Asking Alexandria burst into our world in 2009, five cocksure teenagers who moved from the UK to America with no real plan other than to make it. Since then, they’ve evolved from one of metalcore's hottest bands into a radio rock behemoth with arena-sized anthems, a whirlwind journey that’s had its fair share of ups and downs. Here we look back at their albums, ranked in order of greatness.
7. Like A House On Fire (2020)
After abandoning their metal roots for streamlined, anthemic arena-rock on 2017’s self-titled, Asking Alexandria took it to another level with Like A House On Fire. This is Asking Alexandria at their poppiest and most divisive. Removing any hint of hard rock, it lacked the grit and bite of their heavier material, but also the soul needed to bring these songs alive. This was an attempt to nail their new incarnation that missed the mark.
6. Stand Up And Scream (2009)
Combining metalcore hooks, face-melting breakdowns and rave-y electronica, tracks like Not The American Average and The Final Episode (Let’s Change The Channel), redefined late 00’s death/metalcore, providing a band for a burgeoning scene to rally around. While it sounds immature and dated now, it’s easy to forget just how seminal Stand Up And Scream was - everything about AA at the time, from their sound, to their haircuts, would be copied relentlessly by bands for years to come.
5. The Black (2016)
After vocalist Danny Worsnop’s acrimonious departure from the band in 2015, the band drafted in new singer, Denis Stoff, for The Black. Musically, the album coated the rugged metalcore of their early days with a sleek sheen and contained some genuinely great tracks – Let It Sleep, I Won’t Give In - bolstered by Denis’ impressive vocals.
Lyrically, it felt like a purge, delving into the implosion of the band’s core friendship between Danny and band leader and guitarist Ben Bruce. Less than a year later though, Danny would be back and Asking Alexandria would head in a new sonic direction. For that reason, this feels like an outlier in their discography.
4. See What’s On The Inside (2021)
Maintaining their bombastic, stadium-sized ambitions, but with a harder edge, See What’s On The Inside stripped away some of the polish that saturated Like A House On Fire. With clear nods to their early metalcore roots on Alone Again and If I Could Erase It, they paid dues to Avenged Sevenfold with plenty of chunky guitars and the return of storming guitar solos.
Danny’s voice has never sounded better, segueing from smoky sweetness to gale force aggression amongst the band’s now trademark gang chants, huge choruses and bright production. Rammed with huge, memorable choruses, this feels like the album Asking Alexandria should have made after their 2017 self-titled.
3. Reckless And Relentless (2011)
By Reckless And Relentless, Asking Alexandria had cracked US metalcore and lived out every one of their Sunset Strip fantasies, before returning to the UK as scene leaders. They’d all also developed raging drug and alcohol habits, bringing with them a reputation for hell-raising debauchery. Reckless And Relentless reflects the chaos, honing the sound of their debut into a darker, more assured album. The electronica was pared back, replaced by bigger hooks and heavier breakdowns, while the band started to play with hard rock influences that would come to define them later down the line.
2. Asking Alexandria (2017)
Danny’s first album after re-joining Asking Alexandria pushed them into stadium-humping anthem territory, a move they’d hinted at on their earlier material. Making their mainstream intentions brazenly clear, songs like the glistening Alone In A Room and bombastic Into The Fire were bolstered by strings and gleaming synths, while moments like Eve and Rise Up proved they could still nail the heavier moments when they fancied it. While it initially split the fans, it’s an album that’s aged well and kickstarted a brand-new era for the band.
1. From Death To Destiny (2013)
The moment Asking Alexandria graduated from snotty scene teenagers into genuine rockstars. By the time they released their third record, life inside the band was a shitshow with tensions at an all-time high, fuelled by egos, drugs, alcohol and physical altercations. The toxic environment made for great music though. Death To Destiny was an obnoxious, fire-breathing animal of an album that took AA way beyond the realm of metalcore, ramping up their hard rock influences on Killing Me, Death Of Me and Run Free, and introducing real nuance to their sound with 80s-influenced power ballad, Moving On.
Most notably, it’s also the album where Danny stepped up to be one of the best vocalists in the game, introducing a gut-wrenching roar alongside a clean vocal that had developed a bluesy, whisky-soaked timbre capable of real emotion. Behind the scenes, things were falling apart - Danny would quit the band a year and half later - but as far as the music is concerned, with From Death To Destiny they struck gold.
