Stand Up and Scream


Stand Up and Scream is the debut studio album by English rock band Asking Alexandria. Produced by Joey Sturgis, it was released on 15 September 2009 through Sumerian Records. The album has peaked at No. 170 on the Billboard 200, No. 29 on Top Independent albums, and No. 4 on Heatseekers Albums. The record managed to remain on the Heatseekers Albums chart at No. 36 until the end of July 2010.

Background

The title of the album is chosen from a lyric in the second track "Final Episode ", where the relevant line within the chorus reads "Just stand up and scream, the tainted clock is counting down".
Six of the tracks featured on the album had demo counterparts released early on through the band's MySpace and PureVolume accounts. These include, "Nobody Don't Dance No More", "Final Episode ", "A Candlelit Dinner with Inamorta", "Not the American Average", "A Single Moment of Sincerity", and "I Was Once, Possibly, Maybe, Perhaps, a Cowboy King". When downloaded, the ID3 tags displayed Demo or Demo 2008.
The song "Hey There Mr. Brooks" is written as a homage to the film, Mr. Brooks. Its lyrics feature many references to scenes in the film.

Musical style

Stand Up and Scream incorporates elements of melodic metalcore, trance, techno, and pop. Alternative Press cateogorized the album as "scene music", and said it also incorporates elements of emo and screamo. The album employs death growls, clean vocals, staccato guitar riffs, open-note drop-tuned breakdowns, and synthesizer leads. The album drew comparisons to Bring Me the Horizon.

Music videos

In September 2009, Asking Alexandria shot their debut music video for the song "Final Episode ". In the video, the musicians play in a dark room, dressed in black. Also shown is a table, on which stands the glass with water. Throughout the video, the glass gradually shifts to the edge of the table and finally falls down and breaks in the end.
In 2010, the music video for "A Prophecy" was released. It was filmed in Los Angeles in its entirety during the band's headlining tour, "Welcome to the Circus", in between tour dates. It features the band playing in a dark alley during a storm, and cuts between shots of the band and a woman falling through the ocean. There is also a shot of James Cassells spitting fire towards the end before the last breakdown.
In 2010, Asking Alexandria shot a performance video of "If You Can't Ride Two Horses at Once... You Should Get Out of the Circus" at Chain Reaction in Long Beach, California. It is included on their EP, Life Gone Wild.
During the Epicenter 2011, Asking Alexandria shot a performance video for "Not the American Average".

Critical reception

Phil Freeman of AllMusic criticized the album's tracks as "faceless and unmemorable" and did not believe fans of the genre would enjoy the album's electronic breaks.
Alternative Press Magazine included the track “If You Can’t Ride Two Horses At Once You Should Get Out Of The Circus” on its list of "13 metalcore songs any death-metal fan can like."

Track listing

Personnel

Asking Alexandria
  • Danny Worsnop – lead vocals, keyboards, programming
  • Ben Bruce – lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards, programming, co-lead vocals on tracks 8 and 9
  • Cameron Liddell – rhythm guitar
  • Sam Bettley – bass
  • James Cassells – drums
Additional musicians
Production
  • Joey Sturgis – production, engineering, mixing, mastering
  • Nick Sampson – additional editing
  • Sons of Nero – artwork
  • Phill Mamula – photography
  • Amanda Fiore and Ash Avildsen – art conception
  • RED Distribution – distribution

    Charts

Chart Peak
position