Oli Sykes shares his thoughts on fans only wanting BMTH’s early sound: “Even though it might annoy you, it comes from a place of love”

Given he’s previously teased that POST HUMAN: NeX Gen will be “unhinged”, we’re pretty confident that fans of all Bring Me The Horizon eras will dig their upcoming album next month. But frontman Oli Sykes has nevertheless shared some interesting thoughts about listeners that only want the older, heavier BMTH sound.

Speaking with radio station KFMA, Oli admits that it would be easy for fans who dismiss the band’s evolution into poppier or more electronic territories to “piss you off”, but these days he feels as though he has “softened” his stance on that, and accepts that fans who want more metal from Bring Me The Horizon aren’t necessarily coming from a deliberately negative place.

“It’s very easy for them people to piss you off and you’re just, like, ‘Fuck off,’” says Oli (transcribed by Blabbermouth). “But at the end of the day they just love your band and something you did meant so much to them that they just want you to do it again. And you’ve just gotta realise that even though it might annoy you, it comes from a place of love. And rather than fighting back, you’ve just gotta appreciate that.”

Explaining why Bring Me have made so many sonic shifts over the years, Oli reasons that it keeps things authentic, given that “we grow and we age and we mature and our tastes change”. Even so, POST HUMAN: NeX Gen does take some fan comments into consideration, in the sense that the frontman has realised “we shouldn’t water our shit down”.

“We’re like one of the last bands that still do heavy music,” he reasons. “So all that stuff just keeps you in line, and you’ve just gotta realise it all comes from a place of love and don’t let it piss you off. And at the same time stay true to yourself. We can’t write music for the fans; it’s impossible. But we can let what they say resonate with us and not just automatically, like, knee-jerk reaction of like, ‘Fuck you. We’ll do what we want.’”

Watch the interview below:

POST HUMAN: NeX GEn is due out on September 15 via Sony/RCA.

Catch BMTH at the following dates next year:

January 2024

9 Cardiff Motorpoint Arena
10 Bournemouth BIC
12 Birmingham Utilita Arena
13 Manchester AO Arena
14 Glasgow OVO Arena
16 Newcastle Utilita Arena
17 Liverpool M&S Bank Arena
19 Sheffield FlyDSA Arena
20 London The O2
21 London The O2
23 Dublin 3 Arena

Get your tickets right here.

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