ASKING ALEXANDRIA and their latest Sumerian Records release, Stand Up And Scream, is full of swag, and has such a killer and stylistic musical direction.  It’s such a fun release that’s meant to pump you up.  There’s a ton of great hooks, can be epic at times, and their musical direction fuses post hardcore, metalcore, and very techno like synth arrangements together.  Yes, it’s been done before in various forms, but these young brits are really onto something.  Just picture Bring Me The Horizon, Alesana, and techno all in one, and ASKING ALEXANDRIA pulls it off pretty damn well.

“A Candlelit Dinner With Inamorta” is a beast!  From the beginning brutality to singer Danny Worsnop’s incredibly catchy clean vocals, I see this song being ASKING ALEXANDRIA at their best.  The band really stomps through the verses like no one’s business, add in some great touches of metalcore (which I like to see them do more), and the melodies are at their most memorable.  With all the upbeat synth behind bruising breakdowns, the adrenaline continuously adds on.  “Hey There Mr. Brooks” shows the band picking up the pace a tad, and also shows some of their more epic compositions.  The song is filled with multiple breakdowns for all you moshers, and the closing with the deep synth with you guessed it, a breakdown, shows “Hey There Mr. Brooks” strongest moment.  The mood swing in the closing is great, and really is an attention grabber.  Stand Up And Scream closes with “When Everyday’s The Weekend” which is about having fun, partying, and living it up.  I really dig the song and its message because hey, inside don’t we all try to live it up and have a good time?  “When Everyday’s The Weekend” is a great song to pump up the night, and the breakdowns layered with hyper synthesized beats really set a strong and moving mood.  I feel like I can both dance at the club and headbang to ASKING ALEXANDRIA and like mentioned before, they pull this style off really well!. 

My one criticism is the lack of creativity in the guitar section.  I mean seriously, I like breakdowns, but there are one too many.  If ASKING ALEXANDRIA adds some more progressive and brutal structures (like a good majority of the Sumerian roster), I would absolutely LOVE this band.   But right now, the band is young and has plenty of room to grow.  ASKING ALEXANDRIA has come at the right time though, and with a rapidly growing fan base and such a killer musical direction, these guys are soon to be amongst the top of the scene.