Stand Up and Scream

The title of the album is chosen from a lyric in the second track "Final Episode (Let's Change the Channel)", where the relevant line within the chorus reads "Just stand up and scream, the tainted clock is counting down".

Six of the tracks featured on the album had demo counterparts released early on through the band's MySpace and PureVolume accounts. These include, "Nobody Don't Dance No More", "Final Episode (Let's Change the Channel)", "A Candlelit Dinner with Inamorta", "Not the American Average", "A Single Moment of Sincerity", and "I Was Once, Possibly, Maybe, Perhaps, a Cowboy King". When downloaded, the ID3 tags displayed Demo or Demo 2008.

The song "Hey There Mr. Brooks" is written as a homage to the film, Mr. Brooks. Its lyrics feature many references to scenes in the film.

Stand Up and Scream incorporates elements of melodic metalcore, trance, techno, and pop. Alternative Press cateogorized the album as "scene music", and said it also incorporates elements of emo and screamo.^[8] The album employs death growls, clean vocals, staccato guitar riffs, open-note drop-tuned breakdowns, and synthesizer leads. The album drew comparisons to Bring Me the Horizon.^[9]

The album's instrumentation is considered to be simplistic. Revolver stated that the album was "a pointed rebuke of the athletic guitarwork and scraggly mosh parts of the previous generation — a breakdown-addled, electro-infused, lyrically vapid take on metalcore that was loathed by old-heads as it became the new face of the genre."^[10]

The album's lyrics have been described as being "not safe for work."^[11] Loudwire stated that the track "Not the American Average" contained "allusions to sexual assault." The band stopped playing the track live in 2019. Lead singer Danny Worsnop said the decision was because "everyone’s so fucking offended by everything." He continued:

"There’s the whole misogynistic and sexist angle [of the lyrics] that people could criticize it for, and the social climate has reached a point that means we’re going to get ahead of the bullet and retire this one before it becomes an issue. I actually can’t stand playing it, so I’m glad – I’ve been trying to drop it for years!"^[12]

In September 2009, Asking Alexandria shot their debut music video for the song "Final Episode (Let's Change the Channel)". In the video, the musicians play in a dark room, dressed in black. Also shown is a table, on which stands the glass with water. Throughout the video, the glass gradually shifts to the edge of the table and finally falls down and breaks in the end.

In 2010, the music video for "A Prophecy" was released. It was filmed in Los Angeles in its entirety during the band's headlining tour, "Welcome to the Circus", in between tour dates. It features the band playing in a dark alley during a storm, and cuts between shots of the band and a woman falling through the ocean. There is also a shot of James Cassells spitting fire towards the end before the last breakdown.

In 2010, Asking Alexandria shot a performance video of "If You Can't Ride Two Horses at Once... You Should Get Out of the Circus" at Chain Reaction in Long Beach, California. It is included on their EP, Life Gone Wild.

During the Epicenter 2011, Asking Alexandria shot a performance video for "Not the American Average".

More information Review scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[13]
Ultimate Guitar	[14]

Close

Phil Freeman of AllMusic criticized the album's tracks as "faceless and unmemorable" and did not believe fans of the genre would enjoy the album's electronic breaks.^[13]

Alternative Press Magazine included the track “If You Can’t Ride Two Horses At Once You Should Get Out Of The Circus” on its list of "13 metalcore songs any death-metal fan can like."^[15]