Asking Alexandria's "Walls" Don't Have Much To Say

Metalcore is the land of Cookie Monster vocals. Relentless are the rhythms. Awash with blood on the teeth are the drum sections. I am pleased that York, England's Asking Alexandria singer Danny Worsnop isn't channeling his inner Cookie Monster. In fact for a metal subgenre not known for speech clarity, this outfit does rise above the din. What a pity that when the mouth opens not much to command attention spans comes rolling out. If metal the music can be compared to T-bone steak the dinner option then "Break Down The Walls" doesn't succeed in registering anything other than "rice cake" on the Richter scale. Where's the crunch that grinds your wimpy little self to a fine paste? Where's the fear that you get from knowing you don't want this band as an enemy.Phoned in throwaway tripe is harsh for sure, but I can't get past that impression. The boys could have easily demanded that their label simply cut them a royalty check for services rendered so they could hop a Brit double decker bus on their way down to the local pub. "Break" is too weak to merit a slot as filler material on a summer movie soundtrack. Every aspect of the song progresses at a breakneck pace far too imposing for one to be able to claim any kind of investment with it or the guys who make it happen. Danny's verses, while noble to a fault, don't compel you to trust in him. Maybe that's because he's so caught up in the Ritalin spiked inner demons of his brothers in artistry he forgets most of us try not to live our lives at 78 RPM. Hand your hopeless over to Danny. He understands. He can carry the pain if you're broken. He won't stop until he's clutching his self-orchestrated world in his hands. I'm never to be accused of turning my nose up at the "Us against the cruel world" motif namely because the revolving ash tray we're borrowing time on, this cosmic condo at times hasn't been a BFF for me either. In fact the only way to stop it from taking my lunch money would be to forego eating altogether. But live to eat, eat to live I suppose. Shame to the nth degree that the stalwart battle-ready pose brought on by this motif turns water weak in the mouth of Danny's stuck in the middle of the pack delivery. Over on drums James Cassells is sufficiently maniacal. Once again, if Danny managed to match dollar for dollar the perpetual motion his convictions hint at those skins would slap the melon on your neck a lot harder. Diluted dashing doesn't inspire hero's idolatry. Ben Bruce contributes on lead guitar. Note I said contributes, not blossoms into a wunderkind you won't soon forget. Cameron Liddell mans rhythm guitar to no particularly resonant effect. Sam Bettley certainly brought his bass to the slaughter. Too bad one beef entree does not a thoroughly satisfying meal make. It's a letdown that the handiwork behind Asking Alexandria doesn't measure up to the creativity of the band's name. Imagine you open a Christmas present (People living in sweltering southern states will thank me for the winter image) that has highly colorful wrapping on it. What you'd like to discover is an amazing gift. What you end up being stuck with is another pair of socks from Grandma. Functional? Yes. A gift for the books? Um,not exactly. So it goes with Asking Alexandria. That name points to literate gents, astute tea sippers who shed their proper English leanings long eough to jolt your peripheries with metalcore steaming at its molten core. That music is low impact low calorie prepackaged gruel. Asking Alexandria sets its sights on breaking down walls. Instead it barely scratches any surface it deigns to come in contact with.