Bring Me The Horizon
Subscribe
X

Get the latest from Beat

Bring Me The Horizon

bringmethehorizon1mb.jpg

“On the last album there’s definitely bits of it, there’s strings, choral stuff, there’s electronics and there’s some synth parts. Really what I wanted to do was try to take the best elements of all that stuff and then put my own stamp on it. Everyone who does that kind of laptop or computer based work has their own sound. It worked well so we just went with it.”

Joining a group who have spent so much time playing together could make for an uncertain creative scenario. Also, one might understandably feel trepidation about contributing ideas and making stylistic alterations to such a widely loved band, however Fish indicates that the extent of his creative participation developed rather naturally.

“When I first started working with the band there was no plan whatsoever long-term, it was just ‘See what happens, try out some ideas.’ I guess it just built up gradually so I didn’t have that much time to think about the fact that kids might not like it, or whatever.”

Rather than being intimidated by the legions of expectant fans, the biggest shock for Fish was actually the South-versus-North divide between himself and the rest of the group.  “I’m different from the other guys in the band – I’m not from Sheffield, I’m from South England – they speak completely differently. At first it took a bit of getting used to the in-jokes and the dialect and all that kind of stuff,” he says.

However, Fish explains that once he became immersed in the tight-knit community that surrounds the band he was able to get past this initial hurdle.

“They’ve had the same crew for years and years. Obviously with Ollie [Sykes, vocals] and Drop Dead, his clothing line, there’s a lot of people who work there as well who are all friends. So I met all of those people and got to know all of them at the same time. It hasn’t really been difficult at all. I’ve got my friends from back home and my family and then I also have the people in Sheffield and when I go up there I can hang out with them, so it’s cool.”

Having been a fully-fledged member of the band for over a year now, Fish perceives himself to be on equal footing with the other four members. “Everyone treats each other as equals so to be honest I don’t feel like this is a temporary thing or anything. In terms of decisions, everyone asks everyone’s opinion and everyone answers something. I’m enjoying it and the touring is really good fun, getting to see loads of amazing places.”

Indeed, Bring Me The Horizon have spent the majority of 2013 on a massive world tour, stretching back to their high-billing on the Soundwave festival early in the year. In order to optimise the quality of their performances the band are relatively well behaved on tour. Speaking while traveling around the US for Warped Tour mid-year, Fish reveals details of their relaxed approach to tour-life.

“We bought a massive TV in Walmart, so we have this entertainment centre that we set up outside at night then all the other bands on Warped come around and hang out and play FIFA and Call of Duty on the Xbox. So that’s one of the things we do to entertain ourselves on tour. It’s not really very wild, I’m afraid.”

The band are back in Australia for a headline tour this month, which takes them to much larger venues than any of their previous visits. They’ll be joined by fellow metalcore elite, Of Mice and Men and Crossfaith, and Fish guarantees the shows will be of a spectacular stature. “We really went for it with the bills, like Crossfaith and Of Mice and Men, we felt like it was a really good three-band bill. That was the first thing we wanted to do. We’re bringing out a lighting guy, we’ll do a longer set, we’ll be putting a lot into production as well.”

Bring Me The Horizon’s success has continued to rise with each release since their 2006 debut Count Your BlessingsSempiternal is their second successive album to top the Australian charts and Fish is perceptibly elated about the record’s commercial impact. “We had an idea that we had a chance at it, because the band had already got a number one with their last album, so we were watching it as it unfolded. It was one of the proudest achievements of my life. I was so happy, it was amazing.”

The strong support from Australian audiences will certainly not be taken for granted and Fish indicates the band intend to come to Australia as regularly as they can. “Because we’ve got such a good reaction in Australia, it’s one of the places we really want to focus on. If you’ve had a number one album you want to go and play to those people as much as possible.” 

BY AUGUSTUS WELBY