Asking Alexandria - Reckless and Relentless
Record Label: Sumerian Records
Release Date: April 5, 2011
Asking Alexandria took a lot of flack for their first album being what many called generic metalcore/screamo garbage, a retrodden road if you will. I found some value in some of the songs of Stand Up And Scream, where many dismissed them right away. When Asking Alexandria recently released Life Gone Wild I picked up the EP and gave it a listen. I was a little confused as to the inclusion of two Skid Row covers, but I let it slide as I am a fan of the song "18 and Life" in its original form. I feel that EP's are a way for bands to do something different than what they may normally do on a full length, so I took it for what it was and set it on the shelf with the rest of my CD's.
When Reckless and Relentless was released, I did kind of look forward to it, but I was not up all night waiting for the release if that makes sense. When I listened to the album I was extremely disappointed. Asking Alexandria have turned into a band with a bit of an identity crisis as of late, and it seems to shine through on the tracks on this album. At times they employ pummeling breakdowns backed by the variation of screamed vocals. Sprinkled in are the clean vocals, and the sound seems not far from Miss May I's latest release. To top it off you can hear the influence of '80s hair metal bands like Motley Crue and the aforementioned Skid Row, not only in the music's sound, but also in the lyrical content. The song "Closure" does not go far in before the lyrics "We've drank the drinks, we've done the drugs, clearly we don't remember we've come so far, we've shown them all, without us you'd fall and fade away." And Danny Worsnop, yes, you have shown us all, with the Seattle debacle. All this identity crisis effects the flow of the album for me, and it makes it fairly difficult to find memorable moments.
What the album does well is copy melodies used by Asking Alexandria's predecessors over and over. No melody stands out as really their own, and for that it's hard to truly appreciate the musicianship on display. The album does have few moments where it shines (the chorus of the album's title track) but even then, as it happens so often through the album, the good is forgotten quickly being covered by the bad, as the track is sandwiched in between Worsnop's lengthy rants about the scene.
Asking Alexandria and their antics have gotten them much public attention and will continue to do so. Their sex, drugs and rock and roll mentality will get them as far as they push it and album sales have shown that. However, the quality of music does not stand out and quite frankly in my opinion, the artists should have kept to copying The Devil Wears Prada. At least then their music was halfway enjoyable.
riyl is really messed up. this is not even close to 80's hair metal with screamed vocals. this is rehashed, overdone, forgettable scene breakdown garbage. side note, i have no idea how bands like these are satisfied with cramming the same breakdowns time after time in every song.
riyl is really messed up. this is not even close to 80's hair metal with screamed vocals. this is rehashed, overdone, forgettable scene breakdown garbage. side note, i have no idea how bands like these are satisfied with cramming the same breakdowns time after time in every song.
It's more like a mashup of the three than any one particular band/genre.
As one of the few people on this site who enjoyed their debut for a few listens, I was interested in hearing this. Hearing Breathless on the EP made me think this could be a bit better. But it was really disappointing. I've only listened to the album two or three times since I got it. Great review, I 100% agree with you
As one of the few people on this site who enjoyed their debut for a few listens, I was interested in hearing this. Hearing Breathless on the EP made me think this could be a bit better. But it was really disappointing. I've only listened to the album two or three times since I got it. Great review, I 100% agree with you
i agree. i actually enjoyed their debut somewhat, and i thought that the band had the potential to mature and improve on their next full length but the early release of breathless squashed my expectations. they still insist upon empty breakdowns and the same synth additions. this release is so forgettable it's nonexistent.
As one of the few people on this site who enjoyed their debut for a few listens, I was interested in hearing this. Hearing Breathless on the EP made me think this could be a bit better. But it was really disappointing. I've only listened to the album two or three times since I got it. Great review, I 100% agree with you
yeah I completely agree. Breathless was just about the only good song on the new album. I feel like they're trying way too hard to keep that exact same sound even though they're naturally moving away from it as people, so it just ended up with a huge mess.
Also, some of the songs kind of remind me of Escape the Fates' new album, which is unforgivable.
I am among one of the few that actually did enjoy this record although I'll admit it's nowhere near as good as their first album and a lot of the songs are boring. They obviously have never really been great musicians but Worsnop shines as a vocalist throughout the entire album.
It's one of those albums that i know is poorly written (apart from the drums that are surprisingly good for AA), yet i still really enjoyed it. It doesn't have to be a masterpiece to at least be fun to listen to.
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