One year after the release of their album See What’s On The Inside, British rock band Asking Alexandria have re-released the track “Faded Out” as a single featuring Sharon den Adel of Within Temptation. 

The new version will also appear on The Retaliators soundtrack, a horror-thriller film following a pastor and his daughter’s murder. The film and its accompanying soundtrack will be the stage for a number of rock star cameos. 

Like many other bands, they found a creative groove during quarantine, which resulted in their aforementioned 2021 album. They also released their album Like a House on Fire in 2020 during quarantine; See What’s On The Inside came swiftly after. “Faded Out” describes a depression so deep that days don’t seem worth rising for or living through. The band doesn’t attempt to hide its devastated tone, even going so far as opening with desperately, bluntly sad and lost lyrics: “I don’t wanna wake up lately/The days are getting longer/It feels just like I’m going through the motions/I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

Asking Alexandria’s Danny Worsnop tackles these lyrics in the first verse and the first chorus, followed by den Adel’s take in the second verse and chorus. 

She sings about the same sentiment, this time describing what she needs to escape the sadness she feels: “Give me something real to hold onto/’Cause I don’t know what’s real anymore.”

It makes sense that this song would be tied to The Retaliators with its hopeless protagonist. The music video, which is directed by Michael Lombardi, explores similar themes but is inspired by Apple TV+’s Severance series. Alongside clips of Asking Alexandria and Sharon den Adel performing, the video shows a man “who’s uttered a tremendous loss, as he awakens to a colorless existence and descends into a bloody subhuman universe.”

Watch the video and listen to the song here:

When describing the recreation of the band’s song, lead guitarist Ben Bruce said, “‘Faded Out’ is just one of those songs with an infectious energy and groove! I remember it coming together in the studio and thinking ‘I can’t wait to play this live.’”

Both Bruce and den Adel praised each other and described their excitement to work together. Bruce said, “When I was 14 or 15 years old, I waited in line at Virgin Megastore to meet Within Temptation at a signing and I handed Sharon a demo of my band. Adding Sharon’s vocals to the song and teaming up with Within Temptation is a huge honor for us and it also brings a whole new dimension to the song.”

Den Adel shared similar thoughts: “Asking Alexandria is amongst the top bands we have been spinning over the past years. Their songs are heavy and melodic at the same time, therefore it was a no-brainer when they asked us to join them on ‘Faded Out!’ We are evenly honored to be a part of this amazing song and we hope everyone will love it as much as we do!” She will be touring with Within Temptation in support of Iron Maiden later this year.

Photo Credit: Mehreen Rizvi