//EMERY DAVIS//

“It comes in waves, I close my eyes. Hold my breath and let it bury me.”   

If you had an edgy phase at any point in your life, chances are you have listened to the band Bring Me The Horizon. Now that doesn’t mean that everybody who listens to their music is edgy. But compared to other artists their music tends to be more violent and rough, demonstrated by their screaming vocals and racing drum fills paired with articulate guitar solos.

On Feb. 11, Bring Me The Horizon (BMTH) made an appearance at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver while on their “First Love World Tour.” The Denver show sold out and I was one of the lucky fans to be able to attend. After four years of waiting to see them, I finally got the chance to and I felt absolutely blessed.

The doors opened at 7 p.m. Since I got inside the venue about halfway through the first opener’s play time, I can’t give a very strong opinion on them. But from what I heard, Fever333 didn’t seem very special or unique. They had great sound but I feel like they were no different from your typical heavy rock band.

A band called Thrice was second band to play. I had been listening to their music for a few months before the show, however, I had no idea they would be playing that night. Thrice has a softer sound compared to Fever333 and Bring Me The Horizon. Something I noticed about Thrice is that the bridges in most of their songs could be described as indie rock. I think they would have been a better option for the first opener to give more of a build-up to the BMTH set.

BMTH went on at about 9:30 p.m. The first song “I Apologise If You Feel Something” started off with soft vocals and synthesizers to slowly build even more anticipation. The first song isn’t typically what their music sounds like, but I think it was a great introduction to their setlist. The second song “MANTRA” was definitely a great choice for a follow up song because it introduced more familiar vibes associated with Bring Me The Horizon. Personally my favorite song they performed was “Sleepwalking.” This is my favorite BMTH song and definitely falls in my top five favorite songs list. Hearing it in person was incredible and it felt like a dream come true. 

The main portion of their setlist finished with an acoustic cover of their famous song “Drown.” Lead singer, Oliver Sykes pulled out his acoustic guitar to perform a heartfelt piece from their fifth studio album That’s The Spirit. Normally this song isn’t a soft piece, but when Sykes pulled out the guitar and started strumming, I felt a huge connection with the rest of the crowd. Without the drums, bass, or electric guitar included in this song, everybody could be heard singing along.

After “Drown” the band members exited the stage yet nobody moved from the floor. After about three minutes of waiting the set lit back up as they re-entered the stage for their two final songs. The first song of the encore, “Doomed” was not my favorite. The energy of the audience was way stronger during the second song of the encore in my opinion. All night I had been waiting for the final song, and my excitement only grew as the show went on.

One of the best parts of the show was during the final song, “Throne.” At a very mellow part of the song Sykes told everybody in the audience to get low. Then once the chorus blasted through the Fillmore everybody jumped back up in time for confetti cannons to shoot into the crowd. Overall it was a fantastic show and I had a great time. My only complaint is that sometimes it was difficult to hear the band over the audience, but in a way it was cool to feel connected with so many people I had never even met.