Reckless & Relentless

Reckless & Relentless is the second studio album by British rock band Asking Alexandria. It was released on 5 April 2011 through Sumerian Records and was produced by Joey Sturgis. Announced on 22 December 2009, recording for the album began in June 2010 at the Foundation Recording Studios in Connersville, Indiana and ended in the fall of that year. The songs "Welcome", "Reckless & Relentless", "To the Stage", "Dear Insanity", and "A Lesson Never Learned" make up the short film Through Sin + Self-Destruction, which features the band's "party hard" lifestyle.

Not to be confused with Relentless Reckless Forever.

Reckless & Relentless
Studio album by
Asking Alexandria
Released5 April 2011[1]
RecordedJune–September 2010
StudioFoundation Recording Studios, Connersville, Indiana, U.S.
Genre
Length42:25
LabelSumerian
ProducerJoey Sturgis
Asking Alexandria chronology
Life Gone Wild
(2010)		 Reckless & Relentless
(2011)		 Stepped Up and Scratched
(2011)
Singles from Reckless & Relentless
  1. "Morte et Dabo"
    Released: 15 February 2011
  2. "Breathless"
    Released: 18 February 2011
  3. "Someone, Somewhere"
    Released: 2011
  4. "Closure"
    Released: 5 July 2011
  5. "To the Stage"
    Released: 12 July 2011
  6. "Reckless & Relentless"
    Released: 15 July 2012

Background and promotion

Reckless & Relentless was recorded during the summer and autumn of 2010 at the Foundation Recording Studios in Connersville, Indiana. The first official confirmation of the sophomore full-length was on 22 December 2009, wherein Asking Alexandria announced that they were to start the works on a second album in January. They informed that they were to be streaming parts of the writing process through a webcam feed via the service Stickam. It was also announced that they will be entering the studio on 1 September 2010, again with producer Joey Sturgis, who produced the band's debut album Stand Up and Scream. The band later announced that they were scheduled to begin recording on 22 June 2010. Asking Alexandria confirmed through an interview with Shred News that the album would be released on 5 April featuring 12 tracks.[3] However, the original album was supposed to contain 13 tracks and 3 bonus iTunes tracks. This didn't make it because they didn't wish to delay the album release date. In the same interview, the band informed that a title was not yet established. One song, "Breathless" was played live to promote the album, and was released with their Life Gone Wild EP.

During an interview with Fallen Blue, Danny Worsnop said of the album cover, "We wanted something shocking, so we had the famous porn actress, Belladonna, just sitting in The Dirty Room." Danny further discussed, "Someone, Somewhere", a song off the new album as the first one "that I wrote the lyrics using my emotions as a backdrop."[4]

The first official single from the album entitled "Morte et Dabo" was released on 15 February 2011, as announced beforehand by the band. Pre-orders for Reckless & Relentless were made available on 3 March 2011. A music video for "Closure" was released 5 July 2011 and a music video for "To the Stage" was released on 12 July 2011.

Composition

Style

Musically, Reckless & Relentless is primarily a metalcore album that includes only a few elements of euro-trance compared to Stand Up and Scream and also has influences of classic rock and metal.[5] It also has influences of deathcore as displayed on the song "Morte et Dabo". It debuted at number 9 on the Billboard 200, selling more than 31,000 copies in its first week.[6]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Alternative Press[8]
Mind Equals Blown[9]
Revolver[10]
Rock Sound[11]
Ultimate Guitar[12]

Reckless & Relentless received generally positive reviews from music critics. Phil Freeman from AllMusic gave the album a positive review, saying, "What separates Asking Alexandria from most of their peers is an awareness of classic rock & roll dynamics – some of the riffs they write are straightforward updates of Guns N' Roses or Skid Row (two of whose songs they covered on their Life Gone Wild EP), and they're as interested in getting listeners singing along as moshing."[13] Alternative Press also gave the album a positive review, saying, "Asking Alexandria haven't radically changed their sound, but there's enough evolution on Reckless & Relentless to convince any listener that they're more than metalcore also-rans or one-trick ponies".[14]

Commercial performance

Reckless & Relentless debuted at number 9 on the Billboard 200, selling more than 31,000 copies within its first week.[6] It spent 7 weeks on the chart whilst also debuting within the top 5 of the Billboard Rock Albums, Hard Rock Albums and Independent Albums charts.[15] It also peaked at number 30 and 98 in Australia and the United Kingdom.[16][17] Reckless & Relentless has sold over 161,000 copies in the U.S alone.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Danny Worsnop, Ben Bruce and James Cassells, except where noted. All credits according to ASCAP[18].

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Welcome" 1:49
2."Dear Insanity" 3:09
3."Closure"Worsnop, Bruce, Cassells, Sam Bettley, Cameron Liddell3:58
4."A Lesson Never Learned" 3:54
5."To the Stage" 3:30
6."Dedication" 1:03
7."Someone, Somewhere" 3:36
8."Breathless" 4:09
9."The Match" 4:15
10."Another Bottle Down" 3:34
11."Reckless & Relentless"Worsnop, Bruce, Cassells, Bettley, Liddell4:08
12."Morte et Dabo"Worsnop, Bruce, Cassells, Bettley, Liddell5:14
Total length:42:25
Best Buy bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."When Everyday's the Weekend" (Big Chocolate remix)3:51
14."Nobody Don't Dance No More" (Noah D remix)3:49
15."If You Can't Ride Two Horses at Once... You Should Get Out of the Circus" (Noah D remix)3:53
16."I Was Once, Possibly, Maybe, Perhaps a Cowboy King" (Robotsonics remix)5:31
17."A Prophecy" (Big Chocolate remix)4:26
Total length:62:52
Hot Topic bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."The Final Episode (Let's Change the Channel)" (Borgore's Die Bitch remix)4:12
14."A Candlelit Dinner with Inamorta" (Run DMT remix)4:14
15."A Prophecy" (Big Chocolate Electro remix)4:17
Total length:54:06
Japanese bonus track
No.TitleLength
13."Right Now (Na Na Na)" (Akon cover)4:20
Total length:46:45

Personnel

Credits for Reckless & Relentless adapted from AllMusic.[19]

Trivia
  • New Zealand hard rock trio Like a Storm reference "A Lesson Never Learned" in their 2014 release "Wish You Hell".

Charts
Charts Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart (ARIA Charts)[16]30
UK Albums Chart[17]98
US Billboard 200[15]9
US Rock Albums (Billboard)[15]4
US Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[15]2

References
  1. "Asking Alexandria Biography"
  2. "Asking Alexandria – Reckless & Relentless". AltPress. 11 April 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  3. "alexandria-interview/ "Shred News interview with Asking Alexandria"". Shrednews.com. 12 March 2010. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  4. "Fallen Blue interview with Asking Alexandria". Fallenblue.org. Archived from the original on 12 January 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  5. "Reckless & Relentless – Asking Alexandria". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  6. "Adele re-takes top album spot; Jennifer Hudson drops from Top 10". USA Today. 13 April 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  7. Allmusic review
  8. "The Match". "Alternative Press". Alternative Press. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  9. Powell, Dylan. "Asking Alexandria Reckless and Relentless". Mind Equals Blown. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  10. "Revolver Magazine review". Revolvermag.com. 8 April 2011. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  11. Faye Lewis. "Rocksound review". Rocksound.tv. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  12. "Ultimate Guitar review". Ultimate-guitar.com. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  13. Freeman, Phil (5 April 2011). "Reckless & Relentless – Asking Alexandria : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  14. Asking Alexandria haven't radically changed their sound, but there's enough evolution on Reckless & Relentless to convince any listener that they’re more than metalcore also-rans or one-trick ponies
  15. https://www.billboard.com/music/asking-alexandria/chart-history/
  16. Steffen Hung (24 April 2011). "Asking Alexandria – Reckless & Relentless". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  17. http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/110416cluk.txt
  18. "Asking Alexandria – Reckless & Relentless Songwriting Credits". ASCAP. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  19. "Reckless & Relentless – Asking Alexandria". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
  20. The lead singer of Dubai-based Asking Alexandria
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