Benjamin Paul Bruce (born 31 October 1988) is an English musician. He was the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Asking Alexandria Asking Alexandria are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates and now based in York, York, North Yorkshire, consisting of guitarist Cameron Liddell, drummer James Cassells, vocalist Danny Worsnop, and bas ...

until his departure in January 2024 and has also performed as a solo artist. Bruce founded the band while he was living in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

but the band split and he moved back to the United Kingdom, where he then started the band again under the same name with Danny Worsnop.

Biography

Early life

Bruce was born in

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...

, South London on 31 October 1988. At the age of six he and his family moved to

. 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

. Bruce started playing the electric guitar at the age of 12 after being inspired by

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

guitarists such as

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, sh ...

and

Gary Moore Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 19526 February 2011) was a Northern Irish musician. Over the course of his career, he played in various groups and performed a range of music including blues, blues rock, hard rock, Heavy metal music, heavy ...

he then started listening to

pop punk Pop-punk (also punk-pop, alternatively spelled without the hyphen) is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop music, pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop s ...

groups such as

Blink-182 Blink-182 is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California, in 1992. Its current and best-known line-up consists of bassist and vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though its so ...

Sum 41 Sum 41 was a Canadian rock band formed in Ajax, Ontario, in 1996. The band's final lineup consisted of Deryck Whibley (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards), Dave Baksh (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jason McCaslin (bass, backing vocals), Tom T ...

and

Green Day Green Day is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Rodeo, California, in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their majo ...

and later,

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

bands like

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

and

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

. He insisted on learning to play electric guitar and would learn songs by ear. Bruce has stated that some of his favourite records consist of:

's '' Kill 'Em All'' for its raw and aggressive sounds,

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

' ''

Appetite for Destruction ''Appetite for Destruction'' is the debut studio album by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, released on July 21, 1987, by Geffen Records. It initially received little mainstream attention, and it was not until the following year that ''App ...

'', and Slipknot's debut album which influenced him into more extreme metal genres.

2006–2024: Asking Alexandria

While living in the UAE, Bruce formed the first incarnation of Asking Alexandria in 2003 under the names "Amongst Us" and "End of Reason" before settling to the current name in 2006, which consisted of entirely different members compared to that of the band's lineup from 2008. The band released their debut album titled ''The Irony of Your Perfection''. Bruce moved back to England,

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

in 2006 at the age of 17 with the band following, only for them to leave after a month due to not being fully committed to the project. Bruce then reassembled the band with new members from the local area, including lead singer Danny Worsnop, of which he had moved into his flat apartment in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

. He carried the name 'Asking Alexandria' over to the new lineup due to not wanting to bother to come up with a brand new name, so he stuck with the old one. When asked why he chose that particular name, he explained that "Most bands have a pretty shit band name, so I just came up with something. I came up with Alexandria as a human name, because people relate to humans." although the reason for using the word 'asking' is not explained. The band released their first official debut album titled '' Stand Up and Scream'' in 2009 via Sumerian and

Victory The term victory (from ) originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a strategic vi ...

records, produced by

Joey Sturgis Joey Sturgis (born January 3, 1985) is an American record producer and owner of The Foundation Recording Studio in Connersville, Indiana. Sturgis started recording in 2004 including producing the Asking Alexandria single "The Final Episode" whic ...

. Although it didn't chart in the UK, it did chart in the US, peaking at; 4 in the

Top Heatseekers The Heatseekers charts were "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales b ...

, 24 in the

Top Hard Rock Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

and 29 in the

Top Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' mag ...

. The band's second album, titled '' Reckless & Relentless'', was released in 2011 via Sumerian records, which again featured Joey Sturgis. This time, the album did chart in the UK, peaking at 7 on the

UK Rock Chart The UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart and UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart are record charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company (OCC) to determine the 40 most popular singles and albums in the rock and heavy metal genres. Th ...

, and also charted in Australia at 30 on the Australian Albums Chart. They released their third album, titled '' From Death to Destiny'' in 2013 via Sumerian Records and peaked in the US at 5 and the Top Hard Rock Albums at 1, and also charted in the UK at 28 and in Australia at 11, making it their most commercially successful album to date. On 19 January 2024, Bruce announced on Instagram that he was stepping away from Asking Alexandria to spend more time with his family.

2014–present: Solo

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

, his solo album, and his latest project We Are Harlot. When interviewed by

Artistdirect Artistdirect (stylized as ARTISTdirect) is an American online digital media entertainment company. Overview Founded in 1996, it owns several websites, including artistdirect.com and artistdirectinterviews.com. These websites are a group of affi ...

'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 In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment In January 2015, Danny Worsnop stated that Bruce has completed his album and will be releasing it that same year. In March 2014, Bruce was revealed as a featured artist on the cover

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

Florence + The Machine Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, released by

Sumerian Records Sumerian Records is an American record label based in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and London. The label was founded in 2006 by Ash Avildsen.Shake It Out. 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 Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, ''Life thru a Lens'', was re ...

and Oasis." and further stated that he finds Robbie Williams to be his main influence. It was also revealed that the album will be released through

Sumerian Records Sumerian Records is an American record label based in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and London. The label was founded in 2006 by Ash Avildsen. 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.

Other ventures

2011–present: BB Clothing

Bruce started his own clothing line originally in 2011 and existed as an online business, separated from official merchandise associated with

. 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.

2014–present: KBB Records

In March 2014, it was announced that Bruce, along with

's manager, Kyle Borman, had launched a record label called 'KBB', and had signed a

rap metal Rap metal is a fusion genre that combines hip hop music, hip hop with heavy metal music, heavy metal. It usually consists of heavy metal guitar riffs, funk metal elements, Rapping, rapped vocals and sometimes turntablism, turntables. History O ...

band called 'Scare Don't Fear'. 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. It was revealed later that month that

Caroline Records Caroline Records is a record label that was founded in 1973. Founded in the United Kingdom to showcase British progressive rock groups, the label ceased releasing titles in 1976 and then re-emerged in the United States in 1986. The label rel ...

will be in a distribution partnership with KBB Records. The label's first release and the band's debut album, 'From the Ground Up', was released on 17 June the same year. 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. 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?'" ;Current roster *Scare Don't Fear (2014–present) *The Family Ruin (2014–present) *Run 2 Cover (2015–present) *A Fall To Break (2015–present)

Filmography

Released on 13 October 2017, Ben Bruce was featured in the film ''

American Satan ''American Satan'' is a 2017 American Supernatural fiction, supernatural musical film, musical thriller film directed by Ash Avildsen, who also wrote the screenplay with Matty Beckerman. It was released in theaters on Friday October 13, 2017, ...

''. Bruce plays the character 'Leo Donovan'. 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.

Discography

Asking Alexandria * ''The Irony of Your Perfection'' (2007) * '' Stand Up and Scream'' (2009) * '' Reckless & Relentless'' (2011) * '' From Death to Destiny'' (2013) * '' The Black'' (2016) * ''

'' (2017) * '' Like a House on Fire'' (2020) * '' See What's on the Inside'' (2021) * '' Where Do We Go from Here?'' (2023)

Collaborations and other songs

Accolades

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce, Ben English heavy metal guitarists English rock guitarists Musicians from the London Borough of Wandsworth Musicians from Dubai Kerrang! Awards winners Asking Alexandria members 21st-century British guitarists 1988 births Living people