Review Summary: I think it's time that I take some time to be alone again
I know to most it’s pretty much a low bar, given the contentious nature of this band’s reception ever since their first album (not counting the truly terrible
The Irony of Your Perfection as that was practically a whole different band) but this might actually be the best album Asking Alexandria has produced to date. And to be honest, I’m shocked to be saying that about a late-era album from this band, given that it had been at least eight years since they’ve broken the barrier of being simply “good” with 2013’s
From Death to Destiny which featured some of singer Danny Worsnop’s best hooks up to that point (The Death of Me, Moving On, and Don’t Pray for Me being of notable quality) and it took ages for me to get around to mildly appreciating their last record.
See What’s on the Inside, on the other hand, is a very stark contrast from
Like a House on Fire in almost every way. Production is a major step up: it’s not even close to as muddy and lifeless, the guitars have a hell of a lot more bite to them, and it’s closer in nature to a mid-era Avenged Sevenfold album in that respect than whatever they were trying to accomplish with Matt Good prior. I had to do a double take and wonder how the exact same producer that made the last two albums sound so muddy made this sound so much more clear and impactful. Good production isn’t the only way this album improves on the formula they’ve made though, as it likely wouldn’t have reached the top spot on that alone.
Other elements that Worsnop and co. improve upon with this album are in the overall musical and lyrical department. “Alone Again” is a fun, catchy romp with a nice melodic Avenged Sevenfold vibe to it, sounding like it would have almost fit perfectly on an album like
Nightmare if they just gave M. Shadows the keys to the recording booth to record vocals. The title track “See What’s on the Inside” is another highlight, being essentially a part 2 to “Moving On” off
From Death to Destiny in feel and lyrical content. This album especially strikes a chord with me lyrically, as it’s almost entirely centered around mental health struggles. Such as the excerpt below:
What will it take?
How many times do I have to break before you get it?
I don't wanna be what you remember
It's my sanity and happiness, it's not ***ing about you
I'm so tired of not knowing who I'm supposed to be
I just want to find my way again
from “Find Myself”
Despite all this praise, i’ll be honest and say this is not a perfect album. In particular, the song “Fame” is easily the weakest thing on here. It has a decent vibe musically, but the vocal melodies don’t quite do it for me and the lyrical content feels very self-absorbed and it just comes off like a typical “*** the fame” song that’s not even close to as deep as the writer wants to think it is. To be fair, when I listen to Asking Alexandria, I’m not listening for extremely thought-provoking lyricism, but when bands like this try to make a statement that’s impersonal, it often just... doesn’t sound right. Most of the album’s lyrics are based in struggle with mental health and then you’ve got this song that’s a complete departure from it and it’s just kind of a weird clash of styles.
Overall though, while it may not seem like much to most, this album’s been a really solid vibe for the month or so i’ve had to sit with it, and it’s easily one of my favorite albums of the year. Asking Alexandria have broken their eight-year slump with this journey through mental health that just so happens to have a weird detour in “Fame” that throws off the pace a little, and they’ve done it in a way that proves that the rest of the band are still there, it’s not just the Danny Worsnop show.
