Bad Omens address constant Bring Me The Horizon comparisons from fans on new album
Bad Omens released their self-titled debut full-length album to high praise from fans earlier this year. That positive response, however, was somewhat muddied by the persistent comparisons of songs on the record to Bring Me The Horizon’s Sempiternal.
While various moments on the album are reminiscent to BMTH’s 2013’s LP, one of the more notable instances is “Reprise (The Sound of the End),” which has similar instrumental and vocal structure to BMTH’s “Shadow Moses.” (Listen to both tracks below.)
Read more: Bring Me The Horizon called out by Bad Religion guitarist: “You suck as humans”
Bad Omens are aware of the comparisons and frontman Noah Sebastian recently addressed them in an interview with Flippen Music. “While it can be flattering due to what a game-changing album Sempiternal was, and great band Bring Me the Horizon [are], it’s definitely frustrating how often our own work and creativity is compared to just one album—especially considering when some of our songs were written and how much influence we draw from so many other artists.”
Earlier in the interview, Sebastian cites Linkin Park, Deftones, Slipknot and Disturbed as influencers of the band, as well as Depeche Mode, the Weeknd, Thirty Seconds To Mars and the Neighbourhood.
Read more: Bring Me The Horizon on their change in sound: “None of it feels like we’re selling out”
He added regarding BMTH comparisons, “I think it’s safe to say we definitely share a lot of inspirations with them, and in my opinion some very good inspirations. Since we’re on the topic I’d also like to say that I think That’s The Spirit was a fantastic album, done in extremely good taste, with one of the richest productions I’ve heard in a long time.”
You can read the rest of the excerpt from Flippen Music’s interview, as well as hear both “Reprise (The Sound of the End)” and “Shadow Moses,” below. Do you think the tracks are too similar? Leave us a comment with your thoughts!
I’m sure you guys have seen or heard the abundant comparisons of your sound to that of Bring Me the Horizon, specifically their album Sempiternal. In fact, many fans have noted that they view Bad Omens as a better follow-up to Sempiternal than That’s the Spirit. Surely that must be a flattering notion, considering how well-received Sempiternal was and how huge the band has gotten since its release. How do you feel about these comparisons? Was Sempiternal an influential album [on the sound of Bad Omens], or is it merely coincidental that Bad Omens can be considered similar?
A: I’m glad you asked because we have seen a good bit of that, and I actually saw an obnoxious amount of that on the review you guys wrote for our album which is one reason I was excited to do this interview and address it. Yes, while it can be flattering due to what a game-changing album Sempiternal was, and great band Bring Me the Horizon [are], it’s definitely frustrating how often our own work and creativity is compared to just one album especially considering when some of our songs were written and how much influence we draw from so many other artists. I think it’s safe to say we definitely share a lot of inspirations with them, and in my opinion some very good inspirations. Since we’re on the topic I’d also like to say that I think That’s The Spirit was a fantastic album, done in extremely good taste, with one of the richest productions I’ve heard in a long time. I see a lot of people giving TTS (and many other metal gone rock albums) shit for being more pop-influenced, and I don’t know when or why that turned into a bad thing, but as a lover of all music including pop, it’s super disappointing to see. Heavy music is music to me, but some of the fans now treat it like some stuck up clique in high-school. I got into rock and metal music when I was young and under the assumption that it was a welcoming community for a smaller subculture of music fans (like it used to be), but lately it seems like a bunch of spoiled elitist brats that refuse to let anyone different than them into their clubhouse. The sooner we can get this narrow mindset out of the alternative music industry the sooner it’ll be in better shape, especially economically.
