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Reviews
When hearing the name Asking Alexandria, people may immediately write them off as another generic screamo/post-Hardcore band. While to a small degree they are right, the fact remains that 2009's "Stand Up and Scream" is an album that should not be ignored by anyone, especially fans of the genre. "Stand Up and Scream" is a powerful debut that is well worth the listen.
Asking Alexandria brings a good balance between intricate guitar playing, gut wrenching breakdowns and fun dance party interludes and breaks.
Singer/screamer Danny Worsnop manages to have awesome growls and screams while keeping his singing to a minimum and not relying too much on auto tune, which is something that is being missed in metal today. When first approaching the album it can be seen why people may mistake it for just another cookie cutter scene band with the same old stuff, however when listening to the album it is obvious that Asking Alexandria has their stuff down. The album is masterfully produced, giving a perfect mix between heavy breakdowns and techno breaks. The real stand out in this album was Worsnop's screams. Worsnop displays an amazing mix between deep growls and lows, to spine chilling highs, which adds a great variety to the almost flawless guitar lines.
Now one of the main downsides to this album is that while it does have big differences to other screamo bands out there, the songs in the album itself do have many similarities. They all follow the same formula of progression (cool little guitar lick or scream, followed by a lot of open notes leading into a breakdown).
The lyrics are well written and there is a surprise appearance from Alesana Singer Shawn Milke on the song "Hey There Mr. Brookes." This is also a perfect song to bring up the amazing production value of the CD itself, each song well balanced with every instrument matching each other in terms of sound, tone and quality.
The best representation of the well roundedness of the album is the third track on the CD "A candlelit Dinner with Inamorta." The song opens with dense, heavy screams from Worsnop along with the pure bone crunching sound that does not relent until songs end. This is a great example of each of the band member's strong points.
Overall this album receives a four out of five. It's a high quality screamo album that brings something new to the table of the strung out genre. Asking Alexandria has already begun writing a new full length, and if their past work is any sign of what's to come, I am very excited to see what they bring to 2010.
Asking Alexandria
Stand Up And Scream
Metal/Screamo
4 out of 5
Review by Elio Vezza
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