ASKING ALEXANDRIA Guitarist Says METALLICA's 'Black' Album Changed His Life

Stephen Wayne of iRockRadio.com conducted an interview with ASKING ALEXANDRIA guitarist Ben Bruce before the band's February 2 concert at The Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts. You can now watch the chat below.

Asked if there was one album in particular that changed his life, Ben said: "Oh, man. There's so many. I come from a family of musicians, so music's just pretty much in my blood. I grew up listening to a lot of blues, like Gary Moore and Eric Clapton. I think Gary Moore's 'Still Got The Blues' album completely changed my life; it made me wanna pick up a guitar in the first place. But then I started listening to bands like METALLICA, and then even heavier, like SLIPKNOT and SYSTEM OF A DOWN. I think the thing that really, really sold me was… I was probably 16 or 17 and I heard METALLICA's 'Black' album for the first time. You know 'Through The Never', that main riff, I was, like, 'That's what I wanna do for the rest of my life.' That was just the moment for me. I remember bouncing up and down in my bed, just uncontrollable excitement. I was, like, 'This is weird. Why am I jumping in my bed? I'm too old for this.' But I was so excited by that album. And that was it. I was, like, 'This is what I'm doing for the rest of my life.'"

ASKING ALEXANDRIA's latest, self-titled album was released on December 15 via Sumerian. The disc marks the group's first full-length effort with singer Danny Worsnop since he rejoined ASKING ALEXANDRIA in the fall of 2016.

"Asking Alexandria" was produced by FROM FIRST TO LAST's Matt Good and mixed by Taylor Larson.

The reunion between Danny and ASKING ALEXANDRIA was confirmed in October 2016 following weeks of rumors and speculation regarding the status of his replacement, Denis Shaforostov, who joined the band in 2015.