How Oli Sykes Confronted His Demons to Create That’s The Spirit

A taxi pulls up to Hammer Towers in London, and out steps an unassuming figure in a baggy cargo jacket and beanie. He moves toward the door slowly, his inky tattoos visible even from afar. “Y’alright?” he greets in a thick Northern accent. It’s hard to reconcile this humble demeanor with the man who headlined Wembley Arena to over 12,500 fans in December 2014. That man is Oli Sykes, frontman of Bring Me The Horizon, a band on the cusp of releasing their game-changing album That’s The Spirit.
Bring Me The Horizon’s rise from Sheffield’s deathcore underground to international rock royalty has been nothing short of extraordinary. Formed in 2004, the band released their debut album Count Your Blessings two years later, a raw and chaotic celebration of deathcore that polarized metal purists while drawing a younger audience to heavy music. Subsequent albums, including Suicide Season (2008) and There Is A Hell, Believe Me I’ve Seen It, There Is A Heaven, Let’s Keep It A Secret (2010), showcased their evolution into a more experimental metalcore sound. But it was 2013’s Sempiternal that catapulted them into the mainstream. With electronic flourishes introduced by new member and keyboardist Jordan Fish, Sempiternal reached Number Three on the UK album charts and delivered lyrics that spoke to Oli’s struggles, including his battle with addiction.
Ahead of the release of That’s The Spirit, Oli opened up about the darkness he had to overcome, his journey through addiction, and how he emerged on the other side with a fresh perspective on life and music.
A Journey Through Addiction
Before Sempiternal, Oli admitted to struggling with ketamine addiction, which ultimately led him to rehab. However, his first attempt to recover through a Twelve-Step Program didn’t resonate.
“The second step is to hand your will over to God and ask for His help—I thought that was madness,” he recalls. “Why would I put my trust in something I don’t believe in? I couldn’t sit in a room with people trying to get better for God instead of for their family, their friends, or themselves.”
His second attempt was different. This time, he entered a general ward with a mix of people dealing with various challenges—self-harm, eating disorders, and mental health issues. “Talking to them about what they were going through made me realize we’re all facing the same battles, just in different ways,” he says.
Breaking Free
Rejecting the idea that addiction was a lifelong disease, Oli carved out his own path to recovery. “They’d tell you every day would be a struggle, that you’d want drugs every day. To me, that’s offensive to people with actual diseases. I got into drugs for fun, and it became a crutch. But I don’t long for drugs anymore. I had to find my own way to get better, and it worked.”
Oli’s openness about his struggles influenced Sempiternal’s raw, vulnerable lyrics, but he approached That’s The Spirit with a different mindset. The new album, recorded in Santorini, Greece, is what he describes as “a celebration of depression.”
The Concept of That’s The Spirit
“‘That’s the spirit’ is something you say when you don’t have an answer,” Oli explains. “It’s a depressing phrase because it acknowledges that sometimes, we just have to get on with life. The album explores how we process sadness and the idea that experiencing darkness can be just as profound as experiencing happiness.”
Oli emphasizes that the album doesn’t glorify depression but instead highlights the importance of confronting emotions rather than suppressing them. “We’re scared to be alone with our thoughts, constantly glued to our phones or distractions. But if we don’t process our emotions, they build into something much worse.”
Tracks like Happy Song and Avalanche delve into these themes, the latter inspired by Oli’s diagnosis of ADHD in rehab. “It felt like an avalanche, this overwhelming sense that I wasn’t wired for the world. But being diagnosed and finding the right medication was life-changing. It helped me work through everything and focus on creating music.”
A New Perspective
With That’s The Spirit, Oli has moved past the anger and apology-driven themes of Sempiternal. Instead, the album is an introspective look at human emotions and resilience. Now 28, married to tattoo artist Hannah Snowdon, and running his clothing brand Drop Dead, Oli has found stability and purpose.
When asked about the challenges of being in an industry rife with temptation, he responds, “Drugs don’t interest me anymore. I dealt with the insecurities that led me there. Watching others on drugs is sometimes funny, but I don’t feel tempted. It’s not my world anymore.”
Growth and Self-Acceptance
One of Oli’s biggest lessons has been learning to separate his public image from his true self. “At one point, I hated myself. I tried to be the Photoshopped version of me people saw in magazines, and every day I woke up feeling like a letdown. Accepting that I’m human and flawed was a turning point.”
With That’s The Spirit, Oli Sykes and Bring Me The Horizon have embraced the complexities of life, turning darkness into something transformative. “Sadness is universal,” Oli says, “but what we do with it—that’s where the light comes in.”
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