Of their new sound, Sykes said: "Even if it's a poppier song, it's a million times more exciting than the shit you hear on the radio,"

Bring The Horizon‘s Oli Sykes has said that “rap is almost the new punk”, arguing that “rock has gone soft, miserable and boring”.

The Sheffield band are set to return in January with their hotly-anticipated new album ‘Amo’. Speaking of the diversity and further sonic shift away from their metal roots on the record, Sykes said that it was important for them to evolve in order to maintain an emotional connection.

“That’s why rappers are almost the new rock’n’roll or punk or whatever,” Sykes told Music Week. “Rock’s gone soft, it’s gone miserable and boring, there’s not really much exciting about it. So it’s important that we cross over, because we feel like we belong more in a place where people just like music and it’s not about how heavy it is.”

Co-writer and keyboardist Jordan Fish continued: “A lot of artists I like have changed constantly throughout their career. Radiohead are one of my favourite bands – and I wouldn’t ever compare us to Radiohead – but a lot of people would have said, ‘I prefer ‘The Bends’. But I don’t like that old stuff, I like them from when they went electronic onwards.”

Sykes went on to say that while they may have a more commercial sound, all that matters is that they remain ‘exciting and exhilarating’.

“Even if it’s a poppier song, it’s a million times more exciting than the shit you hear on the radio,” he added. “It’s emotional, it’s got depth, and it’s always going to grab you and make you feel something.”

Speaking to NME earlier this summer about what to expect from ‘Amo’, Sykes said: “There’s good stuff, there’s bad stuff, there’s weird stuff. It’s kind of more like a think-piece on love and how it can effect you. Not just you, but other people. You go into a relationship and people pick sides. There’s a pack mentality. It’s quite an easy way to write a concept album about love. Everything boils down to love in the end.

“Obviously ‘Amo’ is Portuguese for ‘I love’, obviously there’s the ‘ammunition’ part and then in European Portuguese it means ‘master’. It sounds happy, but there are all these hidden meanings that make it more complex.”

Last week, the band’s closing night of their ‘First Love’ UK and European tour was hit by tragedy when a fan died during their Alexandra Palace show.

The band were this week confirmed to headline and curate a day at London’s All Points East 2019. They’ll be joined by Run The Jewels, Yonaka, IDLES and more.

Tickets will go on sale from 9am this Friday (December 7) and you can buy them here.