Asking Alexandria — ‘Like A House On Fire’, (Review)
I’m a die hard Asking Alexandria fan, I’ve been following the band since 2013 when I was just a kid getting into heavy music. No matter what I’ve been through, this band has always been there for me. Usually, older Asking fans dislike their recent direction, but I honestly don’t think it’s that bad. I’ve been listening to Asking Alexandria’s 6th album, ‘Like A House On Fire’ quite a bit lately. It’s been over a year since it was released, I’ve had plenty of time to digest it, and I can honestly say this might be one of their best albums.
I say this because it’s experimental, it is unapologetic with its creativity and despite what people say, it is creative. It’s different for them. Every album they’ve ever released, all the songs have sounded around the same style or theme. This album? Every track is different. Some say that sounds messy but look at ‘amo’ by Bring Me The Horizon; that also worked. I think the reason ‘amo’ was more well received was because Bring Me The Horizon built up to that sound with every album they released. It was a gradual evolution. Asking never set up a sound change of this magnitude. AA5 was still quite heavy, ‘Like A House On Fire’ is like Bring Me The Horizon releasing ‘amo’ after their 2013 metalcore effort, ‘Sempiternal’. But, if you look at ‘Like A House On Fire’ objectively, it’s a great album. It’s unapologetic experimentation at its best, and the band genuinely sound so full of life on this album it’s like they needed this album.
The title track grew on me the most. At first, I didn’t think the chorus fit with the rest of the song and the verses were annoyingly empty. I still feel that way, but it works, and I enjoy the song. After watching a YouTube video of ‘They Don’t Want What We Want (And They Don’t Care)’ live, I can say it’s a live song, and god damn, it’s fucking fantastic. Hearing it live makes you notice all the background guitar work on the studio version, Ben Bruce sounds so good here, and you can visualise the band going crazy on stage. ‘Down To Hell’ is still a song I’m not sure I dislike or not, but I feel the band saw the song’s criticism and changed the instrumental slightly for a live setting, which is appreciated, and the song is overall better because of it.
‘Antisocialist’ is still a huge rock song, I love the guitars here, but Danny Worsnop’s voice sounds a bit over-processed, which takes you out of it for a second. Something a lot of fans pointed out on this album, is that Danny’s vocals are very over-processed. Danny Worsnop is an incredible vocalist; sing, scream he can do it all. He’s a certified legend in his own right, but sometimes his voice can be a little too much on this record. You can tell ‘Antisocialist’’ was meant to be a radio single, but the lyrics prevent that from being the case. If the lyrics have been more radio-friendly (and a little less edgy) then it would be one of the best songs on the album. It’s them giving a rock spin on what’s popular today.
‘All Due Respect’ doesn’t hit me the same as when I first heard it, the Bullet For My Valentine-esque riff on the chorus is sick, but I don’t think it fits with the album’s vibe. ‘Take Some Time’ is so fucking catchy; it’s cheesy, raunchy, and full of sexual energy. I love it. It’s a song that gets you in the mood for those kinds of activities. ‘One Turns To None’ is a huge, catchy song. It’s the non-single version of TDWWWW’, and that’s pretty cool. However, I wish the solo were longer. ‘Give You Up’ is a very catchy, Starset-esque electronic rock song. Although I like it, perhaps it should’ve been worked on a little longer because the song has vast potential that wasn’t quite realised. The rock version Danny mentioned will probably never see the light of day, but I have a feeling it hits more than this version. ‘The Violence’ fucking HITS like a brick. Oh. My God. This song is so catchy, and it’s another song where you can visualise the band going mental. The videos of the band performing this song live is insane. They really go off and let loose.
‘Here’s To Starting Over’ and ‘What’s Gonna Be’ are two songs that take you on a journey; these might be the 2 most underrated AA songs in their entire discography. ‘Here’s To Starting Over’s’ atmosphere takes the forefront. Danny describing returning to the band is bittersweet. ‘What’s Gonna Be’ is also bittersweet; it details the band’s career from the start, and as a longtime fan, it makes me feel emotional and satisfied with the band’s career. ‘In My Blood’ is… groovy? Which is a weird adjective because I don’t think they were going for that. It’s catchy and experimental, and they nail both aspects. It’s another song of self-reflection, discussing the band’s aspirations from the start. It’s best to let Ben describe it:
“The lyrics acknowledge that you were lost and that you weren’t who you really are at your core. As it progresses, it recognises that we’ve taken steps to become who we know we are deep-down.”
I agree heavily with the majority here when I say this album suffers from repetition. The song structures are the EXACT same for EVERY song. Big opener>soft verse with drum fill and electronics >huge chorus >soft verse with drum fill and electronics >huge chorus>bridge>the same huge chorus. It gets a bit predictable and, for some, can make the songs seem boring before they’ve even begun. I’ve seen some people say they only listen up to the first chorus then skip, because the song will be a cut and paste of everything they’ve already heard. And bar a few songs, they’re right. One of the things that made Asking Alexandria stand out back in the day is the lack of song structure. Sure, that doesn’t work today, but it gave a sense of curiosity and adventure without knowing what’s coming next. This could easily have been a 12 track album that would’ve done wonders if a few songs were cut and the song structures were fleshed out more and made more unpredictable (Perhaps the hypothetically cut songs could’ve been bonus tracks on a deluxe edition?)
‘I Don’t Need You’ is a beautiful song, but the drum pattern sounds IDENTICAL to every 80’s radio rock song, so it doesn’t sound as original. ‘Lorazepam’ is…well, not one of their best songs to put it lightly. The song somehow made the cut and it easily my least favourite song on the album. Another complaint I have is the mix, some songs sound compressed when the songs needed to be atmospheric and the mix needed to accommodate that. As must as I love Matt Good (From First To Last shaped my childhood as well as help build my music taste), I don’t think Matt is the right producer for them. They need someone who can do their recordings justice in the mixing room. The guitar and bass tone are perfect on this album; hats off to Ben, Sam and Cam. Although I would’ve liked to see a bit more adventurous riffs from Ben. However, this album didn’t require that, and it worked. James is the real MVP of Asking Alexandria, especially on this album, but the mix ruins it. It makes the drums sound like percussion and programmed, which is insulting to James, in my opinion. He’s a beast that deserved better than this.
Although I’m a die-hard Asking Alexandria fan, and I’m probably biased but overall; this album is really good in my opinion. I wish Asking Alexandria had stuck to their guns and continued this path instead of quickly rushing out their next album. The new one feels like they needed to quickly put out a “good” album when ‘Like A House On Fire’ isn’t as bad as the fans have made it out to be. And I feel bad for the band in retrospect, as they were excited about this album. I think fans and non-fans of the band treated this album too harshly. This album is a grower; like any band, fans will eventually reflect that they treated this album too harshly during its initial release.
Positives: The songs are really catchy, each song has a hook that sticks in your head for days. The songs are simple yet huge, they were 100% designed to be played live.
Negatives: Mix. Repetitive song structure. A few songs could’ve been cut/added to a deluxe edition & Danny’s magnificent voice is over-processed and a bit overwhelming on a few songs.
Rating: 7.5/10
