Bring Me the Horizon’s Oli Sykes Talks Kicking Drug Addiction

2015-09-15

Story by Anne Erickson

Oli Sykes of Bring Me the Horizon is sober, but it was a long road to get there

Bring Me the Horizon just released a new album, and for frontman Oli Sykes, it’s been a long journey to get the new music out. Following Bring Me the Horizon’s third album, 2010’s “There is a Hell, Believe Me I’ve Seen It. There is a Heaven Let’s Keep It a Secret,” Sykes fell into an addition with the drug Ketamine. Sykes was able to kick the addiction following two visits in rehab and today is sober. It wasn’t an easy process, though.

“I nearly killed myself. I just didn’t care whether I lived or not,” Sykes told Alternative Press. “I wanted to die.”

Sykes added that while rehab helped, he didn’t agree with everything he was told there.

“They helped me in there, but I didn’t believe half the stuff they told me,” Sykes said. “They tell you ‘it’s a disease’ — that’s bollocks. It’s not a disease; it’s a self-inflicted problem. It’s offensive to people with diseases to claim addiction is a disease.

He added, “They said it would be a struggle every day, that you’re an addict for the rest of your life. Bollocks. It’s all bollocks. I’ve never looked back since I got clean. I got clean for my family, my friends and my band…”

Bring Me the Horizon’s new album, “That’s the Spirit,” will arrive on Sept. 11.

Anne Erickson
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