Exclusive: Bring Me the Horizon Studio Report

U.K. deathcore giants Bring Me the Horizon are currently working on their next effort, undoubtedly a huge priority for their label, Epitaph, a scenario that can often create additional pressure for a band. BMTB are handling it all in stride, though.

Guitarist Jona Weinhofen, who filled for Bleeding Through and then joined BMTH only last year, checked in with Noisecreep from the confines of their studio, where they are working with Fredrik Nordström yet again. Nordström moved his studio to a small studio 30 miles outside of Gothenburg, Sweden.

"I think the pressure came more during the beginning of the writing process," Weinhofen told Noisecreep. "We all knew 'Suicide Season' was a big deal, and when we first entered the rehearsal studio, that's all we could think about. We knew we had to attempt to write music for an album which would supersede the last album. After a few months and writing some material which we were all really stoked on, some of the pressure was relieved. When we began recording demos of the new songs, it gave a much clearer indication of just how much we could add to these songs and make the whole thing a really big production."

The band holed up in the picturesque highlands of Scotland, renting a private holiday cottage dubbed Ardrhu Manor for three months. "It was very secluded, which was perfect for us as we tend to get distracted by daily life very easily," Weinhofen said. "There was nothing but lochs, snow-capped mountains and forest surrounding us, and the closest town, Fort William, was 15 miles away."

The band eased into the process when they actually entered the studio facility, which sleeps three people and allows the band around-the-clock access, should they have a creative light bulb go off and need to flesh out an idea so they don't lose it. "We can enter the control room at three in the morning and track it down," Weinhofen said.

"When we actually got into the studio, we knew we were in more than capable hands with Fredrik and Henrik, and everything really seems to be coming together perfectly," Weinhofen continued. "There's obviously slight pressure when it comes to nailing your parts on the recording itself, but the songs are basically writing themselves and we've added so many amazing instruments and parts which I hope will blow people away when they listen to it!"

So far, the undertaking has been a smooth one, with no frantic power outages or crashed hard drives. Weinhofen said, "Knock on wood, but we haven't really had too many big problems. There were some minor drum issues to do with mic placement and cymbal placement in the beginning, which resulted in a couple of retakes, but we're more than thankful that everything is running extra smoothly so far."

A third studio engineer is helping to edit, and thus save time, and band friend Jamie Kossof is assisting with "electronica elements, strings and choir composure" and is "just basically somebody we trust who can give us an outsiders perspective on the songs."

As for the added instruments that the guitarist has mentioned twice, he elaborated, "We've tried many new ideas, incorporated lots of new instruments to give the album its own atmosphere, setting it apart from anything the band has done prior. Fans can still expect to hear a distinct and unique Bring Me the Horizon sound; we've just taken our songwriting and production to the next level. This album has given us a chance to experiment more than we have in the past which I think has benefited the whole songwriting and recording process tenfold." Some guest vocalists are on the board, a few of which Weinhofen said will be expected, while others will be "a little left field."