Oli Sykes: ‘I’ve Been On Holiday Most Of The Year!’

Has it been a tough 2010 for the recipients of our Album Of The Year accolade? It certainly has not.

Posted Sunday, 26 December 2010 in

As 2010 slowly withers and dies amid a hail of tinsel and shit TV, spare a thought for the less fortunate among us. You might be hiding from your parents while they fall asleep on the sofa downstairs but we can't all be so lucky.

Yes, Bring Me The Horizon will be homeless this Christmas, and for just £2 a month you can make sure they're safe and dry... oh hang on, BMTH had the best year of their careers in 2010, right? They released their best album yet, played to roughly a billion people and shredded faces the world over, and so face the looming 2011 like RS Editor Darren looks at a slice of turkey: it's theirs for the taking and if you get in the way you might lose an arm.

Did you miss our BMTH special? Click here to buy it from our eBay store direct worldwide.

We caught up with frontman Oli 'Oliver' Sykes for a bit of a chinwag over egg nog and mince pies. Ho ho ho!

You had a pretty storming 2010 - what are the band’s plans for 2011?
“Well, we’re already booked up until the end of next year, so it’s just touring, basically. We’re going to more weird and wacky countries; I know we’re booked to play Indonesia and we’re going to try and get as to as many places as possible. We’ll kick off a European tour because we’ve not had a chance to get over there this year since the new album [came out], then we’ll be doing our biggest ever UK tour. Then we’ll be doing European festivals and playing Japan, just going and playing this album to everyone and anyone who wants to hear it.”

What specifically do you want to have done by this time next year?
“Like I say, we don’t really have goals and ambitions. I mean, if the band stays at this level, or even if we dropped [a level], I’d still be happy. I love what we do: it’s the best thing in the world. We’re forever being surprised by what’s happening around us and I think that if we started setting goals, then if we met them, it would be like, ‘Yeah, well I expected that,’ and if we didn’t we’d be bummed out. We started this band to play shows and we want to be in this band to tour the world. For me it’s not work: it’s like being on holiday most of the year. As long as this band keeps taking us around the world, then I’m happy.”

Who are your favourite new band of 2010?
“It would have to be a band called Turboweekend. They’re relatively unknown in England. The only reason I know of them is because the guy who did our artwork [for ‘There Is A Hell…’] and who directs our videos, Jakob Printzlau, is from Copenhagen and he directed videos for this band too. They’re so fucking good; they’re one of my favourite bands of all time. I can’t really explain to you what they sound like, you probably have to go and check them out; I can’t think of any words to describe them. I think they could be huge if they had the right people behind them, someone to say, ‘listen to this.’ We went to see them in Copenhagen when we were recording in Sweden and it was fucking amazing.”

What was your favourite album this year?
“Have you heard the band Sleigh Bells? I checked them out because it’s the guy from Poison The Well [Derek Miller] on guitar and this girl [Alexis Krauss] singing and I was like, ‘what’s this going to sound like?’ It’s kind of fucked-up electro. Again, hard to put your finger on; really nice vocals, catchy as fuck, but then heavy, weird riffs. So yeah, [‘Treats’] is my favourite album of the year.”

What was the best moment of 2010 for you personally?
“Fuck, probably Warped tour. I don’t go on the internet or on forums so I don’t know how our band does anywhere. Even in the UK I never know how shit’s going because we’re out and about everywhere, [but] when we came to America [for Warped], the reactions were just absolutely insane. We were getting bigger crowds than bands like All American Rejects, who have sold millions of records! It was so unexpected to be playing on the main stage with The Dillinger Escape Plan and Every Time I Die, who are bands that influenced us and made us want to be in a band. The whole vibe of Warped Tour is just so good. You play a show for 40 minutes, you hang out in good weather, have barbeques, get drunk: it’s such a good laugh. That’s been the highlight of the year.”

Are there any releases you’re particularly looking forward to in 2011?
“Man, I’m not sure. That Glassjaw album’s been taking a while! I’m interested to hear that when it comes out. I know our drummer’s still waiting on that Dr Dre album, so that’s two things there! Fuck, I’m so out of the loop because we tour so much: I don’t know what’s happening! I’m still waiting for the next Jurassic Park film, but I don’t think that’s going to be any time soon, haha!”