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It’s always odd logging into a Zoom call with an infamous rockstar – mostly because you’re almost always surprised.
In the case of Asking Alexandria’s frontman, Danny Worsnop, I’m used to seeing him on stages clad in leather, chains, and a raucous “f**k you” attitude.
In reality (through a computer screen, anyway) he comes off far more thoughtful than one might expect; patient with his answers, and genuinely hilarious.
Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, Worsnop wasn’t afraid to open up about the tough parts of being in Asking Alexandria – a band who, after 15 years, is still going strong, despite the issues they might’ve endured along the way. The most obvious “problem” came in 2015 when Worsnop unceremoniously quit the band before going off to start his own outfit, We Are Harlot. In mid-October, the following year (2016) Worsnop was inducted back into the band, and they’ve been regularly releasing records ever since.
Fast forward to 2023, Asking Alexandria’s eighth album, Where Do We Go From Here?, is out now, and poses a question to not only its fans but the band itself: With such a laboured legacy and almost two decades under their belts, what the hell are they going to do next?
“It’s not necessarily a negative question,” Worsnop said of the album’s title, before adding: “There are definitely negative parts to it. With the exception of myself, everyone [in the band] has children, families – everyone has their own lives. And this job – as dream job as it is – it takes a lot of time away from that.”
Daring to show off some humbleness, Worsnop pointed out that, compared to the average nine-to-five worker, he recognises that rock bands work “a lot less” than anyone in the real world. But that does come with a price. “We’re away for months at a time,” he said. “The guys have watched their children grow up through phones, and that weighs heavily on people. So… there is that negative side.”
Reality aside though, Worsnop did point out that Where Do We Go From Here? is more of a call to action for the British Northerners. “There’s also the positive because there’s nothing but opportunities [for the band]. How do we find a way to balance those two things so we get the best of both worlds? Where do we go from here, what’s next? We live in a different world now where albums are a dying breed – rotten fruit. But what is next, how do we navigate this world?”
This introverted challenge began in the writing and recording process for Asking Alexandria’s new album. Each band member worked (creatively and technically) separately, all over the world using their own equipment. Worsnop himself recorded all the album’s vocals in his home recording studio. But this time around, they went in with the mantra to keep things simple. Don’t take any chances. Don’t experiment.
“Usually,” Worsnop explained. “It’s very free and experimental. This album… we very purposefully tried nothing new. And this one was very much supposed to be a collection that’s representative of everything we’ve done up to now, rather than us exploring creatively – like we usually do – and trying new stuff.
“We wanted to put this [album] as more of a placeholder for ‘here’s everything from up ’til now, here’s a little bit of every album all in one place.’ So, I suppose that adds a new element. It combines it all into one thing.”
With a thoughtful pause, he doubled down: “We didn’t want to try anything new, we didn’t want to reinvent the wheel, we didn’t want this to be another explorative album. We wanted it to be the album that looks back.” You can certainly see what he’s talking about when you really dive into Where Do We Go From Here? There are echoes of Asking Alexandria’s most recent albums in there (Let Go), but also whiffs of the brutality present in their life-changing debut record, Stand Up And Scream (Dark Void & Kill It With Fire).
Despite how thoughtfully Worsnop (and, presumably, the rest of the band) approached this record, the Florida-based rocker was quick to admit he doesn’t always look at Asking Alexandria as a passion project anymore. Worsnop said: “I only need to do 12 Asking songs a year to have an album – but, I’ll be honest, sometimes it feels like work. And, ultimately I’ve got to do 12 songs. That’s 12 days works.”
He added with a smirk: “If I have to do 12 days work a year to, on paper, not have to work for the rest of the year? I’ll suck it up. If my voice could physically stand singing for 24 hours I’d do it all in a day. It takes me the same amount of time to record a song as it takes for me to drive to the airport from my house.”
When Worsnop boiled it all down to 12 songs a year, it didn’t sound very glamorous, fun, or enjoyable. So how does he keep himself impassioned about actually “working” each day? “I love spending grotesque amounts of money on music equipment,” he cackled. “I buy something new before every session as an excuse to use it!”
With a dropped face and a serious tone, he added: “But as far as writing… I try and make sure I write at least one song a week. I enjoy it, I love it. It’s something that keeps my brain going and in a state of not [being] absolutely insane… but 99.9 percent of that isn’t Asking songs.”
Worsnop was referring to his solo project, something he is obviously emotionally invested in. He last released an album (Shades of Blue) in 2019, and admitted he has “been working on his next record for three years”. (One of his masterpieces even made it into this new Asking Alexandria album – the titular Where Do We Go From Here?)
But, he confirmed, come Monday morning, 9am, he’ll start working hard on the ninth Asking Alexandria record. “I’ve got some ideas,” he explained. “In the chamber, right now, I’ve got four or five things, that are close to being solid skeletons of what the songs could be.”
Other than that, Asking Alexandria are going on tour in the USA and Mexico throughout October and towards the end of 2023. Right now, nothing has been planned for 2024, but Worsnop admitted he would love to return to UK soil and play for his countrymen.
Asking Alexandria – Where Do We Go From Here?
