Ben Bruce

Bruce was born in Wandsworth, South London on 31 October 1988.^[1] At the age of six he and his family moved to Dubai.^[2][3] He would later move back to England in 2006 at age 17 in order to gain recognition in the music industry, which he would gain after forming Asking Alexandria.^[3]

Bruce started playing the electric guitar at the age of 12 after being inspired by blues guitarists such as Eric Clapton, B.B. King and Gary Moore he then started listening to pop-punk groups such as Blink-182, Sum 41 and Green Day and later, metal bands like Metallica and Iron Maiden. He insisted on learning to play electric guitar and would learn songs by ear.^[4] Bruce has stated that some of his favourite records consist of: Metallica's Kill 'Em All for its raw and aggressive sounds, Guns N' Roses' Appetite for Destruction, and Slipknot's debut album which influenced him into more extreme metal genres.^[5]

Mientras vivía en los Emiratos Árabes Unidos, Bruce formó la primera encarnación de Asking Alexandria en 2003 bajo los nombres "Amongst Us" y "End of Reason" antes de adoptar el nombre actual en 2006, que estaba compuesto por miembros completamente diferentes a los de la formación de la banda de 2008. La banda lanzó su álbum debut titulado The Irony of Your Perfection . Bruce regresó a Inglaterra, Nottingham, en 2006 a la edad de 17 años, con la banda siguiéndolo, pero se fueron después de un mes debido a que no estaban completamente comprometidos con el proyecto. Bruce entonces reunió a la banda con nuevos miembros de la zona, incluido el vocalista Danny Worsnop , a quien había mudado a su apartamento en York . Mantuvo el nombre "Asking Alexandria" para la nueva formación porque no quería molestarse en buscar un nombre completamente nuevo, así que se quedó con el antiguo. ^{[ 6 ]} Cuando se le preguntó por qué eligió ese nombre en particular, explicó que "La mayoría de las bandas tienen nombres de bandas bastante malos, así que simplemente se me ocurrió algo. Se me ocurrió Alexandria como un nombre humano, porque la gente se identifica con los humanos", aunque no se explica la razón para usar la palabra "preguntando". ^{[ 7 ]}

La banda lanzó su primer álbum debut oficial titulado Stand Up and Scream en 2009 a través de Sumerian y Victory records, producido por Joey Sturgis . ^{[ 8 ]} Aunque no entró en las listas del Reino Unido, sí lo hizo en los Estados Unidos , alcanzando el puesto 4 en Top Heatseekers , el 24 en Top Hard Rock Albums y el 29 en Top Independent Albums . ^{[ 9 ]} El segundo álbum de la banda, titulado Reckless & Relentless , fue lanzado en 2011 a través de Sumerian records, que nuevamente contó con Joey Sturgis. ^{[ 10 ]} Esta vez, el álbum sí entró en las listas del Reino Unido, alcanzando el puesto 7 en UK Rock Chart , y también entró en las listas de Australia en el puesto 30 en Australian Albums Chart . ^{[ 11 ] [ 12 ]} Lanzaron su tercer álbum, titulado From Death to Destiny en 2013 a través de Sumerian Records y alcanzó el puesto número 5 en EE. UU. y el número 1 en Top Hard Rock Albums, ^{[ 9 ]} y también entró en las listas del Reino Unido en el puesto 28 y en Australia en el puesto 11, convirtiéndose en su álbum más exitoso comercialmente hasta la fecha. ^{[ 13 ] [ 14 ]}

On 19 January 2024, Bruce announced on Instagram that he was stepping away from Asking Alexandria to spend more time with his family.^[15][16]

Bruce announced that he would start recording his first album as a solo artist on 6 January 2014, after Danny Worsnop's open involvement with both Asking Alexandria, his solo album, and his latest project We Are Harlot.^[17] When interviewed by Artistdirect's Rick Florino, Bruce stated that he had recorded his solo album when asked about the direction it is leaning into he responded with "There's nothing really heavy about it. There are a few classic rock 'n' roll tunes on there. Really, it's a lot of softer rock stuff." and compared it to Keane or Oasis, going on to say that it is a more of a chilled rock album, he also stated that he is the primary vocalist of the album and has eased off the guitar duties for this particular album.^[18] In January 2015, Danny Worsnop stated that Bruce has completed his album and will be releasing it that same year.^[19]

In March 2014, Bruce was revealed as a featured artist on the covercompilation album of Florence + The Machine, released by Sumerian Records, of which he covered the single Shake It Out.^[20] When Rocksound queried on the sound of the solo album, Bruce stated that he'd describe it as "Chilled out. I'd honestly liken it to Keane, Robbie Williams and Oasis." and further stated that he finds Robbie Williams to be his main influence.^[21] It was also revealed that the album will be released through Sumerian Records later in 2015, however due to the departure of Danny Worsnop from Asking Alexadria, Bruce decided to put his solo career on hold while he gets his main band up and running again with a new singer and album.^[21][22] Since then he has stated that he has written more material for his solo project and intends to record new songs along with re-recording his older ones once he has some time off from touring.^[22]

Bruce started his own clothing line originally in 2011 and existed as an online business, separated from official merchandise associated with Asking Alexandria. Bruce remained inactive on the project after 27 June 2013, the last date which he added new designs to his brand, but released a statement that more designs will be released in the following year.^[23]

In March 2014, it was announced that Bruce, along with Asking Alexandria's manager, Kyle Borman, had launched a record label called 'KBB', and had signed a rap metal band called 'Scare Don't Fear'.^[24] The band themselves decided to sign with KBB due to other record labels requesting them to change their style of music, while Ben Bruce expressed that he didn't want anything to change in their sound and to maintain it instead, giving the band more freedom in their creativity.^[25]

It was revealed later that month that Caroline Records will be in a distribution partnership with KBB Records.^[26] The label's first release and the band's debut album, 'From the Ground Up', was released on 17 June the same year.^[27] In May the same year, it was revealed that metal band 'The Family Ruin' had also been signed and added to the roster and will be releasing an album later the same year.^[28]

When he was asked why he created the label in the first place, he explained that he loved every aspect of music and wanted to be further involved in the music industry whether it's writing it, performing it, or helping other bands, and explained that it initially started with "groups of my friends starting bands and asking for my help to manage them. I thought, 'Wouldn't it be great if I could actually help bands that I think are worthy of being helped and deserve to be somewhere more than just giving them advice?'"^[18]

Current roster^[29]

• Scare Don't Fear (2014–present)
• The Family Ruin (2014–present)
• Run 2 Cover (2015–present)
• A Fall To Break (2015–present)

Released on 13 October 2017, Ben Bruce was featured in the film American Satan. Bruce plays the character 'Leo Donovan'.^[30]

Ben has also done filming the spin-off series of American Satan called Paradise City in 2019, the series was later released on 25 March 2021.^[31]