Bring Me The Horizon’s Oli Sykes on what to expect from the next album in the ‘Post Human’ series
Bring Me The Horizon‘s Oli Sykes has given hints about what fans can expect from their new music in the ‘Post Human’ series.
The frontman recently spoke to NME from the band’s HQ in Sheffield fresh off releasing their latest album, ‘Post Human: Nex Gen‘. It marked the second album in their ‘Post Human’ series, the first, ‘Survival Horror‘, was released in 2020, and ‘Nex Gen’ was surprised released last month after multiple delays.
The band initially planned to release four ‘Post Human’ EPs in a year, but changed upon lockdown lifting: “We thought we were going to be in lockdown for a lot longer than we were. We thought we could bang out a few EPs in that time. We also thought these EPs were going to be a little more humble and a bit of fun.”
Now, Sykes has opened up about the future arc of ‘Post Human’ and its narrative. ‘Nex Gen’, the current record, delves into Sykes’ return to rehab for addiction, along with exploring on the band’s newfound success and the departure of pivotal member Jordan Fish.
When asked about where the album’s narrative arc goes next, Sykes responded: “That’s an interesting one. This whole record is a proper narrative that actually explains the first record. I’ve realised that what I’ve been doing for years is building this world in my head and not telling anyone about it. That narrative is going to feed into the next one and I don’t want to give it all away because the way the record ends for me personally is realising that I’ve got to leave.”
Clarifying what he meant by “leave”, he replied: “I’ve got to end a lot of relationships, I’ve got to leave my own country, I’ve got to get away and I’ve got to kind of kill apart of myself. I realise that I can’t heal in the place that made me sick. That’s why that last song on the record [‘Dig It’] feels a bit like a suicide note or a good letter, because it’s a bittersweet ending of realising that I’m fully on this path of healing now, but it’s going to mean I’ve got to kill part of myself.
“It kind of leaves it on a cliffhanger, in a way,” the singer continued. “This record has turned into such a bigger beast than I ever thought it would do, so it’s a bit it’s a bit too soon to tell you exactly where it’s going to go. I’ve got an idea of not only what the next record sounds like but where it is – and it’s not in a good place. But it’s it’s all to play for. It’s going to be four records and this will be that third act – usually where things go south. We’ll see – anything could change.”
In the same interview, Sykes also spoke about seeking rehab for addiction, admitting that “I wasn’t as fixed as I thought I was”. The frontman said he fell “back into drugs and bad habits” during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was what “prompted” him to write ‘Nex Gen’.
“As soon as it all stopped [in lockdown], I wasn’t in a good place either,” he explained. “I was in a good place before because the band was doing well; we were touring the world, getting nominated for awards, and I was feeding off all this stuff. I didn’t even realise that.
“I didn’t think I fed too much off my own ego and didn’t realise I was deriving my worth from that. As soon as it all went? Straight back to drugs.”
Sykes went on to say he “wasn’t healed at all”, adding that he “was just distracted”: “There was a duality between that and the world. It was the start of realising that I wasn’t fixed as I thought I was after rehab.”
He also opened up about the departure of Jordan Fish, explaining that “we got to the point where we weren’t happy as a unit”.
Fish, who joined the band in 2012, announced his exit in December last year, saying at the time: “I’m really grateful for my 11 years with the band, and extremely proud of all that we have achieved together.” Meanwhile, the band added in a statement of their own: “we want to thank him for the musical journey he took with us and wish him luck with everything in the future.”
Speaking to NME, Sykes said upon reuniting with Fish after returning from rehab, he realised they had different priorities.
“It was all a part of not stopping, and that fear of, ‘If we stop, we’re going to drop off, the band’s not going to be big any more, someone’s going to take over, someone’s going to be bigger and better than us’,” he said.
“At some point, you’ve got to accept that this is how big your band are. You’ve also got to ask yourself how much do you want to do to earn that extra [popularity]. Do you really want to go on TikTok and do all the dances? Do you want to be killing yourself in the studio every day when you don’t even want to write music just out of that fear?”
“There’s a finite amount of success out there. We’d got into a mindset together that I was trying to move away from, but Jordan couldn’t to some degree.”
Sykes also emphasised there was no animosity between the two of them, adding: “I’m not going to sit here and go, ‘Oh, it was just creative differences and we wish him the best and we’re all on good terms, and blah, blah, blah’. It’s never like that,” he explained. “Just like all breakups – they never end. Even the most amicable ones. There’s a split. It’s also very boring. There’s no headline there.
“He served our band really well, and the band wouldn’t be where we are without him. I don’t think I’d be able to sing. He was an agent in that and helped me do that. I’ve learned so much from him. I think he’s learned a lot from me. I’m sure one day we’ll see each other again and we’ll talk. Nothing’s happened where it couldn’t be sorted out over a drink. That’s that.”
In other news, Oli Sykes has said one of Bring Me The Horizon’s new songs is “a critique of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”.
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Alex Rigotti
NME
