and melodies that only built in intensity. ‘Bones’ channelled Orange County luminaries of blackened synth-metalcore, Bleeding Through, with a modern twist, while new single, ‘Epitaph’, was MTS at their most captivating. The chorus delivered angelically by Alex between wild hair thrashing and headbanging is the catchiest the five-piece have ever crafted. ‘Doomswitch’ closed out the rapid set with sensational severity, and circle-pit athletes (plus metal enthusiasts), were truly fired up for what was about to unfold.
London’s Sleep Token were not just a change of pace, but a change of space. The Adelaide Entertainment Centre was transformed into some form of an alien future for the London-made metallic orchestra. The anonymous four-piece took their respected places on a multi-level platform, accompanied by three backup singers – this was not about to be some standard performance, but a full-blown production.
For the unknown, Sleep Token are a band who are masked, cloaked and unidentifiable. They do not present performances, they exhibit rituals. And if the assumption arises that the outfit are leaders of some sort of ‘Cult’, the notion is actually not too far-fetched. However, the talent involved with these artists is infinitely immense.
They are magnetic. ‘The Offering’ commenced with a Skrillex-inspired interpretation of the X-Files theme song before the thick djent-ronica dropped, shaking the walls of the venue. We felt hypnotised and motionless by this beast-sized sound – an effect only magnified when vocalist Vessel launched into his operatic preaching. Sleep Token switched between genres with precision and, most of the time, it was during the same adventurous track. ‘The Summoning’, for example, weaves between prog-metal and electronic metalcore, ’80s psychedelia, chamber-pop and even R&B and funk. It’s honestly one of the more free-flowing songs in their arsenal – and undoubtedly majestic when played in a live arena.
‘Vore’, the fifth track from Sleep Token’s 2023 record Take Me Back To Eden, brought the heavy element to the set, awakening everyone from their trance. ‘Granite’ was possibly a too popular affair – the sing-along from the crowd felt a little bewildering. But the fact a prog-metal group can conjure an audience chorus just like the Backstreet Boys is beyond striking. ‘Take Me Back To Eden’ closed the theatrical splendour, mixing enigmatic rock with hip-hop influences and classical music. Sleep Token are becoming a band that people will discuss with pride in the near future. Sentences like “I saw them when they supported…,” will be met with disbelief. But it would seem that a Sleep Token takeover is inevitable. (Music aside, we thoroughly enjoyed Vessel’s recurring dance which could only be described as a ‘pirate jig’ – moves that could rival that of Captain Jack Sparrow!)
After a substantial venue alternation occurred for Bring Me The Horizon’s set – the Adelaide Entertainment Centre looking nothing like its traditional self, instead dressed up as a futuristic dystopian universe.
When the set lit up, the crowd nearly rioted in anticipation. An anime short film rolled (which was quite comical in nature), stirring the thousands of people present. The whole thing was rooted in cinematic oddity, but it signalled that Bring Me The Horizon were here, and they were here to have fun.
‘DArkSide’ introduced the set with sensational spectacle. Confetti cannon explosions, pyrotechnics and a deafening shout-along chant from the crowd could’ve meant that vocalist Oli Sykes didn’t need to utter a single lyric. But he did, and he’s never sounded better. ‘Empire (Let Them Sing’ was monstrous and dramatic; ‘MANTRA’ was a brilliant yet bizarre blend of Linkin Park alt-rock and clean K-Pop. ‘AmEN!’ brought the heaviness back to the set as the LED screens rolled the single’s cult-themed film clip.
Alternative Press MD Sam Coare once said, “You’d back a band that was starting today [with] Oli Sykes as the figurehead more than you would Dave Groh”. It’s a bold statement, but it rang true for this Adelaide show. His performance of ‘Teardrops’ only accentuated this.
Credit is due to the members of BMTH – each contribute a vital body part of the band. Guitarists Lee Malia, John Jones, and bassist Matt Kean work with a cohesive bond that looks like a brotherhood. They stalk the stage like lions, ready to pounce, and their energy never dwindles. This is all glued together by percussionist Matt Nicholls – if Mr Sykes steers the ship, Matt is the sails and wind at once.
For ‘Shadow Moses’, vocalist Oli Sykes appeared at the top of the stages’ multi-level structure, holding a flare. All he needed to sing was, “Can you tell from the look in her eye?” and the rest was history. ‘Obey’ and ‘DiE4u’ flexed the five-piece's pop muscles and gave the crowd a well-earned rest. The EDM-metal anthem ‘Kingslayer' elevated potentially the heaviest rave AEC has hosted. This was followed by a folk rendition of ‘sTraNgeRs', which united everyone in a rather breathtaking moment.
“We will never sleep, cause sleep is for the weak,” boomed the opening line of BMTH’s ‘Diamonds Aren’t Forever’. The Sheffielders took a very heavy diversion back to 2008 and took no prisoners doing so. ‘Parasite Eve’ offered some respite, if only temporarily. ‘Antivist’ crushed all in attendance again. Then, moving to the barrier, Oli serenaded the audience with ‘Drown’ – one of the most poetic moments of the entire set. And by the time ‘Can You Feel My Heart?’ played, South Australia showed BMTH that they knew the answer.
The touring five-piece departed the stage and a short documentary detailing the band’s growth in their 20 years together rolled. This touching display was escalated by the set’s thunderous encore. We were treated to ‘Doomed, ‘LosT’ and ‘Thone’ – which closed the show and obliterated us all.
Our seven-year wait had finally come to an end. But one thing’s for sure, our 2625-day wait was very worth the patience.
