They are no longer that band. After bursting out of the underground in the mid-2000s as the ugly ducklings of deathcore, they spent the years that followed growing in maturity and skill, morphing into arena-conquering, mainstream-baiting giants. They are just coming full circle.
The first time the quintet toured Europe, they played Pray For Plagues on a Jackson Warrior. He was one of the faces for the launch of the brand’s new USA Soloist, fifteen years later.
“If I designed a metal guitar, this would be it, even down to the pickup configuration, because I always prefer a single-coil in the neck.” It is well made. Rather than being a bolt-on, it has through- neck construction. The quality is better than ever. The Jackson guitar is exactly what I would have wanted as a custom guitar. It sounds great and it plays great.
During the time between getting his first Jackson and his new USA Soloist, Lee was given a classic Les Paul and became an avid fan of the band. He says that if you get a classic Les Paul, they usually weigh a ton, and that makes him play it harder. The guitar doesn’t feel like it’s going to break so you get a certain sound. That is the reason I use a weighted guitar.
While on tour with Every Time I Die in the US: the Marshall JCM800, she made a discovery. Jordan Buckley and Andy Williams were both using Marshall 800s. I couldn’t make them sound as powerful as theirs. Lee has a stack of Marshall 800s on display next to his computer.
Epiphone thought that they would make for a more accessible entry point into the world of guitars if they became a signature artist.
It was a good thing to do, and the Epiphone thing was cool. I was with them for a long time doing three different body shapes. He felt there wasn’t much more he could do with the brand after such a long partnership. He was looking for a new guitar after not buying one in a while. Lee decided to return to the brand that he loved the most as a child, and he plans to stay there for the foreseeable future.
Bring Me The Horizon have been in the business of making heavy guitar music for almost 20 years and have reached a place in the mainstream where they can reach out to people who don’t know much about the genre. Caveman riffs and death growls don’t make for love at first listen. The heavier the catalog, the more fans dig into it. These records may be the first exposure that leads to more extreme listening.
“When I was younger, I got into bands like that and Pantera, who were the stepping stone to bands like Cannibal Corpse and stuff like that, which is super- extreme.” It is not possible to jump into death metal immediately. There have to be a lot of other bands.
It’s a point of pride for Bring Me TheHorizon. When we were young, we liked bands like Linkin Park, but they were never the heaviest, so we think it’s cool. We can either go and play a mainstream pop festival or we can go and play Download.
BMTH was the perfect fit to headline Reading and Leeds in August due to the fact that it brought the bucket hats and glitter kids face to face with festival goers in black hoodies and band shirts. There was a sense of unification that made their sets so triumphant. Is that the other ones? The shows were depicted as an experiment for the next generation, and ranged from fireballs and flares to pink heart shaped confetti.
Some of the most talked about moments were the sets. Ed Sheeran was brought out by the band for a performance of Bad Habits at the BRIT Awards. The shows felt like a win for the whole rock scene, proving that those who decried the death of rock music were wrong.
The prospect of topping the bill had been in the back of the band since their landmark sub-headline set in 2015.
The headline shows were pretty crazy. We’ve been wondering if they’ll ever give us a chance to headline for a long time. We took the opportunity to do it. It wasn’t normal. It felt like a lot of pressure, but we put a lot into the production, and it felt a bit different than other productions. It was a one-off weekend so we could do a bit more.
When BMTH heads to the US for a six-week stint, it will be the first time Lee has taken his new Jackson for a ride. They use a small studio in the back of the tour bus to make full songs in the time between shows. We have been writing for a long time. We are going to spend a lot of time trying to make something. We need to find out what we are doing.
The direction the band has in mind is more of the emo variety despite the fact that Lee has more of a metal guitar. He says it will be in the same vein as Die4U and Strangers. There is a hint of nostalgia, but we did our job. It is something we feel we can do well, with all the emotional vocals.
People started paying attention when bring me the horizon leaned into this strength Twelve years after their release, songs like It Never ends and Blessed with a curse still feel powerful. Lee doesn’t care about the band’slegacy.
He doesn’t understand how people see the band. I walk the dog when we get back from tour. You don’t pay much attention to the larger picture.
“The next EP has taken so long because we’re never happy with settling,” Lee concludes. “The main focus is pushing what we can do. That’s what got us into this position – headlining Reading and Leeds – in the first place.”