Bring Me the Horizon

History

Early years and Count Your Blessings (2004–2007)

Bring Me the Horizon began in 2004 with members of many defunct bands from around their local area.[4][5] They acquired their name based on a line taken from the film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, in which Captain Jack Sparrow shouts "Now... Bring me that horizon."[6] After slightly altering the original line, by simply changing 'that' to 'the', Bring Me the Horizon then became the official name of the band.

They are currently signed to Visible Noise Records, but were originally signed to Thirty Days of Night Records and were the first band to be signed to that label. The band are also signed to Epitaph Records in the US and to Shock Records in Australia. They released their début album Count Your Blessings in October 2006 in the UK and in August 2007 in the United States. They have toured in the past with bands such as Lostprophets, The Blackout[7]; Killswitch Engage and The Haunted[8]. They performed a headlining tour of the UK during March and April 2007 with the now defunct metalcore band I Killed the Prom Queen, whose guitarist would become a permanent member later. They played Download Festival 2007.[9]

They also played the North American leg of the tour, including a guest appearance Travis McCoy from Gym Class Heroes on 6 August in Calgary. He joined Oli in chanting the start of their song "Diamonds Aren't Forever".

In November 2007 they toured on the Australian leg of Gigantour, playing three dates. They returned to Australia in May-June 2008, appearing on I Killed The Prom Queen's final ever tour.

Suicide Season and line-up change (2008–2009)

Bring Me the Horizon had been writing and recording a second studio album over the beginning of 2008. They had been in Sweden recording the album throughout April and May with Fredrik Nordström, who has worked with bands such as At the Gates, Arch Enemy, I Killed the Prom Queen and Dimmu Borgir. The album was released on 29 September 2008. Suicide Season is completely different to previous album Count Your Blessings, having a more metalcore vibe to it, similar to the debut EP release, This Is What the Edge of Your Seat Was Made For.[citation needed]

The band recently embarked on their first headline tour of the US, as well as appearing in the 2008 Warped Tour. Bring Me the Horizon are also joined Mindless Self Indulgence, In Case Of Fire, Black Tide and Dir en grey on the Kerrang! and Relentless 2009 UK tour.[citation needed] They are also set to join Thursday, Cancer Bats, Four Year Strong and Pierce the Veil on the Taste of Chaos 2009 North American tour.

It was announced on 27 August 2009 that Bring Me the Horizon will be releasing a remixed version of Suicide Season, titled Suicide Season: Cut Up!, in the UK on 2 November 2009.[10] In an interview with Rock Sound, Oliver Sykes stated that the idea came about after asking a friend to remix one of their songs, and after being very pleased with the end result the band decided to take it a step further and get the whole of Suicide Season remixed. Musicians and producers featured on the album includes Ben Weinman from The Dillinger Escape Plan, Sonny Moore, L’Amour La Morgue (Ian Watkins from Lostprophets), Utah Saints and Shawn Crahan from Slipknot. Sykes also stated that “There’s not a song on there that really sounds like the original. What’s great though is the diversity of each song. There’s dubstep to hip-hop, electro to drum and bass”[10]

In March 2009, guitarist Curtis Ward left the band. A number of reasons have been cited for his departure: in an interview, bassist Matt Kean commented that "it became apparent he wasn't enjoying it" and that it was "just about commitment".[11] In May 2009, Jona Weinhofen, formerly of I Killed The Prom Queen and Bleeding Through, joined the band on a temporary basis to fill-in for Curtis. However, it was revealed in July 2009 that he would become an official member of Bring Me the Horizon, partly due to his discontent with living in America, hence leaving Bleeding Through. According to Oliver Sykes in an interview on the subject, Weinhofen has injected the band with a new-found enthusiasm, causing the bands performances to be 'so much better and refreshing', and he feels they have 'stepped up another level'.[12]

Third studio album (2009–present)

In an interview with Kerrang! Magazine, it was revealed that Bring Me the Horizon planned to writing the follow-up to Suicide Season during the summer of 2009, with the plan to go into Studio Fredman with producer Fredrik Nordström (who produced Suicide Season) in March 2010.[12] Bring Me the Horizon entered Studio Fredman in April 2010,and completed tracking later that month. It will be the first album featuring new Guitarist Jona Weinhoffen. The band is currently in the USA on the Vans Warped Tour. No release date has been announced for the new album yet.

Controversy

Nottingham incident

While on tour in the United Kingdom allegations were made against vocalist Oliver Sykes that he urinated upon and then assaulted a female fan after a gig at Nottingham Rock City when she allegedly refused his sexual advances. Sykes was subsequently charged with urinating on the fan, but not with physical assault.[13] Online Music Zine Drowned In Sound claimed that Bring Me The Horizon were banned from Nottingham Rock City.[14] However the band's label Visible Noise denied these rumors and the band subsequently played Nottingham Rock City on 1 December 2007.[15]

On 13 April, Sykes appeared in Nottingham Magistrates Court on a charge of common assault relating to the alleged urination incident, to which he pleaded not guilty. The case was adjourned until early May.[16] On 3 May 2007 Sykes attended Nottingham Magistrates court for the second time and confirmed his not guilty plea. The case was adjourned again until 17 September.[17] Due to lack of evidence, all charges against Sykes were dropped.[18] The song "No Need for Introductions, I've Read About Girls Like You On the Backs of Toilet Doors" is reportedly about the alleged incident which was released on Suicide Season.

YouTube video with Architects

During a tour, Bring Me the Horizon and Architects filmed a video showing fights between Oliver Sykes and Architects' lead singer Sam Carter. The video was filmed at an all-day event in Karlsruhe, Germany and shows what seemed to be Sam Carter committing acts of physical violence towards Oliver. The video was uploaded onto the online video website, YouTube of which it attracted thousands of hits. This video outraged many Bring Me the Horizon fans causing many people to send hate mail towards Sam Carter.

"We're mates with the guys and were sharing a bus for the whole two week tour!" Carter told Kerrang!. "The fact that people believed it was real is just so ridiculous! We filmed the fight about three times and even added in comedy punch noises and yet kids were still sending us over-the-top hate mail!" Oliver Sykes also commented saying "All-day events can get boring very fast so we conjured up the first idiotic thing we could think of and made it as unbelievable as possible. Sam was getting death threats from kids off MySpace and at the same time getting praised for laying me out! We're sorry if anyone was upset by this although I'm sure most people reading this probably like the thought of me getting a punch in the face!". The issue was later resolved with things returning back to normal.[19]

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Alesana

Formation and Try This with Your Eyes Closed (2004–2005)

Although the band's members first began playing together in Baltimore,[8] Maryland, the band officially formed in October 2004 in Raleigh, North Carolina by Shawn Milke, Patrick Thompson, Dennis Lee, Steven Tomany and Daniel Magnuson. The name of the band is derived from Aliceanna St., which Shawn Milke and Patrick Thompson lived on when playing in Baltimore, MD. Aliceanna St. is located in Fells Point, a neighborhood in Baltimore. Alesana was the first band to join Tragic Hero Records in 2005[9], and their 3 demo songs titled "Apology", "Beautiful in Blue" and "Goodbye, Goodnight for Good" which were featured on a compilation All The Tragedy Money Can Buy. Later they released their debut EP, Try This With Your Eyes Closed, in May of that year. They toured in the United States, including an appearance at the Cornerstone Festival. In the same year Daniel Magnuson was replaced by Will Anderson.

On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax (2006–2007)

In 2006 they added a new drummer Jeremy Bryan to replace Will Anderson and added guitarist/vocalist Adam Ferguson to their lineup.[8] They followed with a full-length album, entitled On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax, in the summer of 2006. Many of the songs on the album take inspiration from Greek mythology, for example: "Ambrosia" is based on the story of king Midas and the Golden Touch along with his sufferings on living his life with his curse, and "The Third Temptation of Paris" is based upon the Trojan War. In late 2006, they signed on to Fearless Records, which re-released their LP in March 2007 to mixed reviews and released a music video for "Ambrosia". In the same year, the song "Apology" in an acoustic version was featured on Punk Goes Acoustic 2. Later in the middle of the year, Steven Tomany left the band and was replaced by Shane Crump who had previously played bass for Your Name In Vain. They also played at the entire Warped Tour 2007. In early 2008, On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax charted on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, peaking at #44.[10]

Where Myth Fades to Legend (2008-2009)

In 2008 Alesana finished recording their second album, "Where Myth Fades to Legend". The album was released on June 3, 2008 but was leaked on popular torrent sites on May 25. Where Myth Fades To Legend is also the title of their headlining tour with Sky Eats Airplane, Our Last Night, Lovehatehero, and The Chariot. Shane Crump was recently revealed in the intro to Alesana's 4th video blog on purevolume to be a vocalist on the new album. All the female vocals done on the band's albums are done by guitarist Shawn Milke's sister, Melissa. Alesana is touring as of November, and will head to the eastern United States, which includes shows in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania with A Static Lullaby, Greeley Estates, Jamies Elsewhere, and many more.

As with their previous album, the majority of the songs are related to fables and the members’ “Favorite Stories” compiled from The Brother’s Grimm. Except for “As You Wish”, that is based on the story The Princess Bride. The song “All Night Dance Parties In The Underground Palace” is partly based on the story "The Worn Out Dancing Shoes." The album was produced by Steve Evetts and recorded in Los Angeles, California. The song “Seduction” is said to be the first single from Where Myth Fades To Legend, as well as the music video, which was recorded late summer ‘08. The track “A Most Profound Quiet” has been released on their MySpace page. The Single “Seduction” was leaked onto the internet with the title “Subscription” on the Warped Tour 2008 compilation. According to guitarist/vocalist Shawn Milke, “This is Usually the Part Where People Scream” is influenced by the television show Heroes. “Obsession is Such an Ugly Word” features vocals from the entire band.

On the 2008 Warped Tour, Shane Crump briefly left due to personal matters at home and Jake Campbell (Twelve Gauge Valentine guitarist) became a temporary fill in bassist. Upon Shane's return, Adam and the band parted ways and Jake became rhythm guitarist.

In 2009 Alesana toured on the 2009 Australian Soundwave Festival, playing alongside; Nine Inch Nails, Alice In Chains, Chiodos, All That Remains, New Found Glory, In Flames, Lamb of God, Silverstein, Billy Talent, Emery, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Anberlin, Underoath and many other notable alternative bands. Alesana toured with Drop Dead, Gorgeous, Fear Before, I Set My Friends On Fire, and Fall From Grace on the World of Tourcraft tour later that year.

On January 20, 2009 the music video for "Seduction" was officially released and on March 10, 2009 the album Punk Goes Pop 2 was released which includes Alesana's cover of "What Goes Around...Comes Around" by Justin Timberlake.

Alesana's Where Myth Fades To Legend has also charted on the Billboard 200 at #96 and on the Billboard Hard Rock Album at #13.

The Emptiness (2009-present)

In late February, Shawn Milke announced Alesana had started writing new material for their upcoming album. They began recording their third studio album, in July 2009, in Portland, Oregon, with producer Kris Crummett (Emarosa and DGD). The album, according to Shawn Milke on The Rave TV, will be entitled, "The Emptiness"[11]. The title "The Emptiness" has also been confirmed in a blog on the band's MySpace page. The band has made their progress in the studio viewable to fans through a Twitter account and an official website run by the band themselves. In mid July, Alesana had their MySpace page edited by Justin Reich with pictures that according to Shawn, hint towards themes in the concept album; the photos show the band in fine suits holding bloody weapons inside an abandoned room, and a newspaper article with a headline "Alesana Unveils New Story This Winter."[12]

It has also been mentioned that the album's setting is at the turn of the 20th century. The Twitter account updates reveal that Melissa Milke and Adam Fisher of Fear Before have contributed vocals to the album, and that Shawn Milke appeared as a guest on metalcore band Asking Alexandria's debut album, in the song "Hey There Mr. Brooks".

Shawn Milke declared on August 19 via Twitter,

“ It is 6:19 AM and I just finished my last scream...the record is finished..."The Emptiness" is complete...xo shawn[6] ”

concluding the band's recording session, which began on July 10. Alesana then set out for North Carolina to rest before they began their Vs. tour, which they are currently headlining and performing with bands The Bled, Enter Shikari, Broadway, Madina Lake, and Asking Alexandria. On the Vs. tour, Alesana's set included 2 new songs titled "To Be Scared By An Owl" and "The Thespian". Soon after concluding their month long Vs. tour, Alesana headlined the "You'd Be Way Cuter In A Coffin" Tour with From First To Last, The Word Alive, Asking Alexandria, and Memphis May Fire.

On October 2, Shawn and Dennis held a second interview with TheRave.tv where they revealed that they were shooting a music video in the fall for one song off of their new CD. The two screamers went on to tell Linda, the interviewer, that due to their large fan base in Mexico and South America, they would be releasing a Spanish version of 2 of their songs. Shawn also revealed that the album, The Emptiness, is to be released on January 26, 2010[13]. The band finally released the track listing and cover art to the new album on November 10 on their myspace blog[14] On November 23, Alesana released their first recorded work off of The Emptiness, "To Be Scared By An Owl" and began to promote it as a single[15]. The same week, they entered the studio to begin filming their third video which according to AlesanaOfficial.com, is "The Thespian", the song was released on December 8, 2009..

In the spring of this year, Alesana will tour the U.S. with A Skylit Drive, The Word Alive, Of Mice & Men, and We Came As Romans.

On January 22, Alesana uploaded all of their songs from the upcoming album on their myspace for free streaming.[16]

Shawn stated on their MySpace-

“ Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, today is a VERY exciting day for Alesana! we have released a streaming version of The Emptiness in its entirety today right here on myspace! this is your first chance to hear our story from start to finish!

The Emptiness received a ( 2.5 / 5.0 ) by AP Magazine (www.altpress.com), a 7/10 by RockSound (www.rocksound.com), a ( 2.0 / 5.0 ) by RRR (www.reviewrinserepeat.com),and a ( 4.0 / 5.0 ) by Lexington Music Press (www.lexingtonmusicpress.com).[16]

”

After the release of their music video for "The Thespian" on March 17, the band became less active and starting promoting the 2010 Warped Tour, which they took part in at the end of June[17]. Right before their first venue on the Warped Tour, guitarist Jake Campbell left the band to be with his family, and Alex Torres of Greeley Estates took his place[18].

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