Bring Me The Horizon plan to take a considerable break to "recharge our batteries".
The 'Kool-Aid' rockers haven't had a proper rest for several years now and frontman Oli Sykes says it's important that they take a "significant amount of time off" so their art doesn't suffer.
The 38-year-old rocker admits he feels "fried" from working non-stop on the group's 'Post Human’ series, having released 'Post Human: Survival Horror' in 2020 and 'Post Human: Nex Gen' in May, and he needs to step away before creating a "new era" in "every respect" for the next instalment.
Speaking to NME, Oli replied when asked if a break is needed: “I think so. We need time to recharge our batteries and have that time away, because we haven’t. The last time we stopped was when we were forced to for lockdown. Even then, we were still going and making stuff. It doesn’t feel like the band has had a significant amount of time off. It’s going to get to a point where it starts to effect the band and its creativity.
“I went off and worked with some producers on some stuff for the new record, and I’m just so fried from ‘Nex Gen’ and that world that I really need to have a proper cut-off point to let the dust settle a bit. Now it’s not just about the music: the story and the lore have become so integral and meaningful. If I don’t stop to try and zoom out and get the bigger picture, then it will effect all of that stuff.
“These records need to be very clear and separate records, otherwise there’s a risk of each bleeding into one another too much. To me, ‘Nex Gen’ has a very different sound to ‘Survival Horror’ [2020] and I want the next one to be a completely new era aesthetically, sonically, and in every respect. It’s important that we let Bring Me The Horizon go away for a bit.”
Oli confessed fans might have a while to wait before the next album.
Asked if it could be released in 2026, he replied: “Yeah, I dunno. We haven’t really figured it out yet. It could be a bit longer than that. It’s hard to say at this point.”
The group - also comprising drummer Matt Nicholls, guitarist Lee Malia and bassist Matt Kean - saw the departure of longtime programmer, keyboardist and producer Jordan Fish last year, who was instrumental in the metalcore outfit's transition to a more mainstream sound.
Meanwhile, BMTH were just confirmed as headliners for Reading and Leeds 2025, having already had the honour with fellow Sheffield rockers Arctic Monkeys in 2022.
Oli said: “It’s pretty nuts. I know we’ve done it before, but it was when there were two headliners each night, and it was obvious that Arctic Monkeys were really headlining. It feels nice to be coming back in a fully-fledged headline slot.”
