Biography
Amidst a slew of recent speculation regarding their stability, the UK sensation, ASKING ALEXANDRIA, have just undoubtedly proved to all naysayers that they are one of the genre’s most exciting, ground-breaking and heralded artists as their critically acclaimed new album, Reckless and Relentless, debuted at #9 on the Billboard Top 200 charts scanning an impressive 31,449 units. This is a monumental accomplishment for the band as this debut also simultaneously marks the biggest first week sales for any artist in the history of Sumerian Records. This is controversial, unapologetic hard rock at its very finest. They will spend the summer of 2011 on the Warped Tour mainstage.
During SXSW 2011, WHOOZNXT.COM identified ASKING ALEXANDRIA as the hottest band at SXSW, since they gained almost 90,000 new digital fans that week. ASKING ALEXANDRIA was selected by WHOOZNXT.COM and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” staff to make their national TV debut with a performance on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on April 11th. The band has since been singled-out by music tastemakers as one of the hottest emerging acts of the year; their new album has gone on to sell over 60,000 copies in just one month.
The UK is very well known for breaking some of rock’s most influential acts and as of 2011 you can add ASKING ALEXANDRIA’s name to this already illustrious list. In Sept. 2009, this British sensation unleashed their debut album, Stand Up and Scream, upon North America and the disc quickly sent shockwaves throughout the metal/hard rock underground scene. This was a propulsive blend of aggressive music with hints of European Trance, soft catchy melodies resulting in a sound more mature than just your average play by numbers hardcore outfit. This was just the refreshing new sound that people have been waiting for.
ASKING ALEXANDRIA soon embarked on an unrelenting world tour that saw them cover North America a few times over performing alongside such genre titans as Attack Attack, Alesana and Impending Doom. However, upon testing the waters on their “Welcome To The Circus” headlining U.S. tour the group quickly realized that they were indeed becoming a headlining act. The live arena is where the band excels most as their overly energetic performance and “rock star” look is nothing short of captivating. This is a frenzy of unabashed aggression and intensity that will quickly hook you in and never let up.
The summer of 2010 saw them headline the annual “Thrash and Burn” festival tour and their hype and success following this run quickly afforded them the opportunity to be direct support for All That Remains that fall. This sold-out tour proved that ASKING ALEXANDRIA has truly come of age and are ready to take it to the next level as Stand Up and Scream also broke an astounding 70K copies scanned. Everything is now firing on all cylinders going into the setup for the next album as in late 2010 the band put a huge exclamation point on their worldwide Stand Up and Scream touring cycle with a massive, sold-out headlining UK tour
In April, 2011 ASKING ALEXANDRIA released their much anticipated sophomore full-length effort, Reckless and Relentless, which has become one of the year’s most ground-breaking and heralded offerings. The band’s growth and maturity in just a year’s time in astonishing and they kicked off the worldwide touring cycle for this new release with a massive Revolver Magazine sponsored North American headlining run throughout March/April with Emmure, Chiodos, Miss May I and Evergreen Terrace in the support slots. Reckless and Relentless was already hailed by Alternative Press as “One of The Most Anticipated Releases of 2011.”
Ben Bruce (guitars) states: “ASKING ALEXANDRIA started only a few short years ago. We formed in York, England just hoping to play some shows and have a good time. Since our formation, we have toured all over the world, released an album and made the most amazing friends and fans along the way. We have absolutely no intentions of slowing down and our new album, Reckless and Relentless, will prove that. Evolution is a crazy thing. It’s scary. Especially when it comes to a band. People always complain and moans when a band evolves, but we are still ASKING ALEXANDRIA. We still have our original sound and we just improved it greatly. We want to be a band that lasts for years to come and be something that everyone can enjoy.
“Reckless and Relentless has all of the best parts that Stand up and Scream had to offer and has intensified them tenfold. We have also introduced some new elements that we feel really work for us as a band. Musically, Reckless and Relentless is far more competent effort and lyrically it is far more mature and meaningful to us as people and what we have been through over the last year. We realized that touring had a lot of negative effects on all of us as people, and we have really addressed those issues in this album with the hopes of turning our lives around and really proving ourselves to our friends, families and fans. We are confident that fans of our band will really love what we have to offer on this new disc and we can’t wait to share it with them.”
In 2012, ASKING ALEXANDRIA look to become a household name and ultimately redefine the landscape of the hard rock genre. The future of rock has never looked so bright.
Upcoming Tour Dates
Press Downloads
Right-click the link and choose “Save Link As…”
