''From Death to Destiny'' is the third studio album by British
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Asking Alexandria
Asking Alexandria are a British rock band from York, North Yorkshire, consisting of guitarists Ben Bruce and Cameron Liddell, drummer James Cassells, lead vocalist Danny Worsnop, and bassist Sam Bettley.
Initially formed in 2006 by Ben Bruce ...
. It was released on 6 August 2013 through
Sumerian Records
Sumerian Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and London. The label was founded in 2006 by Ash Avildsen.[Joey Sturgis
Joey Sturgis (born January 3, 1985) is an American record producer and owner of The Foundation Recording Studio in Connersville, Indiana. Sturgis started recording in 2004 including producing the Asking Alexandria single "The Final Episode" whic ...]
. The band released the first single titled "Run Free" on 13 August 2012. The second single titled "The Death of Me", and a third track "Killing You", were released in March 2013.
This is the band's last album until their
self-titled fifth album to feature the full original line-up, as vocalist
Danny Worsnop
Danny Robert Worsnop (born 4 September 1990) is an English singer most prominently known as the lead vocalist of rock bands Asking Alexandria and We Are Harlot. He has worked with several artists including I See Stars, With One Last Breath, Bre ...
left the band from January 2015 to October 2016.
Background and recording
Production
The album was recorded in seven different studios.
* Foundation in Connersville, Indiana
* Foundation Estate in Rochester, Michigan
*
NRG in Los Angeles, California
* Darth Mader Music in Los Angeles, California
* Allan Hessler's Studio
* Stevie Blacke's Studio
* A studio in London (a friend of the band recorded some short vocal parts, found in "The Death of Me")
* Mixed by
David Bendeth
David Jonathan Bendeth (born 17 June 1954) is a multi-platinum award-winning record producer.
Early life
David Bendeth was born on 17 June 1954 in Stoke Newington, Hackney, London, England. He attended Parkhill School in Ilford, London and in ...
at House of Loud Studio.
Part of the album was recorded on the band's tour bus. They had announced in previous years that they had wanted to do this. They cleared out parts of the back recreational area of the bus, and installed a small soundproof room and an area for a mixing board and computer. This is briefly visible in the video released by the band of Danny becoming 'disturbed' and was seen completely in the studio update video posted by Danny on his YouTube channel.
When the album was released, the first track, "Don't Pray for Me", the commotion is audible from video recording in Seattle during a live performance, when band member Ben asked the audience to vote for Danny to go to rehab.
Release and promotion
The album was released on 6 August 2013 and two official singles on iTunes. "Run Free" was released officially on 4 December 2012. The song made its live debut on 8 August 2012, at the PNC Bank Arts Center in New Jersey, a side-stop show from the Mayhem Festival consisting only of
As I Lay Dying
''As I Lay Dying'' is a 1930 Southern Gothic novel by American author William Faulkner. Faulkner's fifth novel, it is consistently ranked among the best novels of 20th-century literature.The New Lifetime Reading Plan: The Classical Guide to Wor ...
, Asking Alexandria, and
Slipknot. "The Death of Me" and "The Death of Me" (Rock Mix) were released through iTunes on 16 April 2013. Both were released with the official single album artwork. On 12 July 2013, Sumerian Records released a full album preview via YouTube which features snippets of all tracks on the standard edition of the album the same night as the band played on the TV show Guitar Center Sessions and revealed that
Howard Jones is a guest vocalist on the 12th track "Until the End". On 16 July, the album was made available for pre-order on iTunes as well as the CD copy and package deals including merchandise to accompany the album. A digital copy of the album's second track "Killing You" downloads automatically when the album is pre-ordered on iTunes. On 23 July, the official music video for "The Death of Me" was released on YouTube by Sumerian Records, although the Rock Mix version of the song was used in place of the original version. There were several leaks of the album online, although
Ben Bruce
Benjamin Paul Bruce (born 31 October 1988) is an English musician. He is the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of rock band Asking Alexandria and has also performed as a solo artist. Bruce founded the band while he was living in Dubai but th ...
worked hard to take all of the leak links down.
Asking Alexandria played a "Midwest CD Release Tour" in support of the album's release, featuring
Motionless in White
Motionless in White is an American metalcore band from Scranton, Pennsylvania. Formed in 2004, the band consists of lead vocalist Chris "Motionless" Cerulli, guitarists Ryan Sitkowski and Ricky "Horror" Olson, drummer Vinny Mauro and bassist Ju ...
,
Crown the Empire
Crown the Empire is an American metalcore band formed in 2010 in Dallas, Texas. They have released one EP and four studio albums.
History
Formation and ''Limitless'' EP (2010–2011)
Crown the Empire was formed in May 2010, when "Brandon ...
, and
Upon a Burning Body
Upon a Burning Body is an American metalcore band from San Antonio, Texas, formed in 2005. The band currently consists of vocalist Danny Leal, guitarist Ruben Alvarez, drummer Tito Felix and bassist Thomas Alvarez. Their second studio album, ''R ...
in the tour's line-up.
Critical reception
The album received mostly positive reviews, but also mixed reviews from several critics. At
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 76 out of 100 based on 4 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
wrote that the album showed a maturation of the band, a move away from simplistic "girls and drugs" metalcore to produce a more personal
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
album which showed
post-grunge
Post-grunge is a derivative of grunge that has a less abrasive or intense tone than traditional grunge. Originally, the term was used almost pejoratively to label mid-1990s rock bands such as Bush (British band), Bush, Candlebox and Collective So ...
influence, with the
metalcore
Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...
parts "smoothed down considerably".
[
]
Retrospect
Reflecting on the album in a 2016 interview with ''Alternative Press
Alternative press may refer to:
Individual publications
* ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine
Alternative journalism
* Alternative media
** Alternative media (U.S. political left)
** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...
'', guitarist Ben Bruce commented on the significant change in atmosphere upon recording their newest record, '' The Black'', in comparison to ''From Death to Destiny'', stating he felt the band were "in a different mindset than we were for ''From Death to Destiny''. Danny clearly didn't want to be in the band and it was just a struggle the whole time. n''From Death to Destiny'', Danny just flat out refused to sing or scream over the songs we would write, so we had to make some huge compromises with that record. n ''The Black''we got to go back to our roots. It was a lot of fun doing 'The Black''"
Commercial performance
''From Death to Destiny'' debuted at No. 28 on the UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
on its release, and also at No. 1 on the Rock & Metal Albums chart in the UK. It debuted at No. 5 on the ''Billboard'' 200, making it the band's best chart debut in the US. It is also the label's highest first-week sales with 41,082 units sold. The album has sold 151,000 copies in the US .
Track listing
Personnel
;Asking Alexandria
* Danny Worsnop
Danny Robert Worsnop (born 4 September 1990) is an English singer most prominently known as the lead vocalist of rock bands Asking Alexandria and We Are Harlot. He has worked with several artists including I See Stars, With One Last Breath, Bre ...
– lead vocals
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...
(except track 15), additional guitar
* Ben Bruce
Benjamin Paul Bruce (born 31 October 1988) is an English musician. He is the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of rock band Asking Alexandria and has also performed as a solo artist. Bruce founded the band while he was living in Dubai but th ...
– lead guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...
, backing vocals
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...
, lead vocals on tracks 6 and 15, music on "Break Down the Walls", composition on all tracks
* Cameron Liddell – rhythm guitar
In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...
* Sam Bettley – bass
* James Cassells – drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
, composition on all tracks except "Break Down the Walls"
;Additional musicians
* Howard Jones – additional guest vocals on "Until the End"
* Christopher Mesmer – piano on "The Death of Me"
* Laweta Casiano, Shalia Thompson, Vernaya Lee-Shields, Davonna Turner, Antoinette Simon, Chynell Casiano, Larry Miles, Sean Clinton, Manuel Casiano and Dearthur Wilson – Greater LA Cathedral Choir
;Additional personnel
* Joey Sturgis
Joey Sturgis (born January 3, 1985) is an American record producer and owner of The Foundation Recording Studio in Connersville, Indiana. Sturgis started recording in 2004 including producing the Asking Alexandria single "The Final Episode" whic ...
– production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
, engineering, sound design, vocal engineering, vocal production at NRG Recording Studios, programming on "Run Free"
* Ash Avildsen
Ashley Greg Avildsen (born November 5, 1981) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and the founder and CEO of Sumerian Records and Sumerian Films. The son of director John G. Avildsen, he wrote and directed the films ''What Now'' ...
– executive production, additional vocal production on "The Death of Me" and "Killing You", North America booking at The Pantheon Agency, art direction
* Brian Robbins – engineering
* David Bendeth
David Jonathan Bendeth (born 17 June 1954) is a multi-platinum award-winning record producer.
Early life
David Bendeth was born on 17 June 1954 in Stoke Newington, Hackney, London, England. He attended Parkhill School in Ilford, London and in ...
– mixing at The House of Loud, Elmwood Park, NJ
* Kevin Churko
Kevin Gregory Churko (born 19 January 1968) is a Canadian record producer, sound engineer and musician best known for his work with artists such as Ozzy Osbourne, Papa Roach, Hinder, Modern Science, Five Finger Death Punch, Disturbed, In This ...
– mixing on "The Death of Me (Rock Mix)"
* Ted Jensen
Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''.
Biography
Ted ...
– mastering at Sterling Sound, New York, NY
* Michael "Mitch" Milan – digital editing
* Nick Sampson – vocal production at NRG Recording Studios, vocal engineering, live choir arrangement, direction, engineering on "White Line Fever", vocal editing
* Allan Hessler – additional vocal engineering
* Bryan Pino and Joe Graves – additional vocal tracking at Bordur Studios
* Logan Mader – programming, electronic sound design at Darth Mader Music, programming on "Believe", music on "Break Down the Walls", vocal production, recording of Howard Jones' vocals on "Until the End", composition on "Break Down the Walls"
* The Maniac Agenda – programming, sound design on "Believe"
* Jussi Karvinen – music, composition on "Break Down the Walls"
* Devin Timmons and Brett Bair at The Artery Foundation – management
* Tom Taaffe – international booking at The Agency Group
* Kyle Borman – tour/co-management
* Eric German – legal representation at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP
* George Vallee – press
* Sasha Shemirani and Eric Curtis – photography
* Erin Johnson – model
* McBride Design/Unlimited Visual – artwork, layout design
Charts
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:From Death to Destiny
2013 albums
Asking Alexandria albums
Sumerian Records albums
Albums produced by Joey Sturgis