Do you remember what metal was like roughly a decade ago? Because Bad Omens vocalist Noah Sebastian recently looked back on the state of the heavy music industry when he first started his skyrocketing alt-metal act in 2015, observing that the scene at the time seemed unserious — from his perspective, at least.
His thoughts on that and more arrived in a new interview this week wherein Sebastian also touched on one of Bad Omens’ formative musical influences, Bring Me the Horizon, and explained how Bad Omens feel about their current obligation to fans.
Amid the interview with Kerrang!, Sebastian remarks that the “heavy side of the music industry was like a joke” when he formed Bad Omens. Though, without naming any names, he stresses he’s “not talking shit on any bands that have more fun than us.”
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But what about those early Bring Me the Horizon comparisons Bad Omens faced early on, especially with regard to Sebastian’s approach to singing?
“I totally understand it,” Sebastian responds. “The vocal style I was doing before sounded a lot like [Bring Me the Horizon’s] Oli [Sykes], and we were inspired by them musically.”
In fact, Bring Me the Horizon still give Bad Omens inspiration in how the Sykes-led outfit continually reinvent themselves socially and aesthetically.
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“It’s about the mindset, rather than the music itself,” Sebastian muses. “It’s being fearless, not caring about genres, or being confined to what rock and metal is doing right now. It’s doing your own thing and making a sound of your own. That, to me, is how we’re now inspired by them.”
Bad Omens + First Impressions
Bad Omens are coming off what was their most most successful year yet after their latest album, 2022’s The Death of Peace of Mind, and its breakout single — now an RIAA-certified gold record — “Just Pretend.” But whether it’s 2015, 2022 or 2024, Bad Omens have one clearly defined goal.
“Bands only get one good first impression, and with our newest album blowing up the way it has and our recent tours selling out, we’ve needed to make sure we’re going out there and doing a good job,” Sebastian says.
“There’s so many extreme dynamics, different styles and techniques to the way we perform now,” he continues. “It’s difficult, so something I’ve changed about myself to help with that has been improving my health, both physically and mentally. It’s just mundane stuff like going to the gym and not drinking and partying. But it’s a critical newfound discipline we all have in the band.”
That’s because, for Bad Omens, “This is our job, it’s our priority, and we owe it to the people who depend on us to not just fuck it up every night,” Sebastian adds. “We’re not going to do anything to compromise this.”
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Bad Omens, “The Death of Peace of Mind” (Music Video)
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Gallery Credit: Philip Trapp
