Bring Me The Horizon on Nail The Mix: Dissecting the legends

Bring Me The Horizon is more than a band; they're a sonic phenomenon. From the raw deathcore of Suicide Season to the genre-defying electronic-metal fusion of their latest work, they’ve consistently pushed the boundaries of what heavy music can be. For producers, their tracks are a masterclass in organized chaos—a dense wall of sound where brutal guitars, intricate electronics, and dynamic vocals all fight for space.

So, how do you even start to mix a track with that level of complexity? It’s one of the biggest challenges in modern metal production. The expectation for polished, massive-sounding mixes is higher than ever, and BMTH is a perfect example of that standard.

We’re going to break down some of the core components of their sound, focusing on the two elements that often define their modern style: the vocals and the synths. These techniques are inspired by what we’ve seen from pros like Fredrik Nordström, who walked us through his entire process when he mixed Bring Me The Horizon's "Chelsea Smile" right here on Nail The Mix.

Let’s get into it.

Decoding Oli Sykes’ Vocal Mayhem

Oli Sykes’ vocal performance is a huge part of the BMTH sound, shifting from gut-wrenching screams to melodic clean singing, often within the same phrase. Making that sit right in a dense mix requires an aggressive, multi-layered approach.

The Foundation: Pinning Screams with Compression

When it comes to metal screams, dynamic range is not the goal; relentless consistency is. You need that vocal to sit right on top of the mix and never get lost. This is where fast, aggressive compression comes in.

Think of a FET-style compressor, like a digital emulation of the classic UREI 1176 (you can find great ones from Slate Digital, Waves, Arturia, etc.). Here’s a typical starting point for a lead scream track:

• Attack: Set it fast. Like, really fast. You want the compressor to grab the transient almost instantly.
• Release: Also fast, but adjust it to the rhythm of the vocal line so it "breathes" with the performance.
• Ratio: Don’t be shy. Start at 8:1 and don’t be afraid to push it to 20:1 or even the "All Buttons In" mode if your plugin has it.
• Gain Reduction: You’ll likely be aiming for 10dB of gain reduction or more on the loudest parts. The goal is to smooth out the performance so it's a solid, unwavering brick of sound.

This heavy-handed approach ensures the vocal has the authority to cut through a wall of downtuned guitars and pounding drums. For more on this, check out our deep dive into metal compression secrets.

Carving Space with Surgical EQ

Once compressed, the vocal needs to be shaped to fit the mix. A scream track contains a ton of frequency information, and not all of it is useful.

1. High-Pass Everything: The first move is almost always a high-pass filter. You can often cut everything below 150Hz, sometimes even up to 200-250Hz, without losing the core character of the scream. This single move cleans up massive amounts of low-end mud and creates space for the bass and kick.
2. Find the "Bite": The aggression and intelligibility of a scream live in the upper-midrange. Use a wide boost somewhere between 2kHz and 5kHz to help it slice through the mix.
3. Tame the Harshness: Screams can have nasty, fizzy frequencies that are painful to listen to. Use a parametric EQ with a narrow Q (bandwidth) to hunt down and notch out any piercing frequencies, usually found between 4kHz and 8kHz.

These are the kind of foundational EQ strategies for mixing modern vocals that separate a professional mix from an amateur one.

The Secret Weapon: Parallel Saturation

Here’s a trick the pros use to add size and grit without destroying the main vocal track.

Send your lead vocal track to an auxiliary bus (an aux/send). On this new channel, get nasty. Insert a saturation or distortion plugin like a Soundtoys Decapitator, FabFilter Saturn 2, or even a stock guitar amp sim. Crush it until it sounds completely over-the-top. Then, slowly blend that distorted aux track back in underneath your main vocal.

This parallel track adds rich harmonics and a layer of aggression that helps the vocal feel bigger and more present, and you can control the intensity just by moving one fader.

Building the Electronic Backbone

BMTH’s integration of synths and samples is a hallmark of their sound. But getting shimmering pads, gritty arpeggios, and sub-bass drops to work with distorted 8-string guitars is a huge challenge.

It’s All About Sound Selection and Placement

First off, the source sound matters. Whether you’re using a powerhouse VST like Serum or stock DAW synths, you need to find sounds that occupy their own space. Don’t pick a thick, mid-heavy synth lead that’s going to directly compete with the guitars. Think about sounds that can sit around the core metal elements—like high-frequency arpeggios, wide stereo pads, or deep sub-bass that lives below the guitars.

Making Synths and Guitars Play Nice

The key to blending synths into a metal mix is creating separation.

• Sidechain Compression: This is your best friend. Sidechain your main synth pad to the kick drum so the synth "ducks" in volume every time the kick hits. You can also sidechain synths to the lead vocal so they automatically create space whenever the vocals come in. It’s a simple move that adds rhythmic pulse and massively improves clarity.
• Aggressive EQ: Just like with vocals, don't be afraid to carve up your synths. High-pass them to keep them out of the bass guitar’s territory. Use a low-pass filter to roll off the high end so they don’t clash with cymbals and vocal air. The goal is to fit them into a specific frequency "pocket" where they won't fight anything else.

Using Automation for Impact

A static synth loop is boring. What makes electronic elements feel alive in a BMTH track is movement. Automate everything:

• Filter Cutoffs: Automate a low-pass filter to open up on a synth pad as you build into a chorus for a massive sense of release.
• Volume: Use volume automation to tuck synths away during a heavy guitar riff and bring them forward in a sparse pre-chorus.
• Effects: Automate the wet/dry mix on your reverbs and delays to make certain synth phrases wash out and others feel dry and in-your-face.

It’s All About the Big Picture

Individually, these techniques are powerful. But they really shine when you understand how they work together in the context of a full, professional mix. The modern metal sound pioneered by bands like Bring Me The Horizon demands a high level of production skill. There's no room for weak drum sounds, muddy guitars, or vocals that get lost in the noise.

Learning these techniques is one thing, but seeing them applied in real-time is another.

If you’re serious about creating mixes that can compete, imagine watching a world-class producer like Fredrik Nordström pull up the actual multi-tracks for a song like "Chelsea Smile" and build the mix from scratch, explaining every plugin, EQ curve, and automation move.

That’s exactly what you get with Nail The Mix.

See for yourself how the pros get it done. Check out the Bring Me The Horizon "Chelsea Smile" mixing session and get ready to elevate your productions. If you want to dive even deeper and access our entire library of courses from the producers behind bands like Gojira, Periphery, and Lamb of God, you can unlock your sound and transform your mixes with Nail The Mix.