Asking Alexandria - From Death To Destiny (2013)

It's a pretty common practice for bands to mature over time. As they get older and the rigors of touring set in, bandmembers eventually tire of writing about girls and drugs and move on to more personal songwriting. It's an inevitable part of life, and though modern metalcore has been immune for some time, it would seem time is finally starting to catch up with Asking Alexandria, who, in a move away from the electronic outbursts of their earlier work, push their sound toward hard rock with their third album, From Death to Destiny. Though the album still features plenty of the production flourishes and synth work that fans have grown used to, their uses here feel more a part of the music than some dance beats someone shoehorned in while the band chased down an unfortunate metalcore trend. And really, the metalcore parts of their sound have also been smoothed down considerably, resulting in a sound that feels more like actual songs than an excuse to string breakdowns together. These changes help to make From Death to Destiny easily the band's most focused and mature album to date, though they'll definitely be a shock to the senses for die-hard Asking Alexandria fans who weren't expecting them to put out a post-grunge-influenced hard rock album. Although From Death to Destiny might alienate some fans, the album's more grown-up sound gives them a newfound accessibility that is sure to open them up to a whole new audience hungry for some new heavy jams.