Pray for Plagues

Last updated
"Pray for Plagues"
Pray for Plagues BMTH.jpeg
Single by Bring Me the Horizon
from the album Count Your Blessings
Released4 June 2007 (2007-06-04)
Studio DEP International Studios
(Birmingham, West Midlands)
Genre Deathcore [1]
Length
  • 4:21 (album version)
  • 4:16 (edit)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Bring Me the Horizon
  • Dan Sprigg
Bring Me the Horizon singles chronology
"Pray for Plagues"
(2007)
"For Stevie Wonder's Eyes Only"
(2008)
Music video
"Pray for Plagues" on YouTube

"Pray for Plagues" is the debut single by British rock band Bring Me the Horizon. It was released on 4 June 2007 as the lead single from their debut studio album, Count Your Blessings , via Visible Noise and Earache Records.

Contents

Background

"Pray for Plagues" was released on 4 June 2007, as the band's debut single from their 2006 album, Count Your Blessings .

In 2011, the song was included on the video game Rock Band . [2] The song was featured on their 2015 live album, Live at Wembley , recorded in December 2014. [3] In 2017, Epitaph Records released a compilation album for the band titled 2004-2013, which features "Pray for Plagues". [4]

Composition

"Pray for Plagues" was written by Curtis Ward, Lee Malia, Matt Kean, Matt Nicholls and Oli Sykes, while Dan Sprigg and the band themselves handled production. It was recorded at DEP International Studios in Birmingham, West Midlands. [5] Malia recalled writing his guitar parts on the song, noting how the picking style was "really weird" and "all over the place." [6] His playing style on the song includes sweep picking in the D minor scale. [7]

Critical reception

Emily Carter of Kerrang! gave a positive response to the track stating, "just listen to that roll-of-barbed-wire-hitting-a-guitar-riff. Deadly, mate, deadly." [8] Merlin Alderslade of Louder noted that the song "still crushes." [9]

Legacy

"Pray for Plagues" has been regarded as one of the most beloved Bring Me the Horizon songs by older fans of the band. [1] In 2014, Loudwire ranked the track as the fourth best Bring Me the Horizon song, describing it as one of the group's "most timeless tracks." [10] In 2022, Kerrang! ranked the song as the 14th greatest Bring Me the Horizon song, calling it one of the band's "early standout." [11]

Live performances

The group has performed the track many times live throughout 2006 to 2011. [12] [13] Sykes has expressed his disdain for performing the song live. [14] On The Downbeat Podcast, keyboardist Jordan Fish, who was not a part of the band during the time of the song's release, revealed that Nicholls also does not like playing the song live because of how his drumming technique has changed over time. [15] However, in 2014, the group performed the song live for the first time since 2011 in London at Camden Underworld. [16] At the performance, the band reunited with former rhythm guitarist Curtis Ward, who left the band in 2009. [17] The band also performed the song with Ward at Wembley Arena in December 2014. [18] The group performed the track in 2019, at The Dome in London. [19] In 2022, the group played the song at their own festival in Malta performing a throwback set and were joined by Alex Taylor of Malevolence. [20] As of 2023, the band has performed the song only five times in the last twelve years. [1]

Music video

The music video for "Pray for Plagues" was released on 4 June 2007. [21] The video was directed by Kenny Lindström. [22]

Track listing

Digital download
No.TitleLength
1."Pray for Plagues"4:21
2."Pray for Plagues" (edit)4:16
Total length:8:37

Personnel

Credits for "Pray for Plagues" adapted from the album's liner notes. [5]

Release history

Release history for "Pray for Plagues"
RegionDateFormatLabelRef.
Various4 June 2007 Digital download [23]

Related Research Articles

<i>Count Your Blessings</i> (Bring Me the Horizon album) 2006 studio album by Bring Me the Horizon

Count Your Blessings is the debut studio album by British rock band Bring Me the Horizon. Recorded at DEP International Studios in Birmingham with producer Dan Sprigg, it was originally released in the United Kingdom on 30 October 2006 by Visible Noise. The album was later issued by Earache Records in the United States on 14 August 2007. Count Your Blessings was supported by the release of the album's two singles: "Pray for Plagues" on 4 June 2007 and "For Stevie Wonder's Eyes Only (Braille)" on 6 March 2008.

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References

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  19. "Watch Bring Me the Horizon Play 'Pray For Plagues' Live For the First Time Since 2014". Maniacs. 2 June 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  20. Will Richards (30 May 2022). "Here's what went down at Bring Me The Horizon's 'throwback' Malta set". NME . Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  21. "Bring Me the Horizon: 'Pray For Plagues' Video Posted Online". Blabbermouth.net . 4 June 2007. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  22. "Bring Me the Horizon - Pray for Plagues". Organic Level. Kenny Lindström. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
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