REVIEW: Asking Alexandria's "Where Do We Go from Here?" via Better Noise Music

The Octane triple feature continues with the new one from North Yorkshire’s own Asking Alexandria, a band that may be even more hated than The Word Alive in that they actually are hated. The first four records in this band’s discography are pretty respected but after that fans start to resent every move the boys make and for good reason. Gone are the days that this band wrote interesting blends of metalcore and electronica backed by their classic rock infatuation and they’ve sort of gone all in on just that one influence. Something interesting happened during my experience with this album though, call it my low expectations, but I didn’t really hate this one?

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of problems on here, in fact the way Danny Worsnop chants “bad blood” as the first line of the record sort of makes my skin crawl. This band does have some moments in them, however. The hook on “Bad Blood” is fun, Danny sounds like there’s real emotion backing up what he’s singing about and the blast beats in the background work for me personally. This is immediately challenged on track two, “Things Could be Different.” On which producer Matt Good does his absolute best to salvage a song that so clearly wasn’t there from composition resulting in a track whose quality jumps back and forth so hard, so fast. But that’s just it, it’s the quality jumping. No song, save for maybe “Kill it with Fire,” which is only one minute, is impossible to get through. 

Asking Alexandria also, unlike a lot of their contemporaries, are actually willing to take some risks. “Psycho” is a dark pop track complete with some gritty production on the verses and a huge chorus. Does it go over especially well? No. But I have to respect the fact that they don’t just dig themselves deeper into the alt metal hole. That track also sees Danny’s country influences peak through and I have to admire that he is who he says he is. Even when it isn’t a risk it’s still listenable, “Dark Void” is a solid metalcore song and songs like “Dead Take Me” have a real pain and tinge to them.

All the “praise” I’m giving is not to discount the fact that I do not think this record is very good but in the current climate of this side of metalcore this is sadly the higher bar. It’s a low bar, but I think Asking Alexandria even manages to hit a bit above it. I find myself wishing the full length was over, but I’d be lying if I said I hated every song here.

I was mid on this record

1. Bad Blood
2. Things Could be Different
3. Let Go
4. Psycho
5. Dark Void
6. Nothing Left
7. Feel
8. Let the Dead Take Me
9. Kill it with Fire
10. Holding on to Something More
11. Where Do We Go from Here

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