“Congratulations on surviving long enough to witness the end of the Nex Gen research programme,” says Eve, a digital avatar greets us from the main stage’s big screens. This is our host for the evening and she tells us: “Tonight marks my final experiment. Soon I will have enough data to harvest every human soul on this planet, to become omnipresent, omnipotent, unstoppable.”
As her evil cackle rings out, you’d question if you’d mistakenly wandered into an elaborate escape room or some OTT laser quest experience. But no, all the high drama and Doom or Final Fantasy VII-like vintage video game graphics are to set the scene for Bring Me The Horizon’s return to headline Reading again. This time, a lot more is at stake. Not only do they have to prove themselves as ultimate bill-toppers after sharing the top spot with Arctic Monkeys last time and having them close, but now “the world has crumbled to ash and the dead are feasting on the remains” while a demonic, parasitic presence spreads a deadly virus. Crikey.
“Get the fuck up,” growls frontman Oli Sykes to the first of countless sky-filling explosions as the soul-jerking ‘Darkside’ gets our mosh on. “Do you wanna start a cult with me?” he asks on the fittingly infectious ‘Mantra’. Judging by the sing-along of “S.P.I.R.I.T.” for the twisted cheerleader anthem ‘Happy Song’, we’re past that. BMTH have all the branding, iconography and lore of a cult, but the sheer scale, ambition and impact of this feels like a globe-swallowing movement.
“Can I see a real fucking moshpit?” pleads the frontman in his thick Yorkshire drawl. “The ones you were doing for Limp Bizkit were fucking wank.” Cheeky, but it’s heartening to see Sykes and his old schoolmates at their most comfortable and confident. The likes of Nirvana may have built the legacy, but tonight this is BMTH’s stage. “Let’s stop fucking about.”
There’s no space for that. The sci-fi blockbuster cinematography and immersive graphics of the show (peaking with Sykes turning into a demon in real-time) are overwhelming enough, not to mention that each song is delivered with enough pyro and energy that they all feel like a finale most other bands would kill for.
“I’m so rude, I haven’t asked you how you are?” asks Sykes casually before leading us into their bombastic, Liam Gallagher-approved cover of Oasis’ ‘Wonderwall’. That could have been the headline and the highlight, but BMTH came armed with the goods of ‘I Will Follow You’ (a ‘Wonderwall’ of their own), The Prodigy-meets-metal nightmare rave of ‘Kingslayer’, the pure bop of ‘Lost’ and mass crowd anticipation of ‘Can You Feel My Heart’. There’s no Ed Sheeran this time, just a very special guest in the form of superstar fan Lily being brought up from the crowd for a riotous rendition of ‘Antivist’.
“I nearly cried just then,” says Sykes of being “fucking overcome with emotion” during one of many sing-alongs. He looks back to their first time playing R&L in 2008 when they were pelted with trash for stepping in after Slipknot and Avenged Sevenfold pulled out. “But, tonight let’s fucking celebrate.” Amen.
Taking to the crowd to shoot selfies for the almighty ‘Drown’ before they wave Palestine flags from the stage for the closing ‘Throne’, the transformation is complete. Those scrappy skinny-jeaned metalcore brats from way back then are unrecognisable from this tour-de-force before us tonight. In terms of spectacle, they out-pomp Muse. For performance, they couldn’t give more. A hiatus and long wait to the follow-up to ‘Post Human: Nex Gen’ awaits, but what a parting gift that was. “Have you had a good time?” ends Sykes. “Was it everything you wished it would have been?” Bring Me The Horizon are now omnipotent, unstoppable.
Bring Me The Horizon played:
‘DArkSide’
‘MANTRA’
‘Happy Song’
‘Teardrops’
‘AmEN!’
‘Kool-Aid’
‘Shadow Moses’
‘Wonderwall’
‘Kingslayer’
‘Antivist’ (with fan Lily)
‘Follow You’
‘LosT’
‘Can You Feel My Heart’
‘Drown’
‘Throne’
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