It was only a couple of months ago that I came across a very interesting article in the music magazine Terrorizer regarding the very active metal scene in the Middle-East and I was quite shocked to find out the difficult circumstances which numerous young musicians/bands have to cope with in their effort to express themselves through their music.

In some countries the 'scene' is so underground simply in order to protect the band members from facing long jail terms or even the...death sentence!!!! Anyway, it seems that some countries are more open-minded and 'tolerant' than others, seeing as the U.A.E-based metalcore outfit Asking Alexandria is supported by a proper label, which is currently in the process of promoting the band's debut album "The Irony Of Your Perfection".

My limited experience regarding bands whose origins are from the wider region indicates that they tend to include many traditional themes and local instruments in their music, something that I always welcome with much interest. In the case of Asking Alexandria, though, there is not a single element in their music that betrays the band's origins - on the contrary, you will find it hard to believe that this quartet is located so far from either Sweden or the United States, the two countries whose music scenes could be classified as the band's main source of inspiration. So, having said that, what should one expect from this young outfit?

Well, one thing that's clearly audible is that the members of Asking Alexandria are following the rules of modern-sounding Emo/Metalcore music to the letter, so is that a good thing or not? As far as the overall sound is concerned, this sixteen track album has little (if nothing) to envy from the classic releases of the genre, which really means that if you like compositions based on a simple melodic riff and which feature numerous screamo vocals and clearly performed melodic/pop-y refrains then "The Irony Of Your Perfection" should indeed be your next purchase.

As far as I'm personally concerned, what I came across is a collection of professionally performed compositions that had nothing really new to offer, and which often sounded repetitive to my ears. Having said that, I did enjoy listening to "Bitter Revenge, Sweet Tragedy", on the basis of being more of a straight-forward melodic Punk composition, and "Wings For The Sake Of Falling" whose clever use of background atmospheric keyboard tunes reveals an aspect of the band's character that I would hope that they will choose to invest in more in their future releases.

I believe that "The Irony Of Your Perfection" is a very good first step for any band, one that the members of Asking Alexandria should definitely feel proud of. I do believe, though, that they should now begin to work on these elements that will help them gain their own musical identity and allow them to present us with something much more inspirational next time round. I wish them luck.

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Review by John Stefanis