Oli Sykes of Bring Me the Horizon performs at Utilita Arena in Sheffield, England on Sept. 24, 2021. Courtesy: Jamie A. Waters.

SHEFFIELD, England — It may have been 18 months since Bring Me the Horizon last toured, but it was a much longer six years since the U.K. rockers last played a show in their hometown.

“Do you even remember who are?” frontman Oli Sykes asked the crowd of more than 13,000 packing sold-out Utilita Arena on Sept. 24.

Bring Me the Horizon sold some 65,000 tickets over the course of its current U.K. arena run. The crowd appeared ready to finally see the hometown heroes again, with chants of “York-shire, York-shire” reverberating between songs throughout the night.

Opening with the heavy, yet melodic “Teardrops,” the band would showcase just about all of its stellar Post Human: Survival Horror EP, mixing in selections spanning its catalog throughout the rest of the night. For some fans, it was the first show “back” following an extended pandemic hiatus. With England essentially reopened, at times it was difficult to remember there was ever a pandemic. There were no masking requirements and only a smattering voluntarily masked attendees, no vaccination mandates or capacity restrictions.

Bring Me the Horizon went big screens and laser lights illuminating every direction. A square cell-like design would occasionally descend, giving a three-dimensional effect to the stage and adding extra opportunity to project videos around the band as it performed.

Sykes has evolved into one of the preeminent frontmen in rock and roll. He’s always been a compelling performer, but he’s dialed in a commanding presence, fusing aggression and showmanship. It’s incredibly difficult to have a crowd hang on your ever word, but Sykes’ toying and goading of the crowd created a frenzy in the pit on tracks like “The House of Wolves,” “Dear Diary” and “Happy Song.”

Bring Me the Horizon performs at Utilita Arena in Sheffield, England on Sept. 24, 2021. Courtesy: Jamie A. Waters.

“If you don’t get out of the middle of the pit, you will die,” Sykes jokingly warned as he revved up a circle pit. “It’s going to hurt, but it’ll hurt so good.”

Cell phone usage during the show was a fraction of that of American concerts, with the crowd fully engaged in moshing, jumping and singing along. Occasionally, people would sit down in the pit and mimic the motion of rowing, which this reviewer didn’t understand.

Sykes’ vocals were as strong as they’ve ever been as he mixed melodic material with earth shattering screams on tracks like “Kingslayer.”

The other band members—Matt Kean, Lee Malia, Matt Nicholls and Jordan Fish—created punishing arrangements. Fish, the keyboardist, added to the dynamics with his electronic work and backing vocals, while Malia (guitar) laid down down precision riffs. The band donned tan suits and ties while apocalyptic backup “dancers” flanked the side of the stage during a number of songs, and streams of confetti were blasted over the crowd.

“This is the first gig in my life I’ve played stone cold sober,” Sykes said. “I didn’t realize it was possible to love doing this as much as I am now.”

Bring Me the Horizon performs at Utilita Arena in Sheffield, England on Sept. 24, 2021. Courtesy: Jamie A. Waters.

It wasn’t all heaviness. Bring Me the Horizon provided a spectrum of sound, including the mid-tempo “Medicine,” off the band’s hotly debated 2019 album amo, as well as a stripped-down acoustic version of “Follow You.” Openers Nova Twins came out to perform their collaboration with BMTH, “1×1.” They also put on as exhilarating a performance as you’ll find from an opening act.

Bring Me the Horizon performed new track “DiE4u,” which fuses the band’s hard rock, electronic and pop influences into one pot. The band closed the show with a trio of hits: “Obey,” “Throne” and the newly reborn (via TikTok) “Can You Feel My Heart.”

Rockers You Me At Six also added a high-energy set with songs like “Underdog,” “SUCKAPUNCH” and “Nice to Me.” It’s fitting the band shared a bill with BMTH, as both competed for the No. 1 spot on the album charts in 2020.

“Don’t let anyone ever tell you that rock is dead,” frontman Josh Franceschi said.

U.S. Bring Me the Horizon fans will get a brief chance to catch the band this year when it performs on Slipknot’s Knottfest bill in Los Angeles on Nov. 5.

Follow writer Mike DeWald at Twitter.com/mike_dewald.