That's The Spirit holds a very special place in my heart, and possibly the most important record to me. It was a much needed catharsis in the aftermath of many personal catastrophes, and was simultaneously my introduction to Bring Me The Horizon and modern metal. Since then, I've listened to so much modern metal that's so much heavier, I can see why people dislike the "softness" of this record in retrospect, but as it stands I still love every bit of it.
I didn't really register it at the time, but technically the first track I heard on this record was Throne. I think I picked it up from a Spotify radio mix or possibly TikTok, but I didn't think much of it at the time, so I usually consider Happy Song my proper first impression of the record. I stumbled across one of their live performances of Happy Song, and it struck me as so revolutionarily angry (at the time, at least), I couldn't help but be captivated at the emotional capacity that song brought across.
Not long after, my deep dive and subsequent obsession with Bring Me The Horizon began. I moved on to Drown, loving the anthemic catharsis and truthfully therapeutic emotiveness that song had. Then there was Follow You, which was a great heartfelt cynical romantic love song that resonated with me at the time. After that was True Friends, being the angriest song on the record and, quite frankly, also perfect for what I needed to feel at the time. Eventually, my heart settled on Doomed, which was and still is an underrated track in my opinion. I feel it is some of Bring Me The Horizon's best work, perfectly harnessing all the feelings and emotions that the record represents in a very unique and emotionally charged way, most prominently in the chorus.
I spent a lot of time soaking in this record. Every track has its moments, understandably some more than others, but every song was great in the end. I have to commend Oh No, I loved it way more than I thought I would, and their take on a party pop song was way more of a bop than you'd imagine.
That's The Spirit is undeniably a pivotal record, both for me sentimentally and for the band sonically. It's an emotionally powerful and musically brilliant piece of work from the band, and has one of the biggest spots in my heart in all of music. I don't think I will ever find enough words to accurately express how I feel about this album, but as cheesy as it is, I truly am grateful to have come across this in my life.
Rating: 10/10