Album Review: Asking Alexandria - 'From Death To Destiny'

Whoever coined the term ‘there is no such thing as bad publicity’ may have unintentionally had a band like Asking Alexandria in mind. The band simply divides opinion. The one constant though, is whether loved or loathed, the noise is loud for this UK metalcore quintet.

'Don’t Pray For Me' is certainly a standout track opening third studio album, ‘From Death to Destiny’. The beginning instrumental goes for nearly a solid two minutes, and combines elevating digital sounds with some strings and audio cut from shows, which returns later on. The choruses in the aforementioned 'Don’t Pray For Me' serve as fleeting breaks from the heaviness and have a very Red Jumpsuit Apparatus-type feeling to them. It's an interesting beginning, highlighting an emphasis on diversity this around.

From here, for the most part, the songs are not much different from previous music from Asking Alexandria, as well as a lot of other bands in the "scene". The typical and expected song titles on the album, far from some of the rather out there titles from the band’s back catalogue such as, 'I Was Once, Possibly, Maybe, Perhaps a Cowboy King', reflect what are mostly standard and predictable tracks.

'Killing You' and 'Believe' provide a few more highlights for the album. The former has an interesting moment at the beginning, which also features some strings, and the song adopts quite a different croaky vocal that reminds the listener a little bit of Chiodos. 'Believe' stands out due to the feature of 90’s-game-like keys, which shift to piano.

'The Death Of Me (Re-mix)' actually differs quite a bit from the main single initially released by the band - also featured early. The vocals seem to evoke more of a metal style than the released version. A stronger sense of a metal sound is also brought out in 'Until the End' with Howard Jones, (ex-Killswitch Engage and Blood Has Been Shed), teaming up with the band for some guest vocals.

Once again, whichever side of the fence you reside on won't change after receiving this new offering. Fans will support 'From Death to Destiny' and haters will continue to bemoan the lack of individuality.

Despite at times being disappointingly the same, the album does still have some good moments and strong messages, such as “open your mind to a new world” in 'Run Free'. Therefore, From Death To Destiny should not be seen as a necessarily bad record. It should be seen simply as an addition of more songs rather than a step forward for the band.

1. Don’t Pray For Me

2. Killing You

3. The Death Of Me

4. Run Free

5. Break Down The Walls

6. Poison

7. Believe

8. Creature

9. White Like Fever

10. Moving On

11. The Road

12. Until The End (feat Howard Jones)