BRING ME THE HORIZON Keyboardist Talks 'Weird' And 'Random' Collaboration With DANI FILTH

Prior to BRING ME THE HORIZON's performance in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on May 8, keyboardist Jordan Fish spoke with Cutter of "Cutter's RockCast". The full conversation can be viewed below. A few excerpts follow (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On vocalist Oli Sykes's recent vocal cord issues, which forced the group to cancel a series of shows:

Jordan: "It was okay in the end. He got sick, and we had a lot of shows in a row, and I think [it] was the combination of those things. He got told he couldn't sing, but we didn't want to cancel the shows, so we tried to carry on — and then went back again... We got told that we had to stop a few shows before, and we were, like, 'Maybe we can get through it,' because we don't like canceling shows, obviously. It's horrible for everyone. Then he went back to the doctor again after our L.A. show. The schedule was quite relentless — we had to do this [Los Angeles radio station] KROQ show really late at night, and [late-night television talk show] 'Jimmy Kimmel [Live!]' and our L.A. show, and then went back to the voice doctor and they just said, 'You can't sing anymore.' Then we just had to stop, unfortunately. It just happens, sometimes. Sometimes, I lose my voice, and no one really cares, obviously — [but] when you're the singer... it's just one of those things."

On the group's recently released album, "Amo":

Jordan: "We just try a bunch of stuff and see what [sticks]. To some extent, it's pre-planned, because usually we have an idea of what kind of thing we want to go for on each song. With certain songs, it will be like, 'This is the vibe,' and that kind of guides what type of sounds you want to use and how we use the instruments therein. In terms of my sounds, I can obviously do whatever. I don't really have an instrument as such — electronics/programming, it just means anything, really. That's part of the reason why we're quite varied sonically, because I can put a harp in, or shit I can't actually play — I can program [it]. Then in terms of the guitars, part of the challenge and what makes it interesting is trying to figure out ways to use them in different ways for different songs... To some extent, it's just having a go and seeing what works and what sounds cool, and to some extent, it's preordained, because we generally have an idea of what we're going for with each song."

On writing the group's current single, "Wonderful Life":

Jordan: "If it's really heavy and basic in a section, then [the goal] is trying to find a way to make it so it feels interesting and different in another section. You're almost trying to fight against what you've got. 'Wonderful Life' is a real simple riff, and there's not really much else to that part, so then the verse, I guess, the idea was trying to find some way to make it feel a bit more electronic-like and more of a clusterfuck, so that it's [a] contrast. That song, it's just a weird song. It's not really the most cleanly executed in terms of the arrangement. It just happened to work that way. In the end, I've kind of told myself that it goes with the lyrics, because they're all a bit random. The whole song sounds a bit random with the weird sounds, and it's got Dani Filth on it, so I guess that one just happens to work in some way."

On whether the band had Filth in mind when writing the song:

Jordan: "No. I didn't think it was... It wasn't my idea. When it was first suggested, I really liked the section. We'd already tracked the section with Oli, and it was one of my favorite bits, so I was a bit, like, 'Oh. I don't want to change it.' Oli was like, 'No — it'd be cool.' In the end, I like it now, but at the time, I was, like, 'We've got a really good vocal for that part.' I was really attached to it."

On how the group approached him:

Jordan: "Oli just messaged him on Instagram — just literally [direct-messaged] him. I think he thought it was a wind-up at first, because he messaged back and said, 'If this is really you, then yes, I'm up for it.' He's a nice guy."

On Filth's participation in the song's music video:

Jordan: "It seemed like it would be quite funny just to have him doing menial shit while in his gear. He doesn't take himself seriously at all or anything, so he was, like, bang-up for it."

"Wonderful Life" currently sits at No. 18 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock National Airplay chart, which tracks radio spins in the active rock format in America.

"Amo" was released on January 25 via Columbia Records. The album debuted at No. 1 in the band's native United Kingdom and also topped the charts in both Australia and Scotland.

BRING ME THE HORIZON wraps up its current American tour this weekend with a performance at the Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival in Columbus, Ohio. Following a series of European summer festival appearances, the group will return to America in August to perform at Lollapalooza in Chicago, Illinois.