Asking Alexandria: On Their Music, Touring, and Rock n’ Roll
Brutally honest. Fun, hilarious, every bit of entertaining, but a brutally honest bunch. This is what I have made out about rock band Asking Alexandria after attending their press conference last Friday at Cocoon Hotel, Quezon City. It was a far cry from the almost predetermined niceties that usually goes on in a room when you’re interviewing an artist.
Asking Alexandria
F-bombs were dropped. A lot of F-bombs. Debaucherous stories from the tour bus were shared in too much detail and people had to endure a bit of roasting before getting to throw their questions. Most of the band’s answers were delivered in jokes and the room would always burst out in laughter. However, underneath all of the cuss words and Danny’s occasional belching through the microphone, were responses that actually made a lot of sense. Their brutal honesty was a breath of fresh air.
Asking Alexandria is a metalcore band (though they would tell me that they f***ing hate that label) from North Yorkshire, England. The band is comprised of five chaps: Danny Worsnop on vocals, Ben Bruce and Cameron Liddell on guitars, Sam Bettley on bass and James Cassells on drums. They were formed in 2008 by Ben Bruce and since then, the band has released three studio albums. The most recent one, From Death to Destiny, was released in August 2013.
According to the band, some of their favorite tracks from the latest album are White Line Fever, Poison and The Road, to name a few. And when asked about their song writing approach, their answer was so simple: “We don’t. We just get hammered.” The band goes on to explain later, that without sounding too ungrateful, that they don’t really care what people think about their music.
“It’s all about creation,” they pointed out. They could create music that they like, which other people might not, but it still wouldn’t matter. I found myself nodding in approval of this modest revelation. Music, as any form of art, is all about expression, after all. The moment you stop creating it for yourself is the moment it stops being meaningful. The guys of Asking Alexandria know this all too well. As per the fans, the guys said “we’re just lucky that there are bad asses out there, just like us, who like what we create.”
Talking about their music, 80’s rock bands are apparently their biggest influence, such as Guns N’ Roses. Slipknot was another name that came up. When asked about life on tour, though, it was obvious from how they responded that the life backstage for the guys of a big band like Asking Alexandria is just as explosive as it is on stage.
There was this thing that happened in China, another one in Argentina, and there was this story about a hotel, and something about a nose. Bizarre and crazy stories. It’s not always just fun, though. There are downsides to constantly being on the road as well. “You’re paying for a house you don’t get to live in,” Danny said.
My last question was this: “What are your hopes for metalcore, especially your band, in the near future?” What I got was quick rebut from Danny. “I f***ing hate that label! It’s all rock n’ roll at the end of the day. We’re all just playing rock n’ roll.”
Asking Alexandria was in Manila to headline Pulp Summer Slam 2014 held last April 26 at Amoranto Stadium, Quezon City together with The Black Dahlia Murder and Bullet For My Valentine. Other international bands who also rocked the Pulp stage were Crossfaith, Death Angel, Kreator and Hatebreed.
Now on its 14th year, Pulp Summer Slam is the largest and longest running annual metal festival in Southeast Asia attended by more than 20,000 metal fans each year. Read about last year’s slam here: The Pulp Summer Slam and a Press Con with Dragonforce, Amoral and Circa Survive
PULP SUMMER SLAM
Website: www.pulpmagazinelive.com / www.pulpliveworld.com
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