BRING ME THE HORIZON - LUDENS

Sheffield, UK's Bring Me The Horizon turn in a cyber-metallic anthem for the Death Stranding soundtrack with "Ludens."

BRING ME THE HORIZON - LUDENS

It often seems like we are living through an apocalypse. Climate change and global warming make it seem like Mad Max could be right around the corner. Many countries seem to be run by over-the-top entertainers and personalities rather than public servants. Everything seems like a game show, somewhere between The Running Man and The Hunger Games. It would almost be hilarious if it weren't so tragic. And deadly.

But what are we to do about it? It sometimes seems we are stuck in some limbo, where humanitarian crises are increasingly normalized. It becomes the air that you breathe, a heavy haze that surrounds your every waking breath. It can be hard to know which way to turn, let alone how to fight back.

Luckily, fiction helps us to conceptualize the world we're living in, sometimes by parody. Death Stranding is a particularly heavy reflection of these confusing times.

Death Stranding, a new video game for the PS4, finds humanity in the wake of some apocalypse. The catastrophe unleashed a race of interdimensional beings who are terrorizing society.

Sheffield, UK's Bring Me The Horizon's "Ludens" is an appropriate anthem for this dystopian, post-apocalyptic action. Bring Me The Horizon's blend of metal, punk, and electronica are well-suited for the dystopian nightmare. It sounds like battle, a clash between light and dark. Tailor-made for circle pits and battling Cosmic Horror alike. Take your pick.

We Are: The Guard encourages you to do both. 

J. Simpson occupies the intersection between criticism, creativity, and academia. Based out of Portland, Or., he is the author of Forestpunk, an online journal/brand studying the traces of horror, supernatural, and the occult through music, fashion and culture. He plays in the dreamfolk band Meta-Pinnacle with his partner Lily H. Valentine, with whom he also co-founded Bitstar Productions, a visual arts collective focused on elevating Pop Culture to High Art.