December 22nd, 2010 
James Shotwell 
Artist: Asking Alexandria
Album: Life Gone Wild EP
Genre: Scene Metal
Label: Sumerian
Before Napster changed everything, the music industry turned its back on gimmicky acts outside the world of top 40. People believed a band could make it on fame and word of mouth alone, without cashing in on whatever worked at the time. However, times have changed and so has the industry. Nowadays, if it works for one act, you can bet another dozen or so will attempt the same.Take for example Asking Alexandria’s latest EP, Life Gone Wild. Comprised of not only cover songs, but also the the “it” word of 2010, dubstep, this is one vein attempt at cashing in on fans with their parents’ credit card that we just can’t let slide.
Now when it comes to covers, I’m really not picky. All I ask is that a band pick a tune that’s not already overstayed its welcome, that they make said song their own, and that the overall product not be absolutely horrendous. Asking Alexandria started off meeting my requirements well choosing to cover Skid Row on both tracks, but it’s their execution that will lead many to hit next after one, maybe two, plays. “Youth Gone Wild” seems copy/pasted musically with karaoke style vocals added on top. Likewise, “18 to Life” is also a near dead-on copy of the original. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with the songs in their original form, but that’s what people paid Skid Row to perform, not Asking Alexandria. Your fans want to see you expand and take on areas of rock you haven’t tapped on, not give us your best impersonation of an 80’s metal band.
As Life Gone Wild continues we arrive at the overly cliche’ remix portion of the release. First up, “A Single Moment” of sincerity gets an interesting, but quickly forgotten dubstep redux before “Not The American Average” enters for an even more underwhelming, yet also remixed appearance. Call me old fashioned, but when did metal stop being about metal and start being about “hey, isn’t this neat?” Drop the 808s and fire the djs. You’re a metal band, start acting/writing/sounding/performing/recording like it.
Even if all else goes wrong on Life Gone Wild, Asking Alexandria should be rewarded for their ability to follow the “how to cash in with a gimmicky EP” guidebook word for word. If the two lackluster attempts to “switch it up” don’t drive you to toss the release, there’s a demo and new track to hear as well. The only problem? Somehow neither have anything new to offer us either. A rough cut of “I Was Once, Possibly, Maybe, Perhaps A Cowboy King” only amuses on the first take and the new track, “Breathless,” showcases that the only thing to expect on the next Asking Alexandria album is exactly what you heard on the last (most likely with some additional dubstep added in, it seems to sell).
When it’s all said and done, the band no one took seriously still can’t be taken seriously.
Score: 4/10
Review written by: James Shotwell
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I agree unfortunately. I loved their last album but this…man…lets just say I am glad I previewed this album at Hot Topic before I pulled out my card. I would have made a big mistake. Lets just hope they don’t throw their next album together like they did this one. Bad move A.A, bad move.
Agree and disagree.
AA came off to me as a master at Trancecore.. Attack Attack! had it down, but AA blew them off the roof. Trancecore (or whatever you prefer to call it) is becoming exceedingly popular. So me being a fan of Trancecore ENJOY their new EP. Just because they have SOME metal in their music, doesn’t make them strictly metal. They SHOULDN’T record as a pure metal band, but as the actual genre they are. And what people are failing to see is this is an EP**** Not the actual album. Listen to it once it’s the real thing. Then judge it.
Thanks for the input aaftw, but I don’t think trancecore is suitable genre for them. Yes, they use plenty of synth and fruityloops, but that doesn’t put them on the same plain of existence as, say, Enter Shikari. IN MY OPINION, asking performs scene metal – a combination of breakdown and riff based hardcore/metal with pop, autotune, synth, and other stylish elements added to make a more cohesive, broadly appealing sound.
True that. I really enjoyed their first album and was really looking forward to this one. SOO glad I didn’t pay for it. It is something I would throw in the garbage the first time I listened. Life Gone Wild is just noise to me and a HUGE sellout. Don’t waste your money. I have lost all respect for Asking Alexandria.