Mantra (Bring Me the Horizon song)

"Mantra" is a song by British rock band Bring Me the Horizon. Produced by the band's vocalist Oliver Sykes and keyboardist Jordan Fish, it is featured on the group's 2019 sixth studio album Amo. The track was released as the first single from the album on 21 August 2018, topping the UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart and spending three weeks at that spot.

"Mantra"
Single by Bring Me the Horizon
from the album Amo
Released21 August 2018 (2018-08-21)
Genre
Length3:53
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • Jordan Fish
  • Matthew Kean
  • Oliver Sykes
  • Matthew Nicholls
  • Lee Malia
Producer(s)
  • Oliver Sykes
  • Jordan Fish
Bring Me the Horizon singles chronology
"Oh No"
(2016)		 "Mantra"
(2018)		 "Wonderful Life"
(2018)

Composition and lyrics

"Mantra" has been described as a hard rock,[1][2][3] alternative rock,[4] electronic rock,[5] and pop rock song.[6] Speaking to music magazine Metal Hammer, vocalist Oliver Sykes revealed that "Mantra" was inspired by Wild Wild Country, a documentary about controversial Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, explaining that "As I was watching it and trying to write lyrics at the same time, I was drawing these similarities to cults and love."[7] Moving on to speak about the lyrics, he added that "Starting a relationship – especially a marriage – is like starting a cult, a small two-man cult, because you have to give yourself over completely to this person, you have to trust them, you have to love them unconditionally ... so that's where the thinking behind the song came from".[7]

Musically, "Mantra" is described by NME writer Tom Connick as featuring "a twisted, glitchy electronica intro" followed by a "festival-headline-baiting chorus", contributing to a sound that he claims is "built for huge stages".[8] Connick goes on to claim that the electronic elements of the song "add atmosphere".[8]

Promotion and release

Bring Me the Horizon released "Mantra" as their first new material since That's the Spirit on 21 August 2018, the day before the band's sixth studio album Amo was announced.[9] The song was originally teased with a promotional campaign including a billboard in London, which featured the lyric "Do you wanna start a cult with me?" The billboard also contained a phone number that contained a sample of the track, and the website joinmantra.com was set up to reveal the single's release date.[10] The group performed the track live for the first time at Reading Festival on 23 August,[11] followed by a performance at Leeds Festival the following day.[12]

Music video

The music video for "Mantra" was released on 24 August 2018, three days after the song was first made available.[13] According to music website Consequence of Sound, the video "depicts frontman Oli Sykes as a cult leader, as his followers hang on his every word".[14] Revolver magazine's John Hill outlined that "The visuals in the video clash repeatedly, elements of video games, late-night infomercials, and church sermons all run on a closed loop next to each other for a vicious effect", describing it as "crazy".[15] Similarly, Emmy Mack of Music Feeds dubbed the video "batshit crazy".[16]

Reception

Critical

Tom Connick of the NME praised "Mantra" as "an inventive cut of ballsy, bluesy modern rock, fit for stadiums and headline slots", highlighting the electronic elements of the song and the vocal performance of Oliver Sykes.[8] Axl Rosenberg of MetalSucks criticised the song, calling it "drek" and joking, "If you hate everyone in your immediate vicinity, turn your speakers way up and crank "Mantra"."[17]

Accolades

In 2019, "Mantra" was nominated for the Best Rock Song category at the 61st Grammy Awards and was also nominated for Best Song at the Kerrang! Awards.

Charts and certifications
Chart (2018) Peak
position
Australia Digital Tracks (ARIA)[18] 33
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[19] 7
Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[20] 37
Canada Rock (Billboard)[21] 45
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[22] 93
Germany Alternative (Deutsche Alternative Charts)[23] 10
Hungary (Single Top 40)[24] 14
Mexico Ingles Airplay (Billboard)[25] 31
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[26] 35
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[27] 45
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[28] 94
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[29] 55
UK Rock and Metal (Official Charts Company)[30] 1
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[31] 15
US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[32] 23


Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[33] Gold 35,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Cover versions

In 2020, Japanese girl group Passcode covered the song on their official YouTube channel.[34]

gollark: For tasks like "database IO" and "interweb".
gollark: I IKR, right?
gollark: I investigated this but the libraries were bad.
gollark: I don't actually like using it because most of my stuff involves interaction with reality.
gollark: * mönædoifs

References
  1. Hill, John (21 August 2018). "Hear Bring Me the Horizon's Riff-Heavy, Electronic-Tinged New Song "Mantra"". Revolver Magazine. Retrieved 30 September 2018. The song picks up where they left off on 2015's That's the Spirit, grinding together some extremely catchy hard rock with some heavy guitar work.
  2. "The 40 Best Hard Rock Songs of 2018". Loudwire. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  3. "Fan covers Bring Me The Horizon's 'Medicine' in their old-school metal style". Retrieved 11 January 2019. ‘Medicine’ leans towards the band’s more pop and electronic side, rather than the hard rock edge of previous singles ‘Mantra‘ and ‘Wonderful Life‘ or their metalcore roots.
  4. "Bring Me The Horizon start a cult on new single "Mantra"". Alternative Press. Retrieved 26 September 2018. And different it is. The new tune takes That’s The Spirit‘s knack for alt-rock bombast...
  5. "Gig review: Bring Me The Horizon at First Direct Arena, Leeds". Yorkshire Evening Post. 26 November 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2019. Mantra, a crunching slice of electro-rock bedecked with streamer cannons
  6. Rincón, Alessandra (22 August 2018). "Bring Me The Horizon Announce New Album and Tour Dates, Drop First Single". Billboard. Retrieved 26 September 2018. The announcement comes after the band's release of their new electronic pop-rock track "Mantra" after teasing fans with billboards and a mysterious phone number asking fans to join their "cult."
  7. Morton, Luke (28 August 2018). "The story behind Bring Me The Horizon's new song Mantra". Metal Hammer. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  8. Connick, Tom (21 August 2018). "With new single 'Mantra', Bring Me The Horizon cement their spot at the top of the Brit-rock pack". NME. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  9. Jamieson, Brii (22 August 2018). "Bring Me The Horizon Have Announced The Details Of Their New Album, Announced A Tour". Rock Sound. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  10. Slingerland, Calum (21 August 2018). "Bring Me the Horizon Return with "Mantra"". Exclaim!. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  11. Casteel, Beth (24 August 2018). "Watch Bring Me The Horizon perform "Mantra" for the first time". Alternative Press. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  12. "Bring Me the Horizon Concert Setlist at Leeds Festival 2018 on August 25, 2018". setlist.fm. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  13. Casteel, Beth (24 August 2018). "Watch Oli Sykes transform into cult leader in new BMTH video". Alternative Press. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  14. Kaufman, Spencer (27 August 2018). "Bring Me the Horizon start a cult in music video for "Mantra": Watch". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  15. Hill, John (24 August 2018). "Sex, Drugs, Cults: Watch Bring Me the Horizon's Crazy New "Mantra" Video". Revolver. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  16. Mack, Emmy (25 August 2018). "Watch Oli Sykes Go Full Cult Master In Bring Me The Horizon's Batsh*t Crazy 'Mantra' Music Video". Music Feeds. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  17. Rosenberg, Axl (22 August 2018). "Bring Me the Horizon Attempt to Ruin Meditation with New Song "Mantra"". MetalSucks. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  18. "ARIA Australian Top 40 Digital Tracks Chart" (PDF). ARIA. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  19. "Ultratop.be – Bring Me the Horizon – Mantra" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  20. "Ultratop.be – Bring Me the Horizon – Mantra" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  21. "Bring Me the Horizon Chart History (Canada Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  22. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 201835 into search. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  23. "Deutsche Alternative Charts - Week 41 / Year 2018 / Category: Single". Deutsche Alternative Charts. Archived from the original on 8 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  24. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  25. "Bring Me the Horizon Chart History (Mexico Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  26. "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  27. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  28. "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201835 into search. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  29. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  30. "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  31. "Bring Me the Horizon Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  32. "Bring Me the Horizon Chart History (Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  33. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2019 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  34. "#PassCode covers #MANTRA (of Bring Me The Horizon)! – The track will be available tonight at 0:00 (JST)". Twitter. 1 July 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
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