Medicine (Bring Me the Horizon song)

"Medicine"
Single by Bring Me the Horizon
from the album Amo
Released3 January 2019 (2019-01-03)
Genre
Length3:47
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Oliver Sykes
  • Jordan Fish
Bring Me the Horizon singles chronology
"Wonderful Life"
(2018)
"Medicine"
(2019)
"Mother Tongue"
(2019)
Music video
"Medicine" on YouTube

"Medicine" is a song by British rock band Bring Me the Horizon.[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 third single from the album on 3 January 2019.

Composition and lyrics

[edit]

"Medicine" has been described as a pop,[2][3][4] pop rock,[5][6] electropop,[7] alternative rock,[4] and pop metal song.[8] It has aggressive and directly angry lyrics, contrasting with romantic love songs like "Mother Tongue". The song centres around Oliver Sykes' last relationship with Hannah Snowdon. Their marriage ended in a messy divorce in early 2016.[9] While Sykes has explained that the song "Ouch" also talks about that situation, keyboardist Jordan Fish revealed that "Medicine" is "connected to that too." Fish said of the song's lyrics:

"It's about people who are negative influences and how when they leave your life things get much better. It's a mixture of the electronic and radio-friendly elements of our band, but it's still got characteristics of some of the bigger songs we've done before. You'd need to ask Oli who exactly that's about, but I can think of a few people it might be about."[10]

Music video

[edit]

The music video for "Medicine" was released on the same day as the single was streamed. It is an effects-laden clip, courtesy of animator Extraweg and art director Oliver Latta. According to music website Consequence of Sound, the video shows "a statue-like bust of singer Oli Sykes' head as it is engorged by a plague of demon-like representations of himself".[11] AltPress described it as "freaky, CGI".[12]

Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from Tidal.[13]

Bring Me the Horizon

  • Oliver Sykes – lead vocals, production, composition
  • Lee Malia – guitars, composition
  • Matt Kean – bass, composition
  • Matt Nicholls – drums, composition
  • Jordan Fish – keyboards, synthesizers, programming, percussion, backing vocals, production, composition

Additional musicians

  • Choir Noir – choir

Additional personnel

  • Romesh Dodangoda – engineering
  • Francesco Cameli – assistant engineering
  • Alejandro Baima – assistant engineering
  • Daniel Morris – assistant engineering
  • Ted Jensen – mastering
  • Rhys May – mixing
  • Dan Lancaster – mixing

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for "Medicine"
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Japan Digital Singles Chart (Oricon)[14] 33
Japan Download Songs (Billboard)[15] 44
Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard)[16] 13
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[17] 20
Scotland (OCC)[18] 56
UK Singles (OCC)[19] 42
UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[20] 2
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[21] 9
US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[22] 46

Certifications

[edit]
Certifications for "Medicine"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[23] Gold 35,000
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[24] Gold 20,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[25] Silver 200,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ brownypaul (3 January 2019). "Bring Me The Horizon release music video for 'мedιcιne'". Wall of Sound. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  2. ^ "Bring Me The Horizon, Medicine Track Review". The Musical Hype. Retrieved 11 January 2019. There is more of a pop sensibility (with some electronic cues) about this record, though the chorus section goes harder than the majority.
  3. ^ "Fan covers Bring Me The Horizon's 'Medicine' in their old-school metal style". Retrieved 11 January 2019. 'Medicine' leans towards the band's more pop...side
  4. ^ a b Murjani Rawls (25 January 2019). "Bring Me The Horizon provides a journey with 'amo' that requires an uninterrupted listen". Substream Magazine. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  5. ^ Belling, Alasdair (4 January 2019). "Bring Me The Horizon drop new single 'Medicine' along with video | Tone Deaf". Tonedeaf.thebrag.com. Retrieved 17 January 2019. Bring Me The Horizon are continuing the transition from death-core poster boys to pop-rock stadium fillers with new single Medicine.
  6. ^ Knight, George (2 September 2021). "REVIEW: Bring Me The Horizon - Post Human: Survival Horror". Thunderchord. Retrieved 19 September 2021. The latter however would rather alienate fans with their new sound and direction, especially with pop-rock sing-alongs like "Medicine" and "Mother Tongue".
  7. ^ "Bring Me The Horizon Unleash Surprising Electro-Pop Track "Medicine"". Retrieved 11 January 2019. The new electro-pop single "Medicine," which is due out on January 25...
  8. ^ Morin, Max (12 June 2019). "Exclaim!'s Top 29 Albums of 2019 So Far". Exclaim!. Retrieved 11 May 2022. Gone are the days of the deathcore scene kids; in their place, we have some of the best pop metal tracks ever put to record, including "Mantra," "Medicine," "Mother Tongue" and "Sugar Honey Ice & Tea."
  9. ^ "Bring Me The Horizon – medicine Lyrics". Genius.com. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  10. ^ "Bring Me The Horizon Talk Us Through Every Track On Forthcoming Album Amo". Kerrang!. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  11. ^ "Bring Me the Horizon unveil visually stunning video for new song "Medicine"". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  12. ^ "Bring Me The Horizon unleash freaky, CGI music video for "Medicine"". AltPress. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  13. ^ "Bring Me the Horizon – medicine". Tidal. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Bring Me The Horizonのデジタルシングル売上TOP1作品". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-08-23.
  15. ^ "Download Songs". Billboard Japan. 27 November 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  16. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Overseas". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  17. ^ "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 12 January 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  18. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  19. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  20. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  21. ^ "Bring Me the Horizon Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  22. ^ "Bring Me the Horizon Chart History (Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  23. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2023 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  24. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – Bring Me the Horizon – Medicine" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  25. ^ "British single certifications – Bring Me the Horizon – Medicine". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 7 July 2023.