Originally found in issue #20. Purchase online here.
Asking Alexandria
By: Natalie Bisignano
As Asking Alexandria wraps up their first ever headlining tour and prepares to embark on yet another tour they’re quickly becoming known as a metal-core force to be reckoned with. Boasting heavy, heart wrenching chords, intense staccato, guitar riffs, and brutal screams, it comes as much surprise that Asking Alexandria’s roots trace back to a surprisingly delicate start.
Ben Bruce, guitarist and founder of Asking Alexandria, may spend his days shredding on stage, but that would have never been possible if it weren’t for a beautiful old piano that belonged to his grandparents.
Born in England, and raised in Dubai, Bruce credits his creative family as the initial inspiration to pursue a musical career of his own. Having spent the past five years studying music in college and writing and playing his own music, Asking Alexandria has evolved into a growing outlet for his creativity. Finally having the audience and the right friends by his side to take on the world together, Bruce’s dreams are becoming a reality. “Most of my teachers at school would tell me to grow up and stop chasing dreams. But if everyone lived in that mindset, where would we be?”
Though Asking Alexandria has only been a band for a little over a year, they’ve made a powerful impact from the start, touring the world and sharing the stage with everyone from Alesana and Attack Attack! to Enter Shikari.
Though the band’s quick rise to success has been welcomed with open arms it certainly hasn’t come without sacrifice and struggle. Bruce explained, “…we have taken huge risks. We packed up our bags, said goodbye to our families and moved away from England to America with no money, no friends, no record label, or anything. We took the risk and thankfully it has, or is starting to, pay off. It’s a great story and I have made friends and have memories that will last the rest of my lifetime. The fact that so many people seem to enjoy the music we’re making is amazing and we’re all just so thankful to have gotten as far as we have.”
Despite a near constant tour schedule, Asking Alexandria has already completed the writing process for their upcoming album Reckless and Relentless, which is currently slated for December 2010 release on Sumerian Records. “We flew back home and locked ourselves away in a cottage in Yorkshire for two months-just us five. We spent about eight hours every day writing and recording demos for the new album. We put a lot of time and effort into writing the best possible record we could write. Hopefully people will enjoy it.”
While their debut album Stand up and Scream relied heavily on free-style writing, the upcoming album features greater focus and attention to detail, attributed directly to their sudden rise in success. “When we started writing some of the songs that appear on stand up and scream, we didn’t have any idea if we were going to get signed or even ever have the opportunity to release the album, whereas when we were writing Reckless and Relentless, we knew that it would be in stores and that people would hear it. We wrote the second album thinking ‘We have to make this album even better than the last one, we have to keep things fresh and exciting.’”
If the past year is an indicator of what’s in store, ‘fresh and exciting’ will surely be in the mix. Asking Alexandria is on the brink of greatness with the best yet to come.
“So far it has been amazing and we’ll keep doing this the rest of our lives if people still enjoy what we’re doing and if we still enjoy what we’re doing,” Bruce concluded. “As far as we’re concerned, this is just the beginning.”
