Live Review: Asking Alexandria w/ Bless The Fall & Buried In Verona @ The Met

The last time Australia saw Asking Alexandria was back in 2014, when Soundwave still existed and Danny Worsnop was still with the band as the lead vocalist. While 2015 may have seen the end of the Worsnop era, it also saw the return of the new Asking Alexandria. Now the band are back to showcase this to their Aussie fans and they brought along their friends in Bless The Fall and Sydney’s very own Buried in Verona.

Buried in Verona were given the task of opening up the night of metalcore and rock, with their first single Can’t Be Unsaid from their latest album ‘Vultures Above, Lions Below’. While most support bands try their hardest to be memorable to a crowd wearing another bands merch, Buried in Verona are not one of those bands. With fists raided and heads banging, the band pushed the energy levels to the ceiling, most notably with their war cry “You fucking make me sick!” that opens up Separation. While the theme of their seven-song setlist was to play the brand new, there was an ode to the old through fan favourite Hangin Hoes by Their Toes.

Nothing really sums up the set Bless the Fall gave other than the fact it was a wild time from start to finish. Opening up with a much older track Hollow Bodies, the band wasted no time in showing Australia exactly what they’ve got, and from the crowd’s reaction you’d think they were headlining the night. Vocalist Beau Bokan has an enormous amount of energy that he brings to the stage, barely stayed still the 45-minute set. From trying to get the crowd pumped to then ripping his shirt off to jump into the sweaty crowd, well we struggled to keep up. The songs were played with very little time in between, including What’s Left of Me, Exodus, and Walk on Water.

Asking Alexandria finally took to the stage to answer the question of what they’d be like with their new vocalist? Joining a band after a much loved member leaves is hard enough, but when you’re replacing a vocalist that has been there from the start there’s always going to be added pressure. But the moment former Make Me Famous guitarist and Down & Dirty frontman Denis Stoff joined previous members onstage to begin I Won’t Give In it was clear he’d cast aside any doubt that had come into the venue with the critics (and fans).

Despite a strong focus on the latest album ‘The Black’, the old wasn’t neglected with a selection of songs being chosen from all four of their previous albums with ‘The Death of Me’, ‘Run Free’, and all the way back to 2009’s ‘Not The Average American’. While we were never given the chance to see the old Asking Alexandria Stoff’s transition into the band felt and sounded so easy. He’s been praised for his vocal range and style, which apparently is inspired by Worsnop during the Asking Alexandria’s early years. Asking Alexandria have always had a strong cult-like following, but as the final song played out (ironically named The Final Episode) no one walked out of there wanting to flashback to 2014.

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