The Black (album)
| The Black | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asking Alexandria studio album | ||||
|
Publication |
March 25, 2016 (Worldwide) |
|||
| Label (s) | Sumerian Records | |||
|
Format (s) |
||||
|
Title (number) |
12 |
|||
|
running time |
47 min 41 sec |
|||
| occupation |
|
|||
|
||||
|
Chart positions Explanation of the data |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Albums | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Black is the fourth studio album by the British metalcore band Asking Alexandria , which was released on March 25, 2016 via Sumerian Records .
The album comprises twelve pieces with a playing time of 47 minutes and 41 seconds. It is the first album on which former Make-Me-Famous singer Denis Shaforostov took over the microphone after Danny Worsnop left. The group released four single releases with I Won't Give In , Undivided , The Black and Let It Sleep named after the album to promote the album.
The album received neutral to rather positive reviews from the trade press and entered the top ten of the respective album charts in both the United States and Australia . The band also made The Black Chart listings in Germany , Austria , Switzerland , the United Kingdom , Belgium , Finland and New Zealand .
background
On January 22nd, 2015, Danny Worsnop announced that he was leaving the band to concentrate on his career with We Are Harlot . On May 26th of the same year , a new lead singer was found in the Ukrainian Denis Shaforostov , who previously played in Make Me Famous and Down and Dirty . Even if the announcement was only made in May, there was already speculation about Shaforostov joining Asking Alexandria, not least because of his work at Make Me Famous, which was musically influenced by Asking Alexandria.
Guitarist Ben Bruce had written several songs after Worsnop's departure, which were addressed to him and should be packed on the album, but the new singer did not convince them to publish these pieces.
The first concerts that the band did with Stoff as the front singer were at the sister festivals Rock am Ring and Rock im Park in order to be able to advertise the first single I Won´t Give In . The group spent the later summer on the Warped Tour .
promotion
On May 26th, 2015, at the same time as the announcement of the new front man, I Won´t Give In, the first single was released on the video platform YouTube . The second single is called Undivided and was leaked a few days before the actual release on September 25, 2015. In December, The Black was officially announced for March 25, 2016. On January 31, 2016, The Black, the third single of the same name, was first broadcast on the British radio station BBC Radio 1 . The fourth single, Let It Sleep, was released on March 4, 2016 . The track Here I Am was played for the first time on March 8, 2016 via Octane , a radio station owned by Sirius XM Holdings .
In February and March of 2016, the group played with Bullet for My Valentine on the British Invasion Tour in the United States and Canada .
reception
| Track list The Black | |
|---|---|
|
|
Commercial win
The album sold 28,125 times within the first week of sales in the United States alone, which allowed the album to enter the US album charts at number 9 . The group also reached the top ten in the Australian charts . There the album reached its highest position with the fourth place. In Germany the album reached number 23 in Austria it debuted at No. 15 and in Switzerland at No. 24 a. In the UK , The Black came in 15th.
The album also made entries in Finland (38th place), New Zealand (13th place) and Belgium (79th place in Flanders ).
reception
Danny Worsnop , the band's former singer, commented on the first track I Won´t Give In , which the group recorded with Denis Shaforostov , and was happy that the band was still fully involved. One review of the British rock sound said the album ties in seamlessly with the band's second album, Reckless & Relentless . Natasha Van Duser from the US Alternative Press writes that the album is on the same track as Sempiternal from Bring Me the Horizon and that it is consistently pursuing this path.
Kai Butterweck from the online music portal Laut.de describes the album as “technically brilliantly staged and multifaceted”, although no major musical differences are discernible due to the singer swap. He also describes the work of the band on the album as "usual unpredictable", in which the group "shoots volleys from almost all metal areas". Anton Kostudis from Metal.de was less euphoric. If he described the first song on the album, Let It Sleep , that it “skilfully maneuvered through high-speed and groove passages”, he described the songs I Won't Give In and Sometimes It Ends as “medium-good all-world numbers”. . He comes to the conclusion that even the best front man - Kostudis praised Shaforostov for his variable vocals - is of no use if the pieces have no identity.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Chart tracking: AU - UK - US - DE ( Memento of the original from April 16, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - AT - CH
- ↑ Kerrang! : Asking Alexandria frontman, Danny Worsnop, Quits Band
- ↑ Kerrang! : Asking Alexandria Reveal Frontman, Stream New Song I Won't Give In
- ↑ Alternative Press : Is this Asking Alexandria's new singer? - News - Alternative Press
- ↑ a b Kai Butterweck: Laut.de : Asking Alexandria - The Black Criticism
- ↑ Alternative Press : "Danny Worsnop has left Asking Alexandria - UPDATED - News - Alternative Press"
- ↑ Blabbermouth.net : Asking Alexandria: 'I Won't Give In' Video Released
- ↑ Blabbermouth.net : Asking Alexandria Releases New Song 'Undivided'
- ↑ Alternative Press : Stream Asking Alexandria's heavy new single, The Black
- ↑ Chad Childers: Loudwire : Bullet for My Valentine Announce 2016 'British Invasion Tour' With Asking Alexandria
- ↑ Matt Brown: Metalinsider.net : Metal By Numbers 4.6: Asking Amon Amarth about Alexandria
- ↑ Chad Childers: Loudwire : Danny Worsnop 'Very Happy' for Asking Alexandria
- ↑ Rock Sound : Asking Alexandria - The Black Review
- ↑ Natasha Van Duser: Alternative Press : Asking Alexandria retain metalcore stronghold with 'The Black'
- ^ Anton Kostudis: Metal.de : Asking Alexandria - The Black Criticism
