Since the departure of Asking Alexandria’s lead singer Danny Worsnop back in January of 2015 the fanbase has been nothing but disrespectful and hateful towards the band and their new singer Denis Stoff. I myself being a part of this fanbase have never felt so ashamed of it in my entire life. It’s time the Asking Alexandria family gets their heads out of their asses.
Asking Alexandria (AA) is a five piece band from England that up until the beginning of 2015 was made up of lead singer Danny Worsnop, singer and lead guitarist Ben Bruce, guitarist Cameron Liddell, bassist Sam Bettley, and drummer James Cassells. From 2009-2015 the band released three albums and traveled the world playing headlining tours for their fans as well as playing festivals such as Vans Warped Tour, Mayhem, Metalfest, and Never Say Never. Their third album “Death to Destiny” in 2013 reached number five on the Billboard's Top 200. Asking Alexandria was and still is very involved with their fan base and over the years the AA family has showed nothing but support to the growing band.
The small band from Nottingham was in the fast lane and nothing seemed to be able to stand in their way, well except for their lead singer. Danny Worsnop no longer wanted to scream the words he and Ben spent all these years creating. He was no longer the 19-year-old scene kid we met in 2009. As much as we wish we could turn back the clock, we couldn't. The band and the fans both had to accept the Danny didn’t want to be a part of Asking Alexandria anymore, he was holding them back from making another album and they all knew it so on January 22, 2015, Danny announced his departure from the band. Telling everyone he was doing what was best and his heart was no longer in it. He wanted to take his music elsewhere.
After that day the AA fanbase changed and not necessarily for the better. Ben reassured the family that Asking Alexandria was more than just Danny and that we all would make it all through this but how could we? I know I myself was sobbing into a pint of ice cream while I watched old Bryan Stars interviews of Ben and Danny with “I’m Moving On” playing in the background, but as time went on most of the fans, including myself, got over it. Yes, we still missed Danny but soon Denis Stoff was announced as the new singer and we were ready for the next chapter of Asking Alexandria. After a long four month wait the band finally released their first single with Denis in May titled ‘I Won’t Give In'. There were a lot of mixed feelings of Denis, people were unsure if his vocals would live up to the former singer, but he was able to prove himself that summer when the band played Vans Warped Tour. To many of the fans surprise, Denis was really good and he was a great fit, while others didn’t agree. AA was back on track again, but the fans weren't.
Since Denis joined I have personally have seen fights over which singer is better. People have commented things such as “So disappointed in this band now. Danny needs to come back.” and “We don’t care because we aren’t listening to the new AA its garbage, DANNY is AA!” I have seen comments saying how their new album sucks and the band itself sucks. These accusations are coming from actual fans. When someone rebuttals and tells them they aren't a fan most will reply saying they are, but only of the "old Asking Alexandria." I would like someone to tell me when AA broke up and a new one was formed because the last time I checked Ben told us that they weren't breaking up because the band was more than just Danny. The AA family needs to wake up and realize what they are doing.
You are making a bad name for all of us by fighting with each other. We need to come together as a family and support the boys. That includes Danny and Denis. I understand people have certain feelings about each singer but we need to realize that Denis is the new singer and he is very talented. He's not Danny but he doesn't have to be. He joined our family in a time that we needed him most and he has been all in ever since. As for Danny, yes he left us but he did what was best for him and AA. He no longer wanted to be a part of the band and keeping him in it was not healthy for him or the rest of the guys. It was destroying the band. People change all the time that’s why many artists change their style after a while. Danny was ready to change but AA wasn't so he moved on and if you supported him while he was in AA then you should still support him in We are Harlot and in his solo career. You don't have to like the music he sings you just need to give the man some respect for continuing to do what he loves.
We need to focus on coming together and being the AA family that we were before and show the boys and Danny that we still love and support them all.