Review Summary: You Need A Doctor Baby?
Back in 2009, Asking Alexandria came out of the blue, releasing The Final Episode and while being the most generic thing out there at the time, this band showed promise. Whether it have been Danny's unusually good vocal abilities, or the fact the lyrics became quite addicting, this band was getting fame, and getting fame fast and now 5 years later, this album stands out as being Asking Alexandria's best and quite possibly most career describing album.
The album starts out with Alerion, which unlike most metalcore isn't random noises but actual instrumentation which showcases the theme of the album, catchy instruments and powerful vocals. The song starts with some noises with a girl answering a phone and no one on the other line, leading up to a fast paced little section followed by hate filled lyrics "Cross My Heart I Hope You Die". After repeating this line a few times, we get lead up to lead single The Final Episode. This track showcases Asking Alexandria at their absolute best, catchy guitar, powerful vocals, strong lyrics and of course the famous "You Need A Doctor" section. This song shows all Danny can do both scream wise and actual singing wise, and while auto-tune played a factor in his vocals Danny sounds never better. The song is pretty much the same throughout, and at the very end we have a techno section that ends the song with Danny screaming powerfully "You Need A Doctor Baby You Scared".
The album follows nearly the same formula, adding to the generic factor of this band, but it leads to very catchy moments even if a few of the filler songs. The guitar work in every single song is done to near perfection, not technically but in leaving the song stuck in your head, which is very hard to find in metal-core. The breakdowns are tight, the riffs are chuggy but catchy and the production is crisp, being able to follow the patterns of both Danny and James flawlessly.
The drums in this album are the true highlight, with James being a very talented drummer whether it be catchy dance beats, or having fun on his pedals, he can produce some powerful beats that stand out above all else in each and every song. An example of this would be in "Hey There My Brooks" which is easily the best track on the album. The drums are powerful and heavy, giving the dark feel of the song an even darker tone. Not The American Average and I Was Once Possibly Maybe Even A Cowboy King also show case powerful drumming and leave the album at it's peak.
While sounding fanboyish, this album was in fact what Asking Alexandria did at their absolute best, Danny wasn't drunk all the time and damaging his voice, and the band just didn't care about being radio friendly. Heavy, catchy and using techno at the right moments, this album was truly a masterpiece in it's time, but now falls into being labeled as generic and put under the "Asking Alexandria is generic and terrible" bracket they have been placed under. With a band that had so much promise in one album, this while forever be put into history as a landmark in metalcore
