Oli Sykes (BMTH) on Games & Kojima: Interview

Bring Me The Horizon is one of the biggest bands in the world. They ranked sixth in the ‘most streamed’ metal band category on Spotify last year, trailing behind Linkin Park, Metallica, System of a Down, Limp Bizkit, and Black Sabbath — all major names in the music industry.

However, what sets the Sheffield-born artists apart from their peers is their passion for video games.

I had the opportunity to speak with lead singer Oli Sykes about the impact games have had on his life, the band’s music, and his experience meeting Hideo Kojima.

Sykes shared that video games are the second most influential aspect of his life, behind music. The medium has not only influenced the band’s music creation process but also their storytelling techniques and video production.

“I believe that video games, such as Metal Gear Solid, were my initial introduction to appreciating stories and games as an art form,” Sykes stated. He continued, “When you're 12 years old, you enjoy certain movies and think they're cool. Later, you realize their deeper meanings and what they represent. You think, ‘Oh, cool, I just liked it because it was gory or whatever.’ But I think games were the first time something truly made me think and made me see it as more than just, ‘Oh, this is cool because it's because there's blood and guts.’ There's actually a story here, and there's actually innovation, and there's actually just thinking outside the box.”

The band's music is filled with subtle and overt references to the video game world. They have songs titled Parasite Eve and Shadow Moses, and Dear Diary frequently mentions Resident Evil. The music also often incorporates soundbites from games like Undertale and Metal Gear Solid. Sykes says, “We’re always incorporating elements from games. It's a tribute to video games. I mean, I freely borrow from the world, but it's just vast, and it's just fun to geek out.”

Games not only influence Bring Me The Horizon's music but also their live performances. I recently attended the band's Post Human: NeX GEn tour, which coincided with the release of their new album. The show was packed with gaming references. A version of Metal Gear Solid's Codec adorned the big screens, and the on-screen character E.V.E makes references to both the N64 and Sega Saturn. All of this is conceptualized by Sykes.

Sykes says he is responsible for all the creative aspects of their work, from ideas to writing scripts and jokes, driven by his own sense of humor.

Sykes is currently working on a list of ideas for future projects, inspired by Universal Studios' live shows. He aims for his shows to emulate the immersive experience of theme park simulations, emphasizing a free-flowing approach to creativity.

With a changing perception of gaming, Sykes now openly embraces his love for the medium, seeing it as a source of enjoyment and connection with fans.

Sykes' favorite games include the Metal Gear Solid series, particularly Metal Gear Solid 2, and the Resident Evil series. He also appreciates indie games, citing Limbo and Crow County as favorites.

Sykes considers The Last of Us to be one of the best games ever made, highlighting its emotional connection to characters and its impact on the video game industry.

Sykes' love for video games started with Sonic the Hedgehog on Sega, which sparked an enduring passion. He particularly enjoys Sonic and Knuckles.

Although Sykes brings his Steam Deck on tour, he no longer travels with his PS5 due to its potential for distraction. He finds games like God of War too engaging, hindering his writing process.

Sykes has realized he may not be as skilled at gaming as he thought. Due to time constraints, he skipped *Elden Ring*, unsure if he could conquer it. However, games like *Metal Gear Rising* recently presented a challenge.

“It’s not *Souls*-like at all,” he said, “but it is parry-based, and it’s pretty difficult as you get towards the last bosses. When I played it back in the day, I got up to a certain point, and I thought it was the last boss, but actually, there were about two or three bosses left. I just couldn’t get past it at the time. I completed it a couple of weeks ago, though, and honestly, man, it had me tearing my hair out. I can’t even imagine *Souls*-like.”

Sykes is clearly traumatized by his attempt at *Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice*: “I thought I was fighting a boss, and it was just like a random bad guy. I got up to the guy on the horse, and I was like, f*ck, man, I don't know if this is for me.”

Being a huge *Metal Gear* fan, meeting Kojima was a surreal experience for Sykes. He describes the visionary as a “character,” and “really funny”, and shares details of his recent trip to the studio, in which Kojima gave the band a glimpse at *Death Stranding 2*, a game which Sykes said the band won’t be appearing in, despite creating *Ludens* for the first game.

While initially not part of their plans, the band wants to create lore and a narrative for themselves, told across their shows and music, with plans to expand into comics in the not-too-distant future. Sykes sent these comics ahead to Kojima before his visit, and the *P.T.* creator was full of ideas.

“He’s just, like, an idea machine,” Sykes recalls, “He’s like, you could do this, and you could do that, and you could do that, and you could do that. And he must have come up with about 30 ideas in the space of 10 minutes. Not all of them were amazing, but it’s crazy, and we got a little insight into how he must be.”

Sykes compared his creative style to Kojima, riffing ideas until something good comes up: “he’s a genius, but it’s not refined genius. He goes, let’s do this, let’s do that and eventually, someone goes, ‘wait, that’s good.’ And it’s really inspiring to see. I think I’m very similar in that way, I have a billion ideas, and by the end of the day, all those ideas have changed, and I’ve already hated my ideas.”

Sykes discusses the process of creating Ludens for Death Stranding, explaining that the band's connection with Kojima was hard-fought and not based on a direct request from him. He states that the idea for the song came a month before their tour but the band didn't hear back for a while.

When they received a request for the song just ten days before the deadline, it was a challenge as they usually take months to write songs. However, the chance to work with Kojima was a big motivator for Sykes.

Sykes reveals that he didn't have any specific information about the game when writing the song and instead relied on his own ideas. He was already planning to write a geopolitical song, which aligned perfectly with the project.

Sykes describes the feeling of uncertainty after finishing the record in a week. He compares the process of writing music to smelling perfumes, where it becomes difficult to determine what is good after smelling many different scents.

Sykes shares how his Drop Dead clothing range was inspired by Metal Gear, similar to their song Shadow Moses, which borrows the name and sound from the series. He recounts a time when a former Konami employee showed Kojima the song, despite the band not obtaining permission to use the intro music. To his relief, Kojima and Yoji Shinkawa loved the song and no legal issues arose.

While Bring Me The Horizon doesn't have a song in Death Stranding 2, Sykes says there are plans to work with Kojima again in the future. He mentions a desire to do something crazy together.

Sykes reveals that Bring Me The Horizon is in talks to create music for another game but declines to provide further details. He also expresses his belief that Call of Duty should have approached them to use their song Kingslayer.

Sykes is passionate about creating music for games, citing Mick Gordon's work on Doom as an inspiration. He's already thinking about the process and wants to create music for an entire game, like the seamless transition of music in games after finishing a fight.

Beyond music, Sykes also wants to create a survival-horror game using themselves as characters. The game would be inspired by the original Resident Evil games and Crow County, with a focus on the older style horror games that have a “vibe” missing from modern games due to faster loading times.

Sykes acknowledges that their opinions on AI are likely unpopular but believes it's inevitable. They compare the situation to the rise of Spotify, which has significantly reduced the band's income from music streaming.

While acknowledging the negative impact of AI, Sykes believes that it's not a replacement for creativity. They still value human opinion and trust game reviews, but acknowledge that AI can be a useful tool.

Sykes uses AI to check for inconsistencies in their band's stories, but wouldn't rely on it for writing original content. They believe AI might have a positive impact on the world by pushing creative individuals to improve their craft and leading to new innovations in various industries, including gaming.

He believes AI could eventually have a beneficial effect on the world. He explains, “It's making everyone have to up their game.” He continues, “across industries, it's going to weed out the people that don't really love what they do, and I think it's going to push the people that are doing something truly special to the top.” He suggests this might lead to new innovations in movies, TV, music, and games.

Despite his reservations about AI, Sykes is enjoying his career, combining his passion for video games with his band's music and meeting gaming idols. It's exciting to see how this combination will continue to develop in the future.

Bring Me The Horizon's POST HUMAN: NeX GEn is available now. You can get the physical release on September 27.