Subtle tweaks to the Post Human Live Experience ensure Britain’s biggest rock band mark their territory as Sziget 2026's greatest headliners...
Think back to the last time Bring Me The Horizon took a proper break – to write 2019’s amo – and let it sink in how prolific they have been since then. When the world stopped the following year, they opened the gates to Post Human, the ongoing series that helped them co-headline Reading & Leeds, Download outright and eventually return to close R&L proper. They drip-fed singles from what eventually became NeX GEn. When you thought things were winding down as Oli Sykes became a dad last year, they made a mind-blowing concert film and re-recorded Count Your Blessings.
In short, most fans around the world have had their chance to experience some iteration of the Post Human Live Experience. The dystopian, apocalyptic story told by our on-screen villainous narrators Eve and M8 demands a type of skeleton setlist, one that could make tonight’s headline slot at Sziget seem all too similar to their Budapest show two summers ago. But it’s definitely not broke. Nor does it need fixing. And while there are plenty of first-timers in the crowd, there is still a challenge to making Post Human era continue to feel fresh.
Óbuda Island is rammed in every direction. As Wednesday’s headline set from twenty one pilots proved, Sziget knows how to turn up, with everyone locked into the tomfoolery of video gameplay long before BMTH emerge. It’s their first gig since the no-barrier Count Your Blessings shows in Manchester, and jaws collectively drop as they open with recent their deathcore revival Dehumanized. Their heaviest song in years is disgusting, majestic and an all-round sensory assault before the cybernetic rock opera resumes through DArkSide and MANTRA.
Oli’s stage presence is primal, moving around in a white vest with the magnetism of an athlete as he orders the crowd around with his cocky Yorkshire-isms. “When I turn around in 15 seconds, I want to see this whole place opened up,” he demands during Happy Song, with command of the camera lens in the palm of his hand too. When you do take your eyes off him, the thoughtful Hungarian subtitles on the transitions also don’t go unnoticed.
Crisp are the riffs spewing out of Lee Malia’s guitar. Matt Nicholls’ ride cymbal tease of AmEN! creeps up on us. Itch For The Cure is remixed, while Follow You transforms into a rocked-up symphony during the second verse. Equally, Doomed carries an orchestral edge that takes you back to their one-off Royal Albert Hall gig. A fan called Barni is invited up to sing what is normally Antivist, only for the ScreamStar video game selector to pick Pray For Plagues and send the crowd wild. There are surprises and treats for even the most seasoned fans.
“I apologise if we were a bit rusty,” says Oli, aware of how only one month off can affect his momentum. For a band whose sound spans all shades, their live shows have remained a consistent source of joy and spectacle, and a crucial chapter in the Bring Me The Horizon success story. Making minor modifications along the way, they’ve been able to live and breathe this show, get to know it like a friend, and actually bask in the glory of what they’ve created.
Tonight, they are officially the knockout festival headliners they were meant to become. They had a point to prove when they finally reached the summit of UK festivals. Now, they are comfortable at this pay grade, and still able to produce some clinical killer blows that fend off any signs of complacency. You’ll keep seeing them again and again. As the gig ends and euphoria turns to sadness, Budapest remembers the promise these lone wolves always make – and keep – every time they play Throne: ‘Tomorrow I will come back / Leader of the whole pack’.
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