In light of recent events, on a global scale, we have seen a major transition in the way music is perceived, experienced, and written. Artists have gone out on a limb to connect with their fans, in a white knuckle attempt to stay relative.
Country artists have taken center stage in doing Facebook live sessions with their fans and allowing the masses to enjoy them in their prior “private” settings causing an influx in demand for a more personal approach to music delivery. Luke Combs and Garth Brooks have over 50 free Facebook Live sessions with millions of views, and the numbers continue to rise. Garth, being the innovator that he is, found a way to capitalize off of the pandemic by streaming live to paying customers at drive in theaters only. Pay to get in, and you get to see. A “concert” of sorts, which were sold out within hours. People didn’t care how, where, or when…...they needed human experience because the superficiality of their own lives seemed to satiate very little, outside of a demand for whisky and increase in divorce attorney searches.
The rock music scene experienced an interesting twist as well - promoting an underage angry teenage girls - not because she was scantily clad skipping around the halls of a school in a “uniform” and pigtails, but because Billie Eillish brought something different to the table - honesty. In like kind, “Parasite Eve” by Bring Me The Horizon found a way to say what we were all thinking in light of the conspiracy theories and unconventional at best social situations we faced.
But from the fringe, what has become more interesting than the usual players getting innovative to maintain status - or new trends hitting the airways with green hair - is a reinvention as the causation of a band to rise to unparalleled heights in the music industry.
Asking Alexandria, is an English rock band that formed in 2006. Three years later, a few band member additions, and a heavy dark sound, they released the album “Stand up and scream” in 2009.” Mild success, a move to the US, and an escalating drug problem reflected in their music - leading to a stagnation in their careers and a dissemination of the band. Warsop (lead singer) is fired from the band, despite being the front man. The drug and alcohol consumption of the band had ultimately led to a highly toxic environment that left little room for music, a band, a career, or friendship. However, two years later - after flirting with a new front man - the band made a decision to first: get sober and second: get back together.
What happened next was nothing short of impressive. The new sound, which carries a much lighter base line, and far more substantial lyrics - boosted the band to heights they could not have imagined. Ranked as the number four band on the planet, their new record “House on Fire'' features singles such as “House on Fire” and “With all due respect.” New/old front man Danny Warsop took it a step further and released a blues/country album as a solo - breaking all rules of “don’t die in the eye of a stringent ear” as defined by historical music law (Corey Taylor being an exception).
Shrouded with opinion from the media - the listener base just keeps growing and the songs keep coming.
In an interview with The Guardian the band commented:
And are you all happy now?
“Completely. That’s why it’s such a bummer when you see people getting so spiteful towards you for discovering your happiness. This band has always been about us. Since day one, it’s been about five people telling their stories to the world. That’s not changed. Maybe you relate to a certain part of our story more than another, and that’s fine. That part of the story is still there. It can be re-read, it can be re-listened to, but it can’t be re-lived for us.”
The relatability of their new music has struck a cord with their listeners - even the angry ones from 2006. It emphasizes a rise from the wars we all face and the identification of those who hold us back - most commonly, ourselves. Their new “enlightened” and introperspective vantage is resonating with a world who is starved for a deeper meaning to their own life, rather than the superficiality of the next “superficial soul mate” or ‘f&#k you B#@$@” chorus line.
Do yourself a favor - listen to this song. Close your eyes and listen to the transitions between the harmonies, piano, and brutal truth that could only be delivered by a rock band.
“I saw the world a couple times, tried to cure the ache with absence
But that hole was still a hole, and my mind kept playing tricks on me
Feeling older every day, took everything I had to not crash and burn
But I'm starting to learn
Sometimes I'll fall down, sometimes I'll lose hope
But those days will be few if I keep my feet on the ground
I might be lonely, but I ain't alone here
So I keep pushing the limits of what makes me me”
When you’re done - listen to the original recording (not acoustic) and decide which one resonates more with you, and why.
Like a house on fire
“Wage war on your preconceptions
Of my exception to come
What you rely on to give purpose to your lifelong dreams
Of being what you'll never become
'Cause you gotta give
More than you've got to give
To watch it all fall
As I watch it fall away from me
(Like a house on fire, like a house on fire)
And all I am turn to all I can be
(Like a house on fire, like a house on fire)”
As the world, devoid of knowledge of the intent behind the album, drinks it in bottoms up - there is a new motivation developing. If breaking the chains of preconceptions and rising is the new mantra - I’ll put up with the YouTube ads and keep it on repeat.
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