Ben Bruce: Asking Alexandria Back With ‘Original F–king Members’
Yesterday (Oct. 20), we reported that Asking Alexandria appeared to be prepping for the return of original vocalist Danny Worsnop. Both the band and their label, Sumerian Records, flooded social media with images from early in the band's career as the band readies their '10 Years in the Black' tour. During a Facebook live event (video below), guitarist Ben Bruce stated, "Asking Alexandria is back to the way we started with the original f--king members."
Bruce opened up the video with some lighthearted banter before acknowledging the online chatter that started with the rumors yesterday. He revealed that Denis Stoff is no longer in the band, stating, "We didn't kick Denis out of the band, he stopped talking to us." The axeman went on to detail the tour he was forced to sit out and how proud he was of the group's soldiering on without him.
The next step was to shoot a music video for "Fly Me Home" as well as some early writing stages for the next record, but Denis had gone silent. After various forms of attempted communication, Bruce received a message from Stoff that said, "Asking Alexandria does not exist unless I get what's owed to me," though Bruce was unsure of the exact wording.
The guitarist also confirmed that he and original singer Danny Worsnop had mended fences recently, explaining, "Obviously over the last few months we've rekindled our relationship with Danny. What happened in the past sucked and it hurt us and obviously I said things and Danny has said things — that happens. It was in the past and it was s--t, but at the end of the day we've been best friends for a decade and that's why this is the move that's right for us — right for us as a band, right for us as people and friends and right for Asking Alexandria."
Expressing the formal details will be coming, Bruce also mentioned, "We will tell you all the details as soon as we possibly can and all the guys can be with me and everyone can tell you how they feel and I just don't feel right doing that myself right now. As I say, the other guys are just as important as I am I feel it's only fair that they get to tell their side of the story too."
Following this, he confirmed the biggest piece of news yet, stating, "Asking Alexandria is back to the way we started with the original f--king members The reason that we're all here today is because of the five guys that started this band... and those five guys are back in the room together again."
It is assumed this means Danny Worsnop is back in the band, despite Bruce not mentioning Worsnop by name when stating that the original members are back together. Historically, Worsnop has been considered an original member of Asking Alexandria.
The band will kick off their '10 Years in the Black' tour on Oct. 25 with support coming from Born of Osiris, I See Stars, After the Burial, Upon a Burning Body and Bad Omens. Get the full list of dates at our 2016 Guide to Rock + Metal Tours.
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