Bring Me The Horizon Perform 'Nihilist Blues' With Courtney LaPlante

On Thursday, 1 June, Bring Me The Horizon performed a series of live debuts at Papp László Sportaréna in Budapest, Hungary, including the actually heavy new track, AmEN!, LosT, and the tour debuts of 1x1, The House Of Wolves and two more, featuring Spiritbox vocalist Courtney LaPlante.

Spiritbox were opening for Bring Me The Horizon that night, so why not perform the first verse of One Day The Only Butterflies Left Will Be In Your Chest As You March Towards Your Death (originally featuring Evanescence’s Amy Lee) and reprise the Amo fan-favourite, Nihilist Blues (originally featuring Grimes)?

LaPlante and Sykes sing remarkably well together, with the Hurt You singer holding her own in the solo verses of Nihilist Blues and the pair serving a rave/breakdown.

Two days later, the pair reunited again for Bring Me The Horizon’s performance at Rock Im Park at Zeppelinfeld, Nuremberg, and once more yesterday (4 June) at the mighty Rock Am Ring in Nürburgring, Nürburg, Germany. You can check out footage of their performances below.

As The Pit reports, the collaboration with LaPlante and Bring Me The Horizon isn’t a new one, with the Spiritbox vocalist joining them a year ago in Malta to take on a fresh version of the Suicide Season classic, Chelsea Smile.

In mid-April, Spiritbox expanded their line-up to become a four-piece, recruiting former As I Lay Dying bassist Josh Gilbert. A week later, the band dropped their new single, The Void, and signalled the future of Spiritbox.

The melodic new number is anchored by LaPlante’s smooth clean vocals in the verses and chorus, harmonic guitar work, an EDM twist, and multi-layered soundscapes.

LaPlante said about the new single, "The Void is a song that came about very quickly. I didn’t have to fight with anything to write it, and when that happens, I don’t argue with it. 

“It’s a type of song that I’ve been wanting to write for a long time, I’ve heard it hundreds of times now, and it makes me so happy every time I hear it. It’s been such an amazing experience playing this song on our tour and watching people hear it for the first time in real-time." 

Last week, Bring Me The Horizon released their heaviest single in years, AmEN! featuring Lil Uzi Vert and Glassjaw’s Daryl Palumbo. You can check out recent footage of the band performing the track below.

It’s an unlikely combination but with the collaborative voices of Lil Uzi and Palumbo, the Sheffield rock outfit sound reinvigorated. Sykes’ screams are back, and Palumbo’s signature screeches are complimented by Glassjaw and Bring Me The Horizon’s buzzsaw guitars. 

AmEN! arrived a month after the band dropped the pop-punk-tinged tune, LosT, and a week before the band are set to headline Download Festival at Donington Park. How heavy will their set be? If it’s identical to their Rock Im/Am Ring performances, it’ll be a good balance of the last few eras of Bring Me The Horizon.