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\u2018The Black\u2019<\/i> is that album you so desperately wanted to hate. Nevertheless, the new evolution of Asking Alexandria<\/b> is simply the polar opposite of such expectations.<\/p>\n\u2018The Black\u2019<\/i> is that album you so desperately wanted to hate. Nevertheless, the new evolution of Asking Alexandria<\/b> is simply the polar opposite of such expectations.<\/p>\n
Of course, the odd sour reference to ex-frontman Danny Worsnop remains intact, that was to be expected. Laying those offending soundbites aside, however, \u2018The Black\u2019<\/i> is without doubt an Asking Alexandria<\/b> record from beginning to end \u2013 versatile, chopsy and contagious.<\/p>\n
Providing instant proof that new frontman Denis Stoff has slotted seamlessly into the line-up, \u2018Let It Sleep\u2019<\/i> bursts with beautiful highs and devastating lows, moving the outfit onwards and upwards to a more polished guise. From the tricksy leading line of the title track to the lingering \u2018I Won\u2019t Give In,\u2019<\/i> each second arrives packed with their trademark gorgeous intensity, while \u2018The Lost Souls\u2019<\/i> oozes the symphonic solidarity that their divided fanbase so gravely needed.<\/p>\n
However, \u2018Sometimes It Ends\u2019<\/i> opens with a bitter interview segment explaining how Denis had to persuade the band to move on from Danny, while \u2018Just A Slave To Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll\u2019<\/i> closes with the ironic exclamation, \u201cI need a fucking drink.\u201d<\/i> Such resent could possibly have slipped under the radar had it not happened twice on the same album.<\/p>\n
The tear-jerking \u2018Send Me Home\u2019<\/i> hits phenomenal heartfelt high notes and voices a beautiful anguish, while its polar opposite \u2018Undivided\u2019<\/i> distributes contagious \u201cfuck off\u201d<\/i> chants to re-establish their boisterous charm and signature organised chaos. This commanding versatility comes naturally to them, and Denis emerges so flawlessly as if he were always there.<\/p>\n
\u2018The Black\u2019<\/i> could well have been a premature swansong for a band that play their cards astoundingly well. This transition was always going to weigh heavy on their dedicated crowds, but if this first Denis record is anything to go by, that shouldn\u2019t take long.<\/p>\n
4.5\/5<\/p>\n