With two #1 albums and four RIAA Gold-certified singles over the last 15 years, Asking Alexandria has solidified their place as one of the most influential rock bands of this generation. Through years of relentless touring, Asking Alexandria has consistently pushed boundaries and entertained audiences worldwide. The band- Ben Bruce (lead guitar), Danny Worsnop (vocals), Cameron Liddell (guitar), Sam Bettley (bass), and James Cassells (drums) – released their eighth studio album in August, Where Do We Go From Here? At the time of this interview, the band was wrapping up an extensive co-headlining U.S. tour with The HU, Bad Wolves, and Zero 9:36.
As the album continues to resonate with fans and critics alike, we caught up with drummer James Cassells before a show in Milwaukee, WI to chat about the album, tour, and how Asking Alexandria has evolved over their 15-year journey. “We sort of went about this album a little bit differently to other albums,” he shared. “Overall, every album has its own originality- its own flavor. And I don’t think that’s necessarily something that we intentionally did. It’s just, you know, as we’ve progressed as musicians and people we just write and create different things. But this album, we really wanted to try and draw in from all of the previous albums, to sort of make a mixture of all of them. So it has like, ideas and concepts from all of the previous 15 years of what we’ve been doing. I think, going in with that mindset has made this album quite a rounded album. I think it has a little bit of something for everyone. We intentionally tried to do that.”
For this album, the band took a very different approach to the recording process: “Pretty much every song on this album I had a really great time recording. This is the first time I recorded it actually, at my own house in my studio. We recorded pretty much all of this album remotely and separately. I mean Ben flew out when Danny was tracking some vocals. And obviously, when we were writing, we were together. But apart from that, when we were actually tracking, we were actually doing it all separately, and then just sending it to each other, you know, like much more remotely, which is, again, something different that we’ve done this time around.”
Cassells took this unique opportunity to experiment with his own sound, as he shared, “Not that I’ve been holding myself back or playing more reserved in previous records, but I’ve always sort of played for the song, but this one, not selfishly, but I sort of played a little bit more. Like I put a little bit more into it. And everyone sort of enjoyed that. You know, for instance, I talk about the song Bad Blood, it has a very fast, almost like a blast beat in the chorus, which wasn’t there when we wrote the song, but when I went to start tracking, it sounded right, and I sent it over and everyone was like, ‘This is amazing. We need to keep this.’ But something like that, a few years ago I may not necessarily have approached a section in that way. So it was a really fun time recording it and just having a little bit more freedom of expression on the drums.”
The band’s recent press release stated that “the album is a culmination of the band’s career,” so the question had to be asked, “Does culmination mean, ‘the end’?” Thankfully, no, according to Cassells, “This is not the end. But the question of ‘where do we go from here” is it’s like, that is still a relevant question. Because this is like, this is the last 15 years, and from here on out, we’re going into a new chapter, you know? But it’s not the end. Don’t worry about that.” And for that matter, he shared that they still have quite a few songs that have not seen the light of day yet. “We’ve got a few songs, old songs that we might have… Danny’s been toying with the idea of dropping some old demos that we did a very long time ago. And Ben has been toying with the idea too. So that might happen – that might come to fruition…
If we actually got down to it and tried to finish every song or every idea we had, we would have about twice as many albums. We’ve got a lot of songs and concepts just, you know, bouncing around in the background.”
Photo Credit: Danny Worsnop
When speaking about Where Do We Go From Here? Cassells encouraged listeners to give the album a complete listen. As he said, “Give it a listen – listen to it the whole way through. Because, you know, we can see how people are consuming it, you know, as we release stuff. And I think a lot of people nowadays – you know, the younger generation to me and the guys in my band – people don’t listen to full records anymore. But I think it’s a really great thing to do. Just like, you put a record on at the start and listen to the whole thing. You know, nowadays because obviously, Spotify and TikTok and all of these very quick, short bursts of entertainment, whether those be visual or musical or whatever… I think just giving yourself 40 minutes, 50 minutes, and just really embracing a whole piece of work, I think that’s something that a lot of people should do more often. It’s because the way that people consume music has changed. It’s streaming now, you know, like, people don’t go buy a record, you know, oh, I mean, sh*t, where do you even go buy a CD now? It’s now just vinyl for collectors. No one listens to the vinyl, they just put it on the wall, you know? So it’s not I don’t think it’s particularly anyone’s fault, but I think just realizing that you can enjoy music in the old school way- it’s sometimes a good thing to do.”
Cassells also spoke about how the band has grown and evolved over the last 15 years: “You know, when you’re talking about a big amount of time, especially when some of the guys were 16 when they joined this band – I was 19 when I joined – so 15 years is a long time when we joined in, you know, our teen years. So over the years, we’ve grown together into men, you know? Now a lot us are fathers, married. We’re just very different people. So as far as pivotal moments, there have been a lot. We’ve seen people getting married, playing these big shows for the first time, going to countries, experiencing stuff together, you know? Like, the first time we went through like Australia and Asia and all these faraway countries. I mean, personally, I didn’t ever dream of going to them. I’d never even been to America before joining the band, so, you know, just exploring the world with these guys. It’s come to a point now where it’s like, we’re not just friends, we’re pretty much we’re family right now. I don’t think any of us will ever lose touch with one another, even if, for some reason the music stops. I don’t know, like, the world throws music away, we’d all still be like really good friends.”
As the Psycho Thunder tour was coming to a close, Cassells reflected on the experience of touring, specifically with Mongolian band The Hu. “The tour has been great. It’s, it’s been a really, really fun time,” he shared. “We’re with The Hu right now, actually a Mongolian metal band that’s quite interesting. We share the same label. So not necessarily a band we wouldusually play with, you know, we have quite different sounds, but it’s been cool, it’s been interesting. I’ve never met anyone from Mongolia before. There’s eight guys in the band. They have a translator with them. So it’s been fun, after the show having some beers and a little bit of a downtime. Like the other night, me and my drum tech were outside, just kicking outside the bus and then their drummer, well, one of the drummers comes out and he doesn’t speak very much English at all. But we hung out with him for hours, you know, just communicating in broken English and just like, you know, sharing some beers and cigarettes and stuff, it was a fun time. But yeah, very different. Usually we deal with, you know, American, English, European bands or bands that speak fluent English. So very different.”
After the final show of the tour on October 8th at The Wiltern in Los Angeles, the band’s plans are to play at Hell and Heaven Open Air in Mexico. “And then after that, we will be done for this year. We are starting to plan and ramp up for 2024. We’ve got some shows confirmed in quite a few places. I don’t think I can say because they haven’t actually been announced yet. But we have some pretty cool stuff coming in 2024. So yeah, so it’s looking to be busier next year for us touring-wise.”
Photo Credit: Wombat Fire
Over the past 15 years, this band has achieved tremendous success, with numerous albums and a dedicated fanbase. Looking ahead, Asking Alexandria is gearing up for an exciting 2024, with plans for more shows and surprises on the horizon. While they may be wrapping up this year’s touring, it’s clear that the band’s journey is far from over. In essence, Asking Alexandria’s 15-year history is a testament to their resilience, creativity, and enduring friendships. As they continue to evolve and explore new musical territories, fans can eagerly anticipate what the future holds for this influential rock band. So, stay tuned for what promises to be an exciting next chapter in the Asking Alexandria story.
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