Mention deathcore and metalcore, fusions of punk and subgenres of metal, and the last thing on your mind would probably be a name as innocuous as Bring Me The Horizon’s.

The name, with its roots in the Walt Disney Franchise Pirates Of The Caribbean, breaks the stereotype of having morbid death-related band names all because they play metalcore; names that frontman Oli Sykes of this English band find awfully cheesy.

Opening act Japanese metalcore band Crossfaith, no strangers to Singapore, did a great job in getting the already excited crowd to a level of manic exhilaration. The energy off stage began to ebb towards the later part of their 50-min-long set, far longer than the usual opener, but that was salvaged when lead singer Kenta Koie asked for a wall of death, where the crowd split into 2 and a Hunger Games-esque run happened from parties of both sides just before the heavy part of that number happened.

Later, as the first chords from “Can You Feel My Heart”, a number off Bring Me The Horizon’s latest album, Sempiternal, comes on, and in 1 accord, the crowd screamed and surged forward.

Playing for the firsttime in Singapore at Hard Rock Hotel’s Coliseum on Oct 16, Sykes was in his element, screeching with pitch-perfect precision, an almost 180-degree change from his This Is What The Edge Of Your Seat Is Made For days, where his vocals were patchy and downright shoddy at its worst.

The fans of Bring Me The Horizon sported the 5-man band’s merchandise and comfortable garb meant for a night of unrelenting perspiration, neck aches and sore throats. Some went a step further with combat boots, which UrbanWire feels should be banned from mosh pits because they hurt, especially when they end up on your face.

It was obvious the quintet were feeding off the manic energy from the crowd, as well as the random mosh pits that formed sporadically and the wall of deaths and circle pits as the band called out for them. The cyclic flow of energy, of course, just made the night that bit more magical– never mind that it was midweek.

“Antivist” struck a chord with the mostly teenaged and young adult crowd, especially when Sykes screamed “middle fingers up, if you don’t give a (expletive)” and a barrage of middle fingers were thrust in the air for a short few seconds before the number began with angry guitar rips.

Throughout their set, Sykes, who writes the lyrics to all their songs, constantly encouraged interaction between the band and the crowd, egging people on to crowd-surf to the front just for the chance to high-5 the lead singer himself. And in their encore number, “Blessed With A Curse”, males and females alike sat atop their friends’ shoulders, a tradition that seems to go along with that number. 

As their set ended with fan favorite, “Sleepwalking”, the crowd gave the last shove in the mosh pit, the final head-bang, and the ending note screeched.

Having that number close the set was rather apt, considering how most, if not all, in the crowd would be sleepwalking through their routines the next day after such an intense experience.

Photos courtesy of Aloysius Lim and Alvin Ho.