Bring Me The Horizon Finally Unveil 'Mantra'

Is Bring Me The Horizon's new cult for you?

After setting up "Do You Wanna Start A Cult With Me?" billboards in London, and more recently, a cryptic automated phone line that people could call in to get some clues on what this whole "Mantra" business was, I think that Bring Me The Horizon win the award for the best promo campaign of 2018. It's just above and beyond what so many expected and shows that BMTH often exists well within their own lane. Yet no one is jumping onto Spotify or YouTube for mere promo materials, they're coming for the band's new single, 'Mantra'. And regarding this new song, it's... okay. It's not bad.

Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter

'Mantra' is what we all would expect from the mighty behemoth that is BMTH by now. It's an anthemic, riff-driven rock track with big choruses, some pop undertones, plenty of seismic bounce, and synthy, electronic-tinged post-hardcore moments; all with the occasional scream thrown in for good measure. It's definitely a natural progression from what they were doing on 2015's massive 'That's The Spirit' LP, with just as slick and impressive a production job as ever before. (Man, the way those brief choir samples creep in under the instrumentals and vocals in the track's second verse is just so damn cool). The band has stated in the past that their newer material would be weirder and darker" and I do hope they make good on that. As while this latest take is definitely dark in its tone, it's not all that weird by their standards or of other artists.

Lyrically, the new track's cultish theme is used to battle thoughts of wondering what the truth really is, personal misery, spiritual isolation, being deceived, and finding some kind of salvation. It plays out like a coming of age story in a lot of ways. It truly does make me interested to see this all fleshed out by the song's no-doubt-incoming music video, as well as the supposed mature lyrical themes discussed on their forthcoming album and the shady Mantra organization that'll be central to that narrative. (New album 'amo' drops January 11th, 2019).

Even so, I honestly feel like 'Mantra' would be one of those greater tracks with a better vocalist fronting the whole piece. Yet as Oli Sykes has become the core face and voice of the band nowadays, that won't ever change. Right now, this new single will be one of those grower songs in the long run, but I think that it currently cannot hold much of a candle to anything from 'That's The Spirit' or earlier. But that's just me. See if BMTH's new cult is for you or not below: