Ben Bruce (Asking Alexandria): As I Get Older, I Play More Solos

In January, you released the EP Never Gonna Learn, only a few months after your last record See What's On The Inside. Were the tracks "New Devil" and "Miles Away" also recorded during the same sessions as See What's On The Inside?

Yes, "Miles Away" was even written before that. We recorded one version years ago, but now we've made some changes to it and recorded it again during the sessions for See What's On The Inside. There were a few songs that were written and recorded while we were working on the new record, but somehow their sound didn't fit into the whole context of the album. So they were part of the same journey, but we decided to leave them for another occasion in the future. So the release of the EP was just another step in the story and era of See What's On The Inside.

In "New Devil," we can hear Maria Brink from the band In This Moment. How did this collaboration start?

It's kind of funny because at first we just started recording music and didn't think about any other voice. We recorded the track, played it and then when we started working on the vocals and Danny started singing, something reminded me of Maria. I don't know if it was the tone of his voice, the melody or the overall sound. Suddenly, I heard her. We've known each other for many years, we've crossed paths with In This Moment many times at festivals around the world, we've always got on well. So I thought we should get Maria to sing the song with us. Danny wrote it and within a minute we had the answer: "Let's do it." It was very quick. We didn't tell her exactly how we wanted her to sing it. We just knew we wanted her voice in the song. We gave her complete creative freedom. She wrote her own lyrics, her own melodies. It was fun.

The last two years have been very challenging for many bands. For some, it was a well-deserved rest, some used the time off from touring to make a new record, like you. What was the thing you missed the most during the pandemic?

The pandemic was quite a useful reset for us. We could stop and be normal people again. We got to stay home with our kids and wives, which we enjoyed. But to be honest, I missed performing live and travelling the world. Waking up in a different European city every day, playing in front of fans who support your band. That connection between you and the fans is indescribable, irreplaceable. Giving that up for two years was really hard.

What was your composing and recording process like? Was everything done remotely? Did you do anything you were not used to? If so, what was the biggest change?

We did it completely differently this time. A lot of the riffs and ideas were created here at home, in this room, while I was at home. I picked up my guitar and recorded riffs—never the whole song, just an idea or an interlude. Then we all went into the studio together. We had our own lockdown in the studio in Tennessee, away from everybody. We were all in the studio together for the first time in ten years. It's a fast-paced world nowadays: you record an album, you tour, you record, you tour, and so on. We finally had enough time to get together, sit down, write songs, reconnect as friends, as bandmates. It was an amazing experience.

You all live in the USA, where you moved 14 years ago. It must have been a really big change.

Yes, we left around 2008. Well, I was born and lived in England until I was five, then we moved to Dubai, so I grew up in the Middle East. I'd already moved around a bit, so this was a big change especially for the other guys. But there are still times when I miss England. It's still two different countries after all.

In what ways has living in the USA influenced you the most? What impact has it had on you as a person?

It's hard to say. It's probably small, funny things. For example, I forget how English people pronounce things. Someone on an English TV show says a word and I don't remember the English saying it that way at all. That and little things like that.

Have you ever thought about moving back to the UK? Is there anything you miss from your home country in the US?

Yes, we have debated this topic quite a lot. My family and I are very close and it's hard for me to be away from my mum and sister, especially as I'm getting older. I realise that my parents are also getting older and I should make some time for them. I think a lot of people realised during the pandemic how precious and short life is. So we've talked about it, but it's a tough decision. We have children here who go to school, my wife has a job here, we have friends here.

In Asking Alexandria, you have two guitarists from the beginning, you on solo guitar and Cameron plays rhythm guitar. Did you have your roles set from the beginning?

Basically, yes. I grew up playing a lot of blues, playing a lot of solos, but Cameron didn't. He's always played big guitar riffs and was never interested in the solo guitarist position. Well, and I never wanted to be just a rhythm guitar player. So we had our roles defined from day one.

Is it me, or do I hear more guitar solos in the newer Asking Alexandria songs?

Yeah, there are a lot more solos than in the past. I think it's come with age. I've always been very influenced by rock bands like Queen, Metallica and different blues artists like Clapton and Gary Moore. The older I get, the more I allow those influences to shine through. On the last album, we were influenced a lot by bands like Metallica, Pantera and Avenged Sevenfold, so I was like: "Fuck it, I'm going to play solos again." We did a song with a solo and then I decided to put them in every song.

Why didn't you use them so much in your previous work? Did the solos just not fit the style of the songs you were writing, or was there another reason?

I don't know if it was just because the solos didn't fit into our work. When we were younger, we were influenced by bands that were popular at the time. Yeah, I said I grew up listening to Queen and Metallica and stuff like that. But when you're younger, you're also influenced by the things that are around and trending. In the early days of Asking Alexandria, solos weren't cool. Now that we're older, we realise that this is what we like, what we love, and we can do it on a bigger scale now.

Somewhere on the internet I saw a poll in which you chose ten guitar heroes. And I was surprised that you weren't afraid to put players as different as Brian May and Tom DeLonge from Blink 182 next to each other. I mean, fans of Queen and Brian May can turn up their noses at Blink 182 and it can be the same the other way around. I like the common sense approach where you didn't just pick based on technical skills, but you looked at the player as a whole, including the ability to write a good song...

Yes. I think that's important. You don't have to be the fastest or the most technically proficient. I think Tom DeLong wrote great, memorable guitar licks and choruses. He was a great inspiration to me, a guitar player that I looked up to. Sometimes I'm into Zeppelin or the Beatles, sometimes I'm into Blink 182 or Slipknot. I love music, all kinds of music. It's not about how technically advanced someone is, I'm more interested in what they did to be so great.

I don't think the guitar was your first instrument. You started on piano, didn't you?

My grandmother was a pianist and I used to play with her. When I grew up and I was about ten, I started taking lessons, but I realised that the piano wasn't the right instrument for me. I love the sound of the piano and I love listening to it, but I didn't really enjoy playing it. I was getting interested in rock music and I just wanted to play guitar. A lot of my friends played guitars too. Their parents bought them acoustics with the idea that they would switch to electric later. But my dad bought me an electric guitar right away. So I never really had an acoustic guitar, just an electric guitar with great distortion and a small practice amp. I knew this was right for me.

Do you use other instruments to write songs or do you compose exclusively on guitar?

Always the guitar. A few times I've written a part on the piano or I've had an idea for a drum beat. I had a beat and then wrote music to it, but 99% of the time it's always the guitar.

For a few years, your main guitar was an Ibanez, but in recent videos you've been seen with a Fender Telecaster. Why the change?

Yes, I switched to Fender, I also play Custom Strats a lot. Ibanez is a great company to work with, but there's something I've always missed about Ibanez. Like I said, I grew up listening to blues, and I like guitars that have emotion and feel and a distinct tone and sound. Fender's great at that. Whenever I play a Fender, especially the Custom Shop series, there is something magical about it. They sound great, they're personal.

Which guitar do you prefer from the acoustic ones?

I love Taylors. They're fantastic. It's funny, I love Fender electric guitars, they're some of the best guitars in the world, but I'm not a fan of their acoustic guitars. For me, Taylors are the best.

CD sales have increased for the first time in seventeen years. What do you personally prefer? CDs, LPs or streaming services?

It's funny, times are changing. If I want to sit down and listen to music with high quality sound and really enjoy it, I choose vinyl. I like streaming though—it's so easily accessible. Most of the time when you're listening to music, you just want to create an atmosphere, whether you've got some dinner guests or the kids are having a dancing party in the living room or you want to be with your wife. It's all there, you can listen to whatever you want. I like playlists because you can discover new music very easily through them.