That’s The Spirit is the fifth studio album by the band, Bring Me The Horizon. Bring Me The Horizon is a British metal-core band that has embraced their death-core elements in this album. One of the reasons I like this album so much is because the band released a version with track by track commentary of the whole album done by Oli Sykes, lead singer of Bring Me The Horizon. This helps you feel connected to the band, and lets you get inside their heads and understand what the song is about. They chose That’s The Spirit as the album name because it is such an “ironically bleak sentiment,” as described by Sykes in the commentary for Happy Song. This term is used when people don’t know what else to say except “get over it.” This album touches on a lot of serious problems with how the band sees the world and how they learn to accept the things they can’t change.

Doomed-

Doomed starts with breathing noises, drill sounds and some percussion which doesn’t sound very pleasant in writing, but the band uses it in such imaginative ways which makes this song one of the most unique songs on the album. The vocals for this song are extraordinary and you can hear how desperate Sykes feels and the distinct change in voice when he goes from accepting the fact that he’s doomed, to trying to fight it. The only bad thing about this song is it romanticizes depression. Saying, “I want to feel it”  is not the case with most people suffering from depression.

Happy Song-

The song begins with children chanting “S-P-I-R-I-T Spirit! Let’s hear it!,” with heavy guitar and drums that have such a nice contrast that it repeats multiple times later in the song. Throughout the song, there’s a constant heavy guitar and drums which makes it a good song to blast if you want to get pumped or get stuff done. The title Happy Song is really ironic because the lyrics talk about how people avoid real problems and replace it with something superficial to trick themselves into being happy, such as singing along to a happy song even though you’re not really happy.

Throne-

This song opens with a fast, catchy melody and a drum beat that makes you want to dance along. Throne is about how people break you down, but they also build you up. The line that stands out to me the most on this track is “every scar will build my throne,” which a lot of people can relate to. This lyric is relating to how when you get hurt, you change and become a different and better person. Throne is one of the catchiest songs on the album and it will easily get stuck in your head because of its tune and simplicity.

True Friends-

True Friends is an incredibly truthful song that talks about how there are people who you think are your friends, but they betray you. It opens up with the line “I wouldn’t hold my breath if I was you, cause I forget but I’ll never forgive you. Don’t you know? Don’t you know? True friends stab you in the front,” which is saying that the person who did the metaphorical stabbing (or “backstabbing”) didn’t have the decency to do it to their face, therefore they weren’t a true friend. The lyrics in this song are really confusing and deep, but if you give it some time, they make more sense and make you think about how you treat others and how others have treated you. Overall this song is a great song to yell along with and dance to.

Follow You-

The beginning of Follow You reminds me of Troye Sivan, an Australian singer and songwriter, who always has bass and drum lines that stick out. There’s also this nice guitar part in the chorus that is very ethereal. It feels like it should be playing during a romantic montage in a  movie. Overall it’s a pretty tame song for Bring Me The Horizon. It lacks the heavy guitar and bass that their songs usually have, which was a refreshing change.

What You Need-

What You Need opens up with a single guitar that fades in and is then joined by a very catchy drum beat that makes you want to tap your feet. The best part of this song is probably the drum line because it’s so solid. The rest of the song is pretty average, and isn’t anything to rave about.

Avalanche-

Avalanche begins with a very upbeat drum line and guitar part. Throughout the song there’s a guitar riff that repeats that probably isn’t necessary. It kind of annoys me because it’s not always prominent, but you can just barely hear it in the background. Despite this, the vocals are very strong and show a lot of emotion which helps connect the listeners to the band.

Run-

Run begins with sporadic vocals with a bass in the background. There’s nothing really extraordinary about this song.  It sounds like a mediocre metal-core/punk band. It’s an okay song but it doesn’t stand out from the rest.

Drown (New)-

This song was originally from their 2013 album Sempiternal (people who like That’s The Spirit would definitely love this album), and was slightly changed for That’s The Spirit. The guitar part was re-recorded and if you play this version, with the original version, that’s the only prominent change. Drown has the iconic line “What doesn’t kill you makes you wish you were dead,” which gives a more realistic view on life, rather than Kelly Clarkson’s What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger.

Blasphemy-

Blasphemy starts with really heavy guitar chords and eventually a simple, but interesting guitar part. This song has the interesting story of someone turning their cheek to avoid hearing what they don’t want to hear and telling others lies. The guitar riff is simple and is similar to a lot of guitar riffs in classic rock.

Oh No-

This song opens up with a hypnotizing drum beat and chord progression but then instantly disappoints with the adding of the acoustic guitar. The guitar drowns out the drum line and everything but the vocals, and there is a big change from the beginning to the when Sykes comes in. It’s also very choppy and would sound much better if they never added in the guitar. The vocals and drumming in Oh No are very good and make it catchy but the guitar just sounds very out of place. This is probably my least favorite song on That’s The Spirit.

I can confidently say That’s The Spirit is one of the best albums from Bring Me The Horizon, and if you like this album you will definitely like Sempiternal which is also by Bring Me The Horizon. To listen to That’s The Spirit click this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWx8XVgGqr8&list=PLS9LdyPVmq8FMNHf9H_9726kSAyLyoZK0. When you compare this album to any of their other albums you can see how much they have grown as a band. Their sound has matured and gotten more professional and you can tell that they have found an identity.