“Oh, I swear it’s the last fucking time that I let you let me down.”
In my review of their previous effort, 2021’s See What’s On The Inside, I claimed that, by shedding all pretense of being a heavy band and fully embracing the hard rock sound they so clearly wished to, Asking Alexandria had crafted their most honest and refined release in years. While it was far from perfect, it was so transparently what they wanted to be doing all along, and I found that to be remarkably refreshing for a group that I had seen such a stark quality drop off from in the years prior.
Given my history with the group, as I outlined in that aforementioned review, I did always have that lingering question of ‘what if?’, though. What if Asking Alexandria stuck to their guns and full-assed a heavy project again. I have always known deep down that their hearts haven’t been in that headspace since vocalist Danny Worsnop’s return in 2016, but as someone whose formative years were spent listening to records like Reckless & Relentless, I wondered what another attempt at that would look like.
Here we arrive in 2023, with Asking Alexandria’s eighth studio album, Where Do We Go From Here?, which somewhat seeks to answer that question. The British rock collective, at least to some extent, seem to be embracing their heavier roots here, all the while maintaining their infectious radio rock edge along the way. I say to an extent, because in all honesty, even at its heaviest and most bombastic, Where Do We Go From Here? frankly sounds nothing like the heavy Asking Alexandria of years past.
It’s a strange amalgamation of sounds and influences that converge here. This is a band that came up in the Joey Sturgis era of metalcore bands, taking solace in chugs and 2000s metalcore riffing, usually ranging between the Drop D to Drop B range. There is a specific aesthetic and sound to that era of heavy music that Asking Alexandria were amongst the forefront of the pack on, and in what will be a surprise to almost no one, I can safely say that if you’re expecting that here, you are not getting it. Perhaps that is for the best, given that era is about as bygone as it gets in 2023, having not rested long enough to inspire a wave of nostalgic bands recapturing the energy of generations past (see: the entire MySpace-core revival movement). However, the way in which Asking Alexandria recapture and redefine their heavier sound is met with mixed results here.
I believe that lead single and opening track “Bad Blood” is a great indicator of the questionable ethos Asking Alexandria employ across Where Do We Go From Here? as a whole. A serviceable alt metal romp, to be sure, but a strange combination of aesthetics here creates a clashing effect, and I can’t help but shake the notion that they’re afraid of fully committing to a sound here. While the track’s stellar drumming – replete with tight grooves, and even tasteful blast beats in its chorus – certainly maintains a sturdy backbone across its runtime, the juxtaposition between that and the far more radio-angled vocal delivery on display here left me scratching my head a tad. There’s just something missing to help link these two worlds of their sound together, and I believe it’s indicative of a larger problem seen across the record, in that their heart so clearly is not in this anymore.
Further to that, tracks like “Feel” and “Holding On To Something More” leave me feeling frustrated, because while they stand as much stronger than a large portion of the album’s tracks, they’re split between encompassing the very best of their more melodic, hard rock/alt-metal-angled material, while having ridiculous breakdowns gracelessly stapled to their respective back halves. With that being said, both tracks, particularly the latter, still end up being two of the album’s most enjoyable cuts, with infectious choruses and some great production to boot.
By far the album’s most frustrating and head-scratching moment, however, comes in one-minute tryhard hardcore punk rager “Kill It With Fire”. Reminiscent of nothing Asking Alexandria has done, or frankly should ever do, “Kill It With Fire” is, put simply, a slapdash and wholly unfitting cut that fails to justify its already short-lived existence. With poorly mixed screamed vocals, unenthusiastically composed thrashy skate-punk riffs and… actually very little else, it’s baffling that this BTEC Bad Religion d-side wasn’t left on the cutting room floor.
Conversely to all this, it’s the moments where Asking Alexandria shed the pretense of who they’re trying so hard to be, and simply write heart-felt, honest rock ballads that Where Do We Go From Here? truly excels. Closer and title track “Where Do We Go From Here?” is one such shining example, standing as perhaps the band’s most emotive output in some time. A sincere and at times genuinely gorgeous cut, crescendoing from Worsnop’s vulnerable vocal delivery alongside an acoustic guitar and some textural strings, to an explosive full band closing stretch that leaves the album off potentially its strongest note.
Another strength that Asking Alexandria employ in full force here is the aforementioned drum work. Drummer James Cassells has always been a talented percussionist, but I feel that Where Do We Go From Here? is the first time he’s been truly unchained. While I find much of the album’s implementation and blending of its heavier notions to be a little hamfisted, there’s no denying that in almost each and every cut here – heavy or soft – Cassells provides a world class performance. The fierce double kicks, the unexpected blasts, the cheeky Hertas – Cassells is truly the one consistent force for good on here.
Much like the record itself, I am caught between two conflicting ideals here. Part of me wishes to laud that Asking Alexandria have made an effort to recapture some loose semblance of their youth and the hearts of their legacy fans despite the fact that they clearly aren’t interested in heavy music anymore. As a disheartening result, though, there’s this lingering sense of insincerity that plagues the entire record. Part of me (perhaps foolishly) hopes that their intentions were pure here, but I cannot shake the fact that nothing feels genuinely them across Where Do We Go From Here?. Much of the notions of heaviness on display here resemble precisely none of the band’s past, and instead seem to be resting on the laurels of what sells in the mainstream metal world.
With guitars drop-tuned with pitch pedals, blasts beats, and… whatever the fuck “Kill It With Fire” is meant to represent – Where Do We Go From Here? truthfully feels more like Asking Alexandria’s attempt to recapture their own mainstream appeal, rather than a concerted effort to tap into their strengths and passions. The drumming is great, and some of the hook-laden ballads are serviceable (and, in limited cases, actually decent), but god does it feel like it’s being held together by a thread, and one that could unravel at any moment at that. With time, I hope that Asking Alexandria re-evaluate what actually interests them in music, and pursues that fully, because as a result of pandering to an audience that likely doesn’t even want to hear what they’ve haphazardly pieced together here, they’ve lost the one thing that truly made their last record, for all of its flaws, actually work – sincerity.
4.5/10
Where Do We Go From Here? is due for release this Friday, August 25th, via Better Noise Music, and you can find pre-orders here.