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Danny Worsnop is an English singer-songwriter, born and raised in Beverley, England, most notable for his work in metalcore outfit Asking Alexandria. After splitting from Asking Alexandria (albeit, only for a few years) Worsnop formed We Are Harlot and released a critically acclaimed album of stunning quality. The 80’s stadium rock inspired album turned a few heads, especially those old enough to remember when stadium rock was king. But this was nothing compared to what Worsnop had planned for his debut solo album. Now we have… a country album, ‘The Long Road Home’.
Country music takes on many shapes and forms, maybe not as many quirky sub genres as metal but still quite a few: classic country, bluegrass, Americana, outlaw country, red dirt, country rock, and the dreaded bro-country, being just a handful of examples. Excluding the ‘chicks and beer’ mentality of bro-country, the common thread running through the remaining sub genres is the honesty in the songwriting. The laying bare of emotions and getting the demons front and centre for all to witness. Danny Worsnop has had more than his fair share of demons, and perhaps for this reason, he is suited to this emotive form of cleansing the soul, ‘Prozac’ and ‘Quite A While’, in particular, spring to mind.
Now, I can’t say that I’m a fan of country music, but I decided to give this album a go because, well, I like Danny Worsnop, and I like what he did with Asking Alexandria. I mean, Worsnop made a big song and dance about different genres of music, which made for a massive discussion within the metal community at the time, so I thought to myself, nobody makes that sort of noise for no reason, y’know? His output between splitting from Asking Alexandria and his recent return to the band proves that he likes to wear many hats. So here I am, listening to Danny Worsnop’s solo album, ‘The Long Road Home’. My initial thoughts were quite pleasant, to be honest. I didn’t know what I should expect, but anyway… I found myself enjoying what was playing through my earphones. I liked the honesty of Danny’s life stories, through his depression, drug and alcohol abuse, wasting himself away, taking advantage of what he had built for himself, his faith, and religion. My favourite tracks from ‘The Long Road Home’ have to be… ‘Prozac’, ‘Mexico’, ‘Anyone But Me’, and ‘High’. ‘Mexico’ is Worsnop’s first release from the album, and I can understand why. It’s definitely the most catchy track, but more importantly, a bit more uplifting than the rest. It’s the closest that the album strays to bro-country territory, but that’s because ‘Mexico’ is probably the least emotionally charged track on the album. A perfect, switch your brain off summer smash. Kid Rock must be pissed he didn’t write this one. The others I have listed as my favourites have a different value to them, a story, an emotion… which I liked a lot.
Overall, I did enjoy this album. Good on Danny for trying something different and doing what he wanted to do. It’s an album I’d happily keep in my collection, and one I’d go back and have a listen to every now and again. Also, I’ll say this to all my fellow AA fans, give it a shot! What’s there to lose? I mean, Danny is back with AA anyway (wink, wink).
‘The Long Road Home’ is available February 17th through Earache Records
Review: Carol Black
