"Undivided", a brand new song from the British metalcore band ASKING ALEXANDRIA, can be streamed below. The track is the second ASKING ALEXANDRIA cut to feature Denis Shaforostov, formerly of Ukrainian metalcore act MAKE ME FAMOUS, who was confirmed as the new ASKING ALEXANDRIA singer back in May.In interview with U.K.'s Kerrang! magazine, ASKING ALEXANDRIA guitarist Ben Bruce stated about the band's new addition: "Everyone guessed it was Denis, and I think they did so because they know Denis was the right choice to make. He's an incredibly talented vocalist, from the multiple wide range of screams that ASKING ALEXANDRIA obviously needs and will continue to have, and his singing and range is out of this world. He's been a fan of the band for a long time, so he's familiar with all our old songs, and he really cares about the band. He's a passionate, cool guy; it's the perfect scenario."Added Denis: "I had this gut feeling, man; I totally felt something big was going to happen right before the guys reached out to me. It's crazy. Honestly, I've never been waiting for such an opportunity to ever knock at my door but, as the same time, I was always ready for it. Without a doubt, I was extremely stoked and I poured all of my emotions into the writing for the new ASKING ALEXANDRIA record."Bruce wrote a lot of the lyrics on ASKING ALEXANDRIA's forthcoming album about the group's former singer, Danny Worsnop, but ended up re-writing them at the urging of Shaforostov.In a recent interview with BryanStars, Bruce stated about the upcoming CD: "We've never gone into a studio thinking, 'We wanna write this, this, this, this.' We just always go in and write whatever feels right. I'll sit down and just play, and whatever comes out, that's what this album's gonna sound like. But one thing that was a huge, huge difference which was really refreshing is Denis was really involved with the writing. He would critique me, he would give me ideas, he'd be, like, 'I've heard you do better. Do better.' And he really, really pushed me, whereas Danny would just kind of not do anything. I'd send him the songs and he'd be, like, 'That's shit. I don't like it. It's too heavy. And then, 'If I have to do it, I'll do it.' So there wasn't much interaction between me and Danny. But with Denis, he was very hands-on. He wasn't in the country for a lot of it, so we did a lot of Facetime calls, a lot of texting, a lot of mobile calls and stuff. He was really involved, so I think that's just made for a better and more well-rounded album, especially because he was a fan of the band before. So I'd send him something and he'd be, like, 'Dude, I've heard you do better than this. This is not your best work,' which was awesome. So I definitely think this is the best ASKING ALEXANDRIA record that we've ever written. I think old fans are gonna love it. I think new fans are gonna love it. I just don't see how you can't. I hate sounding cocky, but it's so good, I listen to the songs and I'm singing them they're stuck in my head which is something I've never done with our records before."Asked how ASKING ALEXANDRIA's forthcoming album compares to some of the band's earlier efforts, Bruce said: "I think there are some huge arena-rock songs just massive songs that I can just see in an arena just thousands of people singing every word from start to finish. So they're not heavy, but they're just great, great songs. But, for the most part, the record's actually a lot more similar to [2011's] 'Reckless & Relentless'. We've brought a lot more of the electronic influence back. Obviously, [2009's] 'Stand Up And Scream' is very electronic-driven, and we've brought a lot of electronics back. Not in the same way it's not techno or anything like that but there's a lot of electronic sounds and ambience and stuff, which is really cool. I don't know
We wanted to feel young again. So I sat down with Joey [Sturgis, producer] and I listened to 'Stand Up And Scream' from start to finish, and I listened to 'Reckless & Relentless' from start to finish, and I was, like, 'These albums are sick, man. I miss that raw energy, that aggression, that passion that we had.' So I think we've brought a lot more of that back into this new record."Joining ASKING ALEXANDRIA on the band's upcoming European tour will be MEMPHIS MAY FIRE (October 14-28 only), AUGUST BURNS RED and IN HEARTS WAKE.
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