Post Human: Survival Horror

Post Human: Survival Horror (stylised in all caps) is a commercial release by British rock band Bring Me the Horizon. It was released on 30 October 2020. It was preceded by three singles: "Parasite Eve", "Obey", and "Teardrops". "Ludens", which was previously released as a single for the soundtrack Death Stranding: Timefall in November 2019, was also included in the track listing. The release was produced by frontman Oliver Sykes and keyboardist Jordan Fish, with additional production from composer Mick Gordon. It is the first in a series of four projects to be released by the band under the Post Human name. The release received generally positive reviews from critics, with some considering it a return to the heavier sound of the band's early material.

Post Human: Survival Horror
Recording by
Bring Me the Horizon
Released30 October 2020
Recorded2019–2020
Studio
Genre
Length32:10
Label
Producer
Bring Me the Horizon chronology
Music to Listen To...
(2019)		 Post Human: Survival Horror
(2020)
Singles from Post Human: Survival Horror
  1. "Parasite Eve"
    Released: 25 June 2020
  2. "Obey"
    Released: 2 September 2020
  3. "Teardrops"
    Released: 22 October 2020

Background and recording

On 20 March 2020, the band announced that they were in a home studio, writing and recording material for their eighth record, which was expected to be an extended play (EP), with part of it being co-produced by video game composer Mick Gordon.[1][2] After playing the video game Doom Eternal during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and being inspired by Gordon's soundtrack for the game, lead vocalist Oliver Sykes contacted Gordon to help produce the song "Parasite Eve" and the release as a whole.[2] In August 2020, the band's keyboardist Jordan Fish teased that the band was planning on releasing a series of releases.[3][4] Speaking about the releases, Fish stated:

"When we get into the other EPs, it'll give us a chance to maybe get some other people on who are a bit more left-field or a bit more out of the box for our band."[3][4]

The band's lead vocalist Sykes also stated that they would be releasing four EPs under the "Post Human" name, stating:

"They'll each be totally different with their own sound and mood," he said. "That's one thing we've never really done. There's often been an over-arching theme on our records, but the music has always felt like a collage. That's cool and I like it, but sometimes you want a soundtrack for a certain occasion and emotion."[4]

On 2 November 2020, Fish explained in an interview he got the terminology of the record wrong, because it wasn't supposed to end up with 9 tracks on it, revealing:

"I didn't think it was going to be nine tracks. I guess EP, we probably used the wrong terminology in the first place, I don't think we should have maybe said EP..."[5]

Composition

Influences, style and themes

Sykes stated that the songs were written to cope with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[6] The genres of the album has been described as alternative metal,[7][8] metalcore,[7][9] electronic rock,[9] nu metal,[9] industrial metal,[10] hard rock,[9] electronica,[11] EDM,[9] and trancecore.[7] The album is culturally cited as playing a significant role in solidifying the emerging nu metal revival movement of the late 2010s within the alternative music scene.[12][13]

Wall of Sound noted "thrash metal inspired riffs" on the song "Dear Diary,".[14] They also compared the song "Teardrops" to Linkin Park and called it a nu metal track.[14] According to The Independent, the song "Kingslayer" "employs thrash and screamo for a nightmare rave..."[15] The song features Japanese metal band Babymetal.[15] During an interview, Fish and Lee Malia revealed that Babymetal originally recorded their parts in English before Sykes asked them to re-record in Japanese.[5]

Promotion and release

On 6 November 2019, the band released a new song titled "Ludens".[16][17] It was released as a part of Death Stranding: Timefall, along with the news that the band are not planning to release an album again and instead want to release EPs in the future.[16][17] On 25 June 2020, the band released the first single "Parasite Eve" along with a music video.[2][18][19] It was expected to be released on 10 June 2020, but due to the George Floyd protests and the Black Lives Matter movement, the song was postponed to 25 June.[20] That same day, the band also announced a new project that they have been working on titled Post Human which they said to be four EPs released throughout the next year which when combined would make an album.[18][19]

On 2 September, the band released with English singer Yungblud a new collaborative single "Obey" and its corresponding music video.[21] On 14 October, the band officially announced through social media that Post Human: Survival Horror is set for release on 30 October 2020.[3][4][6][22][23][24][25] The band announced a 2021 UK arena tour in support of the release.[22][25] On 22 October, a week before the release date, the third single "Teardrops" was released alongside an accompanying music video.[6][26][27]

Reception

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.9/10[28]
Metacritic82/100[29]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[30]
Clash7/10[31]
Gigwise[11]
The Independent[15]
Kerrang!4/5[32]
The Line of Best Fit7.5/10[33]
NME[13]
Riff Magazine9/10[34]
Sputnikmusic2.7/5[8]
Wall of Sound8.5/10[14]

Post Human: Survival Horror received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 82 out of 100, which indicates "universal acclaim" based on 8 reviews.[29] Josh Gray of Clash was positive towards the release stating, "as indicated by its title, track names...this record boasts some serious Big Video Game Energy, elevated by the presence of Doom...composer Mick Gordon. Gordon helps the band inject some high-octane ferocity back into their music, and tracks like 'Obey' and 'Ludens' sound huge when paired with the rattle of your bullets mowing down wave after wave of aliens/zombies/Animal Crossing villagers."[31] Wall of Sound praised the release saying it: "After years of going softer with their sound, trying new things to prove their worth, Bring Me The Horizon will surprise even the biggest of critic with Post Human: Survival Horror. It has a touch of everything they've been producing over the past decade and really cements them as one of the world's best rock bands getting about today."[14]

Laviea Thomas of Gigwise was positive towards the release and felt that the release "[harnessed] their roots, whilst still keeping it fresh."[11] Andrew Trendell of NME was positive towards the release and stated that some of the songs "[have the] pure aggression [that] harks back to the heavier vibes of 2008's Suicide Season and 2010's There Is a Hell..."[13] Nick Ruskell of Kerrang! considered the release to be "cathartic" and "heavy" and that the release has [elements] of the familiar in amongst the creativity.[32] Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic praised the release stating "Survival Horror is one of the band's best distillations of their extremes, providing just enough brutality without sacrificing their evolving vision of how melodic and experimental a metal band can be."[30]

The Independent was also positive towards the release, calling it "...a soundtrack fit for the end of the world."[15] Callum Foulds of The Line of Best Fit stated that "...[the release captures] the bewildering phenomenon that is living through a worldwide pandemic."[33] Mike DeWald of Riff Magazine was very positive and stated that "the record immediately satisfying."[34] Sputnikmusic was less positive stating "Post Human: Survival Horror...[is] the sonic equivalent to fast food, by which you'll consume it, enjoy it, and forget about it right after you've finished it, but it's fun while it lasts.[8]

Accolades
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Alternative Press Alternative Press's 50 best albums of 2020
—
[35]
Exclaim! Exclaim!'s 25 best EPs of 2020
—
[36]
Kerrang! Kerrang!'s 10 best EPs of 2020
1
[37]
NME NME's 20 best EPs and Mixtapes of 2020
—
[38]
Punktastic Punktastic's Top 25 albums of 2020
14
[39]
Revolver Revolver's 25 best albums of 2020
7
[40]
Riff Magazine Riff Magazine's 75 best albums of 2020
33
[41]

Track listing
Post Human: Survival Horror track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Dear Diary,"
  • Oliver Sykes
  • Jordan Fish
  • Lee Malia
  • Matthew Kean
  • Matthew Nicholls
2:44
2."Parasite Eve"
  • Sykes
  • Fish
  • Malia
  • Kean
  • Nicholls
  • Petar Lyondev[a]
4:51
3."Teardrops"
  • Sykes
  • Fish
3:35
4."Obey" (with Yungblud)
3:40
5."Itch for the Cure (When Will We Be Free?)"
  • Sykes
  • Fish
1:26
6."Kingslayer" (featuring Babymetal)
  • Sykes
  • Fish
  • Mk-metal
3:38
7."1x1" (featuring Nova Twins)
3:29
8."Ludens"
  • Sykes
  • Fish
4:40
9."One Day the Only Butterflies Left Will Be in Your Chest as You March Towards Your Death" (featuring Amy Lee)
  • Sykes
  • Fish
  • Amy Lee
4:03
Total length:32:10
Japanese edition bonus tracks[42][43]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
10."Mantra" (Live in Tokyo)
  • Sykes
  • Fish
  • Malia
  • Kean
  • Nicholls
4:23
11."Medicine" (Live in Tokyo)
  • Sykes
  • Fish
  • Malia
  • Kean
  • Nicholls
3:50
12."Ludens" (Live in Tokyo) 5:58
Total length:46:22

Notes

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[44]

Bring Me the Horizon

  • Oliver Sykes – lead vocals, production (all tracks), engineering (1–7, 9)
  • Lee Malia – guitar (1–8)
  • Jordan Fish – programming, production (all tracks), backing vocals (1–7, 9), piano (9), engineering (1–7, 9), vocal engineering (8)
  • Matthew Kean – bass guitar (1–8)
  • Matthew Nicholls – drums (1–8)

Additional musicians

  • Mick Gordon – additional synthesizers, percussion, production (1, 2, 4–6, 9)
  • Toriel – backing vocals (2)
  • Yungblud – vocals (4)
  • Sam Winfield – gang vocals (4)
  • Tom Millar – gang vocals (4)
  • Giles Stelfox – gang vocals (4)
  • Luke Burywood – gang vocals (4)
  • Clayton Deakin – gang vocals (4)
  • Jordan Baggs – gang vocals (4)
  • Babymetal – vocals (6)
  • Amy Love – vocals (7)
  • Georgia South – additional bass (7)
  • Amy Lee – vocals, background vocals (9)

Additional personnel

  • Chris Athens – mastering
  • Zakk Cervini – mixing (all tracks), Yungblud recording and engineering (4)
  • Carl Brown – drums recording (4)
  • Dan Lancaster – drums engineering (8)
  • Watametal – Babymetal recording and engineering (6)
  • Ben Beetham – Nova Twins recording and engineering (7)
  • Phil Gornell – assistant engineering (8)
  • Claudio Adamo – assistant engineering (8)
  • Alissic – artwork

Charts
Chart performance for Post Human: Survival Horror
Chart (2020–2021) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[45] 3
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[46] 15
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[47] 18
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[48] 88
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[49] 31
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[50] 63
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[51] 7
French Albums (SNEP)[52] 122
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[53] 4
Irish Albums (OCC)[54] 31
Italian Albums (FIMI)[55] 98
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[56] 19
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[57] 28
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[58] 11
Scottish Albums (OCC)[59] 1
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[60] 39
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[61] 28
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[62] 6
UK Albums (OCC)[63] 1
US Billboard 200[64] 46
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[65] 4
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[66] 3
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[67] 8

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