Live Review: Bring Me The Horizon – NX_GN WRLD TOUR – Budapest Park, Hungary

When the ‘NX_GN WRLD TOUR’ kicked off in the UK at the start of the year, there was no telling how long fans would have to wait before getting their chance to hear the next chapter in the ‘Post Human’ album series. With some of the songs (which eventually made their way to the album) being three years old at this point and getting their place in the last ‘Post Human’ Tour, the concerts didn’t feel worthy of the Next Gen label. With the surprise release of the album back in May, it seemed like the ‘NX_GN’ Tour might be split into two halves, pre-album release and post-album release. I went to Budapest to see if this was the case.

Fresh from a wet and muddy weekend at Download Festival in the UK, I’m sure HEALTH were incredibly relieved when they arrived in Budapest to see not a cloud in the sky. With the sun radiating its final rays of heat into the beautiful industrial arena when the band came on, the eagerly awaiting Bring Me fans didn’t require much warming up. Despite this HEALTH managed to put on a set that got the blood pumping and the energy building, playing bangers such as ‘Crack Metal’, ‘New Coke’, and ‘We Are Water’. Set closer ‘DSM-V’ gave the Budapest audience one last chance to groove with the song marching them ever closer to the main attraction of the night. The band definitely picked up some new fans, with the arena erupting into cheers as they left the stage.

As the Nex Gen video game start screen sandwiched the sized-down version of the band’s – now iconic – GenXsis Church stage, the anticipation for the band’s appearance on stage grew evermore. The band’s sentient AI E.V.E. would welcome the Budapest masses to the show, getting them to open mosh pits and consume their banned substances before the show began. “Get The Fuck Up” commanded frontman Oli Sykes as the band launched into ‘DArkSide’ with sparklers and CO2 canons, igniting movement from front to back. Despite seemingly having some technical issues with the screens flickering on and off throughout the set, the show went on without a hitch otherwise.

New seamlessly blended with old with the band switching between tracks from as far back as ‘Sempiternal’, jumping to ‘Empire (Let Them Sing)’ before kicking into the amo anthem ‘MANTRA’. The setlist didn’t vary much from that laid out in January at the start of the tour. Heavily reliant on the singles off ‘NeX GEn’, but throwing out the album’s two oldest tracks ‘DiE4U’ and ‘sTraNgeRs’ in favour of release single ‘Top 10 staTues tHat CriEd bloOd’. I feel a few more of the album’s newer tracks would be much welcomed into the setlist, although that didn’t stop the arena from pulsing with energy throughout.

For the duration of the show, the band treat fans to a plethora of insanely high-quality production that truly displays that the band are not only number one in the rock scene for music but also showmanship. From the storyline that’s built up around the clips with E.V.E., to the pyro and lasers, it really feels like Bring Me are pulling out everything they can to make these shows worth the admission price.

Budapest became a choir for the bridge of main set closer ‘Can You Feel My Heart’, while Oli sat taking in the atmosphere. A truly special moment. Calls for more became apparent as soon as the band left the stage and it wouldn’t be long before the stage would be lit up once more, but for a movie reflecting on all the moments that led to where the band are today, which saw the band returning to stage to perform the emotionally charged ‘Doomed’. ‘LosT’ picked up the energy for the final push, leaving not a soul standing still across the entirety of Budapest Park leading into ‘Throne’.

With their top tier production combined with some of the best work that the band have ever put out, Bring Me The Horizon are on the top of their game at the moment with nothing in sight to slow them down. If there was ever a time to come and see this band it’s now, especially when they bring along first-rate support like HEALTH. Every step this band makes truly feels like another letter inscribed into the rock and roll history books.