BRING ME THE HORIZON frontman Oli Sykes has laid out the philosophy behind the band's constant reinvention in a new interview with Esther Wang (Estherini), boiling it down to one rule: never make the same album twice.
Sykes described that evolution as a natural progression rather than a calculated strategy, tracing it back to a search for identity that began once the band moved past its deathcore roots. He pointed to 2008's "Suicide Season" as the moment that set the pattern. The record's nu-metal leanings and reduced screaming drew immediate backlash from a fanbase expecting more of the same, but within months, Sykes said, that same audience had come around — an early lesson in trusting instinct over expectation that's shaped every record since.
That instinct, Sykes argued, only works if it stays personal. "You write music for yourself," he said. "If I try and write music for those people, I'll end write music that nobody likes" — a philosophy he credits for the fact that, despite the band's genre swings across metalcore, electronic, pop and everything between, each album has found its own dedicated pocket of supporters rather than alienating the fanbase wholesale.
The interview arrives on the heels of two recent projects that put that back catalog on display: "Count Your Blessings | Repented," a 20th-anniversary re-recording of the band's 2006 debut released July 10 with guitarist Lee Malia and producer Odeholm, and "L.I.V.E. In São Paulo," a concert film shot at Allianz Parque Stadium and released on LP and CD in April.
With more than 6.6 million albums sold and 9.4 billion streams to date, BRING ME THE HORIZON's willingness to alienate parts of its audience with every pivot has, by Sykes' account, been the very thing that's kept the band growing instead of stalling out on a single sound.