Reckless & Relentless

A personal favorite that has always been a rather divisive pick among the larger Asking Alexandria catalog. Carrying a tougher exterior this project feels like an alcohol fueled downward spiral wrapped in a leather jacket smelling of piss and vinegar. On this project Asking Alexandria sheds some of their more cliché metal-core tropes and tip toes into a more cohesive glam metal territory while still grasping onto their chuggy and guttural roots. The one great thing to be commended here is that the almost ham-fisted electronic inclusions from the last project, while not gone, are pulled off with a bit more finesse. This makes these inclusions feels less like a departure from the previous sound, instead being a complementary element when utilized.

As I mentioned earlier, there is still plenty of piss and vinegar to be heard here mostly present in the lyrical content. On that note though, the lyrical content while still being particularly edgy does come from a rather genuine place. For those not in the know, Danny Worsnop vocalist of Asking Alexandria and the entire band were raging alcoholics, especially during this album cycle. This doesn't excuse the content, but if I am going to listen to music about being "drank under a table" I would prefer it come from a genuine place and not for sheer spectacle, as I feel is the case with Atilla. To elaborate, I am not saying every lyric touching on substance abuse on this record is "cringey." In fact, a lot of the lyrics are extremely brutal and graphic to a degree that this record almost plays as a cautionary tale. A tale along the lines of, "what I am doing is self destructive, I hate myself, and you don't want to end up like me."

Lastly, this project also just feels much tighter vocally and instrumentally than their previous work. Crab-core breakdowns have been replaced with breakdowns, but with an added touch of pizzazz. On top of this, Danny's lower growls at this point have really evolved into something rather unique and I find it hard to deny Danny having a super distinguishable voice.

Asking Alexandria wanted to be one of the biggest bands and with this album they got closer than a lot of their contemporaries in the general metal-core scene. If you weren't keeping up at the time, this project really was huge. This project debuted at number 9 on Billboard for Christ's sake. Sadly they could not take their foot of the gas, leading to many issues within the band providing for a tumultuous run for the next few years....