Asking Alexandria - Reckless And Relentless
Released April 5, 2011
Danny Warsnop, Ben Bruce, Cameron Liddell, Sam Bettley, James Cassells
Metalcore, Deathcore
Intro
Well we are doing back to back days for once. I know, me actually doing my job and writing reviews? Insane. Anyways this album is great and I love this band and especially some of the songs off of this album and their first, which I will review at some point. Anyways I want to do a review for an album that I feel changed a genre entirely as this is the album that put the Deathcore sub genre back on the map with a big name band to successfully pull it off. With that out of the way lets get into this review.
Thoughts & Feelings
This album makes me feel like I just got drugged and dragged through the streets barely conscious but awake enough to know the horrors I'm witnessing. I know, what the FUCK Jake, but trust me if you listen to this album you will feel exactly the same as I just described. Anyways lets get into the songs, they are all pretty damn good.
Smash Or Pass?
Welcome- Smash. This song is definitely an opening track, slow piano/melodic opening with the rising tension of knowing the impeding chaos of what follows. This is a Metalcore album, so brace for impact. And there it goes, Danny welcomes you to the experience by screaming in your face.
Dear Insanity- SSSSSSMMMMMMAAAAAASSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH. THIS SONG IS SO FUCKING GOOD. The opening of just screaming right in your face that this is not going to be an easy fun album. The way Danny can both scream and sing is insane especially compared to some other singers in this genre. The instrumental here is fucking FANTASTIC with some of the best drumming in the entire genre. Great start.
Closure- SSMMAASSHH. HEAVY AS FUCK. The use of death growls on this album are revolutionary for the Metalcore genre as a whole. I whole heartedly believe that without this album we would have never gotten bands like Knocked Loose, Ice Nine Kills, and Motionless In White. The way Danny can perfectly shift from screaming in your face to a singing voice worthy of a pop star is incredible. The screaming breakdown at the end to the perfect transition is truly something.
A Lesson Never Learned- SSSMMMMMAAAASSSSHHHH. PERFECT FADE INTO THIS ONE. The way horns are incorporated into a deathcore song is fucking incredible and add so much tension to an already uneasy track on an uneasy album. This is not something you want to listen to if you don't like feeling uncomfortable and lack stability. The way this album goes from completely hopeless to that feeling of maybe having a chance, to complete disappointment and anger, just to continue the loop is incredible. The chorus is so fucking catchy and melodic it just adds so much hope to this song, all for it to be lost in the end.
To The Stage- SSSSSSMMMMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH. This song is SO FUCKING GOOD. This is the song that made me write that absurd section in Thoughts & Feelings. This song is so fucking brutal and relentlessly violent it perfectly encapsulates the themes and emotions of this entire album. The song is from the POV of someone so mentally evil that all they can find pride in is ruining someone else and eventually they break and realize what they've done. This whole album builds themes of regret and second chances being thrown away. The way a Metalcore album can have this much emotion is incredible.
Dedication- Smash. Bit of an intermission track here, just a speech from Danny over a theatrical instrumental about love and remembrance. Perfect mood breaker for this second half of the album.
Someone, Somewhere- SSMMAAAASSSSHHHH. This song feels so personal, like Danny wrote this for someone specific. I'm not as knowledgeable on this band as I am on others so I don't know the full lore here. With that though the song is fucking incredible and the solo around the 2:20 mark is amazing. Everything about this song screams hope and bliss, which just makes the next one even more impactful.
Breathless- SSSSSSSSSSSSMMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. And all hope is gone. Everything you felt from the last one is gone forever. This song is so fucking brutal and ruthless it genuinely freaked me out when I first heard it. The idea of an entire song about a man so lost that all he can think about when with someone is brutally murdering them was enough to make me listen to this entire album after hearing just this one track. This song is more hopeless and painful than anything else I have ever listened to. The way Danny conveys emotions by using different vocal styles is incredible. He uses the different styles to show that there is a man in this song who is still there behind the monster this entire album describes him as and he's still willing to fight to get himself back. Gold medal and the honorary listen to this fucking song award.
The Match- SSSMMMMMAASSSSSSSHHHHH. This is that man losing what little hope he had. His only option is to just leave and burn his past. The way that Danny wrote a song that can be a fight between a man and his mind is remarkable, especially as a band who's first big hit was about having a 10 inch dick. Everything about this song is amazing, the imagery in the lyrics paints a picture of despair and the instrumentals add the feelings that no matter what happens it will be bad.
Another Bottle Down- SSSMMMMASSSSSHHHH. This is what happens after he runs away from his past. This song feels almost ballad like, outside of the screaming and intense instrumentals that is. Everything is once again great, the use of horns and pianos to add an almost horror movie-esque feel to this song is perfect. The way the song can be emotional enough to make you feel bad, just for the other evil side of the character to break through and make it all about him and everything he did and is still doing is so hard to do and this album does it perfectly. With that we have ANOTHER perfect transition.
Reckless And Relentless- SSSMMMMASSSSHHHH. This feels like Danny just putting his emotions on the music genre out in the open through the mouth of the character in the story, and he does it perfectly at that. This feels like its from the character and fits perfectly in the story/themes of the album. This song is great once again, like everything on this album.
Morte et Dabo- SSSMMMAAASSSSHHHH. WHAT A FUCKING ENDING TRACK. The song opens with the character getting some kind of offer for forgiveness but turns it down because he doesn't believe in a god. I feel this is the PERFECT ending track as this wraps up our story in the best way a story like this could be, with the "good guy" losing and letting the demented dark side just completely take over and ruins everything. This song is the definition of losing all hope. Every emotion you feel throughout this album but pain is gone. This is how you make one of the most brutal albums I have ever heard. It also ends with a choir playing over sounds of war and destruction. The best way to describe this album.
Conclusion
This album is damn near PERFECT. EVERYTHING about this is so close to being the best it possibly can be, the story, the instrumentals, the vocals, everything. With that being said, what is holding this back? This album feels almost too brutal for its own good at points, the hopelessness outweighs the hope for the ENTIRE album. I think letting the listener feel hope for atleast one or two full songs would have made the ending all the more brutal and painful. However, this album is still fucking AMAZING and any fan of heavy music should listen to this one.
RANK: A+
That was a fun review to do. I don't have much to say down here but thanks for reading. Any and all feedback is welcomed and appreciated.
-Jake (JunosBestFriend)
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