"Nihilist Blues" (stylised in all lowercase) is a song by British rock band Bring Me the Horizon featuring Canadian singer Grimes.[1] 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 fifth single from the album on 24 January 2019. Evanescence have a songwriting credit, as it lifts vocal melodies from "Never Go Back".[2][3][4]
Composition and lyrics
"Nihilist Blues" has been described as a synth-pop,[5][6][7]electronic rock,[8]electropop,[6]europop,[9] and trance song.[10] The song talks principally about nihilism, focusing on the meaninglessness of life, existential crises and pessimism.[11] According to an interview from Impericon, the song is Oliver Sykes' personal favourite one.[12] Musically, "Nihilist Blues" sets inspiration from old disco and EDM songs. Fish commented about the collaboration:
"This is an example of us really going for it on this record. It's like this dark rave song or something—it's absolutely mental, and it might be my favourite on the whole album. I'm sure people will hear it and go, "What the fuck?" but whatever. It's very different in sound for us. We're big fans of Grimes and she loved the song. She actually sent it back with all these added elements which we weren't expecting, but she's super-creative and she'd completely gone to town on it. That elevated the song to a whole new level. She's someone we respect, and not really someone you'd expect to find working with a metal band. Or a rock band. Or whatever it is we are..."[13]
Music video
The music video for "Nihilist Blues" was released on the same day the single was streamed. AltPress described it as "a glitchy new way forward" for the band.[14]
