Asking Alexandria

Spanning two continents, three names, and nearly a dozen members, Asking Alexandria are a band whose short career seems to be more about change than anything else. The brainchild of guitarist Ben Bruce, the band was originally formed in Dubai in 2003 under the name Amongst Us, which soon changed to End of Reason before eventually settling on Asking Alexandria in 2006. They cemented the name change with their self-released EP, Tomorrow.Hope.Goodbye. The following year they released their first full-length album, The Irony of Your Perfection, through Hangmans Joke. Shortly afterwards, Bruce left Dubai and returned to England, resulting in the dissolution of the band. In 2008, Bruce formed a new band around the name Asking Alexandria. Unlike its vaguely post-hardcore predecessor, the current incarnation of the band is a pretty standard screamo/metalcore act, with chugging guitars and alternating singing/screaming vocals. Finally settling on the lineup of Danny Worsnop (vocals), Camron Liddell (guitar), James Cassells (drums), and Sam Bettley (bass), the band set to work on a touring blitz of the United States, touring with bands like Alesana, the Bled, and Evergreen Terrace. In 2009 they signed with Sumerian Records and released their first album with the new lineup, Stand Up and Scream, in the fall of that year. The band would find mainstream success in 2011 with the release of their sophomore album, Reckless & Relentless, which peaked at number nine on the Billboard charts.