Throne (song)

"Throne"
A throne with a heart emblazoned on it on a purple background.
Single by Bring Me the Horizon
from the album That's the Spirit
Released24 July 2015 (2015-07-24)
Genre
Length3:11
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Jordan Fish
  • Oliver Sykes
Bring Me the Horizon singles chronology
"Happy Song"
(2015)
"Throne"
(2015)
"True Friends"
(2015)
Music video
"Throne" on YouTube

"Throne" is a song by British rock band Bring Me the Horizon. Produced by keyboardist Jordan Fish and vocalist Oliver Sykes, it was featured on the band's 2015 fifth studio album That's the Spirit and released as the third single from the album on 24 July 2015. The single topped the UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart and the US Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, and reached number 51 on the UK Singles Chart and number 12 on the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart.

Promotion and release

"Throne" was premiered on BBC Radio 1 on 23 July 2015 as presenter Annie Mac's "Hottest Record",[1][2] before it was released as a single the following day alongside the song's music video.[3][4] Shortly before the release of the album, "Throne", "Happy Song" and "Drown" were performed at Maida Vale Studios for Radio 1's Live Lounge show.[5] In October, "Throne" and "Happy Song" were used as official theme songs for the professional wrestling show NXT TakeOver: Respect.[6]

Composition and lyrics

Speaking in a track-by-track commentary of That's the Spirit for Spotify, frontman Oliver Sykes explained that "Throne" was one of the first songs the band wrote for the album to be considered for release as a single, claiming that "it felt like our comeback song".[7] Keyboardist Jordan Fish described the track as "one of the most simple and straightforward songs" on That's the Spirit, noting its natural progression from elements introduced on 2013's Sempiternal, including "an up-tempo rhythm and really strong melodies".[8]

Describing the track as "fast, short [and] simple", Sykes has suggested that the line "So you can throw me to the wolves/Tomorrow I will come back leader of the whole pack" summarises the themes of the song, which include the proposition that "it's the people that break you that also make you".[7] Writing for Billboard magazine, Jon Wiederhorn also highlighted this line as summarising the song's theme of "overcoming adversity".[8] The song, influenced by nu metal,[9] possesses "punch and warbled vocoder" and has been described as electronic rock, hard rock, arena rock and pop rock.[10][11][12][13][14][15]

Music video

The child who is the central focus of the music video.

The music video for "Throne" was released alongside the single on 24 July 2015,[3][4] after being teased with a short trailer two days before.[1] Directed by Sykes and Plastic Kid,[16] it has been compared stylistically to the TV series Game of Thrones by numerous music writers.[4] Gigwise's Andrew Trendell outlined that the video "shows scenes of medieval drama and feudal strife",[4] while TeamRock's Chillingworth described the video as "ludicrous" and "bonkers", complaining that "it doesn't make a terrible lot of sense".[17] In December, the band also released a video of their live performance of the song at Webster Hall in New York City earlier in the year.[18]

As of October 2024, the music video for "Throne" has over 175 million views on YouTube.[19]

Critical reception

As with previous singles "Drown" and "Happy Song", some critics highlighted "Throne" as evidence of the band's change in direction from their earlier material. Writing for TeamRock, Alec Chillingworth noted that the song "split opinion all over the shop", proposing that it would be seen "as a stroke of genius by some and an abhorrent shit-stain by others" due to its electronic-influenced sound.[17] Tom Bryant of Alternative Press described the track as "reminiscent of Linkin Park", specifically proposing that it is "a dubstep update on Meteora with Sykes in defiant Chester Bennington mode".[20] David Renshaw for the NME also made the comparison to Linkin Park on both "Throne" and "Avalanche", which he proposed was thanks in part to the songs' "singalong choruses and driving, expansive production".[21]

Other critics were generally positive about "Throne". Billboard writer Jon Wiederhorn described the song as "Upbeat, melodic and loud without being aggressive", proposing that it "succinctly captures the essence of the entire album".[8] AllMusic's James Christopher Monger selected it as one of the highlights of That's the Spirit, dubbing it "as snarky as [it is] apoplectic".[22] Similarly, DIY magazine's Sarah Jamieson claimed that "Throne ... hits tremendous new highs" for the band,[23] while Exclaim! writer Bradley Zorgdrager also praised it as a high point of the album.[24] Rock Sound's Andy Biddulph described "Throne" as "epic, thunderous and skyscraping in equal measure".[25] In 2019, Billboard ranked the song number three on their list of the 10 greatest Bring Me the Horizon songs,[26] and in 2022, Kerrang! ranked the song number two on their list of the 20 greatest Bring Me the Horizon songs.[27]

Commercial performance

"Throne" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 51 on 31 July 2015,[28] whilst also topping the UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart.[29] It remained at the top of the chart for 12 consecutive weeks,[30] before Fall Out Boy's single "Irresistible" took its place.[31] The song returned to the UK Singles Chart on 3 September and remained in the top 100 for another seven weeks,[32] while it once again topped the rock chart on 6 November.[33] In the United States, the track became the band's first release to top the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart,[34] while it also reached number 12 on the Hot Rock Songs chart and number 37 on the Alternative Songs chart.[35][36] The track later registered on the year-end Mainstream Rock chart at number 34 and the year-end Hot Rock Songs chart at number 54.[37][38] Elsewhere, it peaked at number 58 on the Australian Singles Chart.[39] and at number 29 on the Belgian Ultratip chart in the Flanders region.[40] As of January 2021, the song had been certified gold by the BPI in the UK and has sold 412,500 units.[41]

Track listing

Digital download
No.TitleLength
1."Throne"3:11
Total length:3:11
Promo CD single
No.TitleLength
1."Throne"3:11
2."Throne" (instrumental)3:11
Total length:6:22

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[42]

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for "Throne"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[55] 2× Platinum 140,000
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[56] Platinum 60,000
Canada (Music Canada)[57] Gold 40,000
Germany (BVMI)[58] Gold 200,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)[59] Gold 15,000
Poland (ZPAV)[60] Gold 25,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[61] Platinum 600,000
Streaming
Sweden (GLF)[62] Gold 4,000,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ a b Carter, Emily (22 July 2015). "Bring Me The Horizon Unleash Epic Throne Teaser". Kerrang!. Bauer Media. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  2. ^ Shutler, Ali. "Listen to the new Bring Me The Horizon track, 'Throne'". Upset Magazine. The Bunker Publishing. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  3. ^ a b Renshaw, David (24 July 2015). "Bring Me The Horizon reveal new single 'Throne' – watch". NME. Time Inc. UK. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d Trendell, Andrew (24 July 2015). "Bring Me The Horizon Unveil New Track + Video For 'Throne'". Gigwise. Giant Digital. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  5. ^ "Radio 1 Live Music, Bring Me The Horizon". BBC Radio 1. BBC. 9 September 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  6. ^ Melok, Bobby (23 September 2015). "Bring Me The Horizon is the NXT: LOUD band for TakeOver: Respect". WWE. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  7. ^ a b Sykes, Oliver (Narrator) (2015). That's the Spirit (Track by Track Commentary) by Bring Me the Horizon (audio). Spotify.
  8. ^ a b c Wiederhorn, Jon (23 July 2015). "Bring Me the Horizon on Ditching Metalcore for Poppy, Positive New LP". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  9. ^ Mack, Emmy (7 September 2015). "Bring Me The Horizon – That's The Spirit". Music Feeds. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  10. ^ Chillingworth, Alec (17 September 2015). "Bring Me The Horizon - That's The Spirit (Album Review)". Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  11. ^ Crane, Matt (December 2015). "10 Essential Records of 2015". Alternative Press (330). Cleveland: Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. ISSN 1065-1667.
  12. ^ "Bring Me the Horizon's 10 Best Songs: Critic's Picks". Billboard.
  13. ^ "Where To Start With… Bring Me The Horizon". HMV. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  14. ^ Law, Sam (1 May 2020). "The 20 greatest Bring Me The Horizon songs – ranked". Kerrang!. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  15. ^ Crane, Matt (December 2015). Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. (ed.). 10 Essential Records of 2015. ISSN 1065-1667. {{cite book}}: |magazine= ignored (help)
  16. ^ Leak, Brian (23 July 2015). "Bring Me The Horizon reveal video for new single, "Throne"". Alternative Press. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  17. ^ a b Chillingworth, Alec (24 July 2015). "Breaking down Bring Me The Horizon's Throne video". TeamRock. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  18. ^ Sharp, Tyler (9 December 2015). "Watch Bring Me The Horizon's live "Throne" music video". Alternative Press. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  19. ^ Bring Me The Horizon (23 July 2015). "Bring Me The Horizon - Throne". YouTube. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
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  30. ^ "16 October 2015 – 22 October 2015". Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  31. ^ "23 October 2015 – 29 October 2015". Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
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  33. ^ "6 November 2015 – 12 November 2015". Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  34. ^ Rutherford, Kevin (24 November 2015). "Bring Me the Horizon Sits in Mainstream Rock Songs 'Throne' for First Time". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
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  36. ^ "Alternative Songs: Bring Me the Horizon - Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
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  56. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – Bring Me the Horizon – Throne" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  57. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Bring Me the Horizon – Throne". Music Canada. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  58. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Bring Me the Horizon; 'Throne')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  59. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Bring Me the Horizon – Throne". Radioscope. Retrieved 22 December 2024. Type Throne in the "Search:" field.
  60. ^ "Wyróżnienia – Złote płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2022 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
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  62. ^ "Bring Me the Horizon – Throne" (in Swedish). Grammofonleverantörernas förening. Archived from the original on 16 April 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2024.