Review Summary: That's the Spirit is a good album that should have been a great album. Notable flaws involving the reliance on backing vocals, filler tracks, and generic songs rain on the parade.
Bring Me the Horizon is one of the more entertaining up-and-coming acts through the 2010’s. Sempiternal established the Brits as one of metalcore’s premiere acts through the use of powerful lyrics and an electronic undertone. A lot of hype was riding the anticipation of That’s the Spirit, but the question remains as to whether or not Spirit lived up to it.
The best thing the album has going for it is style. The polished and modernized sound immerses the listener into a simplistic vibe with pop overtones. ‘Doomed’ plays the albums strength through the utilization of atmosphere, clever lyrics, and powerful vocals. ‘Doomed’ is without a doubt one of the best tracks from the album and sets the bar for what is to come That’s the Spirit starts to take a nosedive after, “S.P.I.R.I.T. Spirit, let’s hear it,” cheers its way through the stereo. A catchy chorus and basic instrumentals, ‘Happy Song’ lives up to the name by providing an easy listening tune about negative emotion. Although ‘Happy Song’ appeases new listeners, there isn’t much substance for hardcore Horizon fans.
That becomes a major problem leading into most of this album’s biggest hits. Tracks like ‘Throne,’ “True Friends,’ and ‘Follow You’ aren’t noteworthy by any means. Filler songs ‘Run’ and ‘Blasphemy’ don’t offer anything to the overall That’s the Spirit experience. A lot of the songs don’t offer anything substantial to brag about and are missing an x-factor to really shine. The new version of ‘Drown’ is a lot tighter than the original and isn’t bad. ‘Avalanche’ is another strong track that is one of my personal favorites.
‘What You Need’ is lost in the mix and is quite underrated. ‘What You Need’ is probably the most aggressive song on the album and deals with frustration toward closed-minded people. The lyrics are compelling and the music is alright. The chorus rushes in with, “so don’t tell me what I can’t see ‘cause we both know it’s you not me. You don’t want this, but it’s what you need,” driving the song. The album experiments well with a plethora of sounds, but That’s the Spirit certainly leaves metalcore behind.
That’s the Spirit is a good album that should’ve been a great album. The album caters to everybody except fans of metalcore. The album wasn’t trying to be better than Sempiternal, nor was the goal to be anything close to it. That’s the Spirit lacks elements that made their discography gripping. The lyrics aren’t as deep, most songs feel hollow, and most of the intrigue is lost. However, the goal of the album was to separate from their previous work, and for that, the album did well.
Most fans feel the lighter sound is a bad move, but I don’t believe a band has to remain heavy to stay good. A great band can perform well no matter the style. The main criticisms I have toward That’s the Spirit is the reliance on backing vocals. I find it unnecessary and awkward in live settings. Although these songs are very engaging for a live audience, the constant vocal breaks become noticeable throughout the duration. This is especially prominent in their Live at the Royal Albert Hall record, which is a good listen for those who haven’t listened.
Metalcore is a saturated genre that didn’t evolve quite as well as it started. Bring Me the Horizon choosing to separate allows for growth in the currently generic genre and pushes for another overhaul. Whoever takes their once sacred spot certainly has a lot to live up to, but That’s the Spirit certainly holds a bright future for Bring Me the Horizon. 3 is justified because the album isn’t as bad as critics make it out to be. Comparing it to their previous work is redundant because there is no similarity. The premise of embracing negativity is broadly explored, but isn’t as well defined. Hype really killed the album due to the amount of people overly anticipating That’s the Spirit and denying its obvious flaws. I would recommend this album due to the impact it’s had on the modern music scene and, if nothing else, it’s a fun listen.
