We spoke to ex-Asking Alexandria and Make Me Famous vocalist Denis Stoff in a world exclusive interview to find out EVERYTHING, including what’s next for him.
This is what he had to say.
YOU’VE BEEN TEASING A LOT ABOUT A NEW BAND AND NEW MUSIC ON SOCIAL MEDIA. CAN YOU TALK TO US ABOUT WHAT THAT IS?
Says Denis Stoff:“That’s pretty much all I do these days, first and foremost. Things are going to be very exciting. It’s lots of good music, I’ve surrounded myself with very talented people, so, I cannot wait!”
DOES THE STYLE REFLECT WHAT YOU’VE DONE IN THE PAST, OR IS IT SOMETHING DIFFERENT?
“It’s different, but it’s not going to be as heavy as it used to be. I can’t even mark it with some sort of tag, honestly. People just need to hear this new stuff.”
DO YOU THINK GENRE IS EVEN THAT IMPORTANT A THING ANYMORE?
“I guess to some people it is, but not to me. I don’t really care, I just want to play music that I really love, you know. We grow, we evolve as musicians, as artists, as songwriters, so we just always want to do something new, something fresh.”
YOU MENTIONED YOU HAVE A LOT OF SONGS YOU WROTE BETWEEN 2012 AND 2017 THAT YOU HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO RELEASE…
“There’s at least an album that I could have released.”
SO YOU WEREN’T ALLOWED TO RELEASE IT?
“Yeah, pretty much. Asking didn’t want us to put out any other music other than ‘The Black’. I was definitely down with that back in the day.”
YOU MENTION ASKING ALEXANDRIA – ARE YOU PROUD OF THE ALBUM YOU MADE WITH THAT BAND?
“Absolutely. It’s been nothing but good times. I learned a lot while I was in Asking Alexandria, there’s no bad blood between us. I had to leave the band for a very private reason, but it was nothing but great times. ‘The Black’ is the tits.”
IT’S GOOD THAT IT WAS A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE. DID YOU LEARN A LOT FROM THAT PERIOD?
“Absolutely. I’ve gained such a massive fanbase too, so it’s win-win.”
AND HOW DO YOU FEEL LOOKING AT PREVIOUS BANDS LIKE MAKE ME FAMOUS AND DOWN AND DIRTY?
“I’m proud of it, but it all sounds funny to me these days honestly. It’s like, ‘Get ready for real shit.’”
IN WHAT SENSE? DO YOU FEEL LIKE THE THINGS YOU’RE WORKING ON NOW ARE A BIT MORE TRUE TO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO?
“I was 18 or 19 when I was working with those bands. I’m 25 right now, I’m definitely open to whole different new perspectives in music.”
SO WHAT HAPPENED WHEN YOU LEFT ASKING ALEXANDRIA?
“I don’t even know where to begin with on this one. It’s been a year, and it was a very tough decision for me but I had to leave the band. As you’ve heard before I’m originally from Ukraine, and there was too much shit happening pretty much back home where I’m originally from. It’s a legit warzone right now.
“That was an incredible stress for me and my family, and I had to stop touring for a second and I had to focus on my family and all the things that were happening back there back then.”
HOW WAS IT HAVING TO GET USED TO A BAND WITH FOUR PRE-EXISTING MEMBERS?
“It was fantastic, it felt like home. Asking Alexandria felt fantastic for me, but unfortunately the guys were not ready to wait for me and the things I had to fucking deal with.”
YOU SOUND POSITIVE WHEN YOU LOOK BACK ON IT…
“Every decision we made, they lead us to the things that are naturally ours and essentially ours. So I’m very excited to see where this new band and this new record is going to bring me in life and in the music industry.”
HAS YOUR TIME IN ASKING ALEXANDRIA IMPACTED HOW YOU’VE WRITTEN THE NEW SONGS?
“Not really, honestly. I’m always writing about the things that I feel at a certain time in my life. So, this whole record was more about lots of personal things, lots of personal thoughts, songs that wouldn’t be about Asking Alexandria.
“Asking Alexandria were nothing but great times in my life.”
THAT’S GOOD TO HEAR!
“All the things that we achieved in such a short time with Asking Alexandria, man, it fucking felt like I graduated Harvard! So yeah, great time, great time.“
WHEN ARE WE GOING TO HEAR NEW MUSIC FROM YOU?
“I’ve been waiting to release new music for quite a while now. I think we finished up the writing this past August. We’re ready to hit the studio, we’re just figuring everything out with Sumerian Records, we’re going to re-sign with them. So yeah, we’re definitely aiming for a release quite soon, soon enough at least.”
HOW FRUSTRATING HAS THE WAIT TO RELEASE NEW MUSIC BEEN?
“I can’t even express how fucking annoying that is, just sitting and waiting. I know one thing, though; once it’s all launched, we’re going to be fucking releasing lots of music, lots of music videos.
“We’re thinking about releasing a little mixtape after we release a record, because there’s just too much music. We just want it all out.”
ARE YOU EXCITED TO GET BACK ON THE ROAD, TOO?
“Absolutely, absolutely. I’m thinking we’re going to be on the road for the entirety of 2018.”
HAVE YOU MISSED IT?
“Yeah! I enjoy my time in the studio back home, but being on tour, on the road, is the best thing in the world – at least for me. I feel like I belong to that certain thing in this world.”
SO WHERE WILL YOU BE BRINGING THIS NEW PROJECT?
“All across the world, that’s the plan.”
