In a new interview with Merlin Alderslade, Asking Alexandria guitarist Ben Bruce talked about how the music industry is treating artists. He said:
“The industry doesn’t give a f*c* about the artists – the industry cares about dollar signs.
“The drunker we were, the harder we were partying, the more dr*gs we were doing, the more they could keep us out on the road, and the more press and attention we were getting. That’s all they care about.
“They’re like, ‘We’ll keep feeding the machine, and it’ll keep spitting out dollars, and eventually – when sh*t hits the fan – the next band will come along behind them that and we can do the exact same thing to them.’
“It’s a never ending cycle, and it’s sad because you see people like Chester Bennington… ultimately, I believe that’s what killed him. A life-long career in the music industry.
“It’s depressing, and people don’t realize. People always say, ‘Thank you for saving me with your music,’ but I think people don’t realize where that music comes from.
“He hasn’t written that song for you. F*c* yeah, it’s awesome that it’s helped you, but this has come from a very deep and personal place, and people forget that.”