Alesana

Very unique sound for a screamo band! I'm sick of emo/screamo bands that are carbon copies of each other. This band has a similar style in the sense that if you like this genre, you will like the band. But vocally they are worlds apart. worth a listen.

don't get me wrong, i love the CD, i thought the allusions to mythology are awesome and done well;
almost like retellings of those old stories in a modern context or with a modern outlook;
my only complaint was that i liked "try this with your eyes closed" also by Alsesana alot better, i was expecting the same kind of sound, but the songs had been redone between CDs, i think "On Frail Wings Of Vanity And Wax" had a slightly softer sound, but still awesome none the less;
it would have gotten a five from me if they hadn't done better on their other CD.
all together, they're a great band, this is a great CD, you should get it, and if you like it, i'm sure their next will be amazing

Contrary to popular belief, screamo vocals are incredibly hard to pull off effectively. Want proof? Try searching your own voice. If you can find it in you to actually scream, chances are it'll be a sound somewhere in between generic cookie monster metal growling and what-the-f#@k-was-that!? Now, setting aside the fact that this band is pretty much all about style over substance, the vocals are completely and totally wretched. I mean, I'm talking some of the worst you've ever heard. Take a listen to the samples and tell me what you think.

I've recently been getting back into the genre after leaving it behind post high-school, but bands like alesana (and a day to remember, just to name drop) assure me that I probably didn't miss much while I was gone.

Alesana's introduction to the world with On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax pegged them for a Chiodos/Receiving End of Sirens hybrid: hard, heavy hardcore/metal/rock, inspired by the science and/or mythology of antiquity. A love it or hate it singing style. In the best bits, interesting musical progression and concept. Exemplifying this from Alesana's debut is the opening track "Ambrosia," with its stop-start rhythms and gear-shifting vocal tacts. Unfortunately, with their sophomore release, this band proves that they possess precious few other tricks in their Bag of Holding.

The vocals alternate between three modes: a shy, nasal, warbling whimper; gutteral howling; and valiant attempts to sing far too far out of one's singing range. Incredibly, this fact is simultaneously a selling point (interesting musical texture), and a reason to want to throw the stereo out the window (ears bleeding from tuneless, high-pitched singing)---which is nothing unusual for casual listeners of this genre, but Alesana (and also Chiodos, in particular) take it to a previously unheard-of level.

The lead guitarwork is busy, self-conscious; overuse of harmonization and pedal tones lends a cheesy 8-bit vibe to some of the otherwise technically proficient passages. It's the rhythm section where the interesting bits of Alesana are buried: what sounds like war drums back up thick guitars that chug and stop in unique patterns---but this is mostly buried in monotony. Discerning listeners will lament the lack of variety, but still hate the grating "As You Wish," a horrid attempt at a ballad. What sounds like a castrated Peter Pan sings call-and-response.

High hopes that Alesana could create a record, and a sound, in the vein of "Ambrosia"'s uniquely dynamic bombast have been dashed. "Goodbye, Goodnight, For Good" and "A Most Profound Quiet" are probably the most listenable tunes, but much more than two songs and the brain refuses to process again what it's already heard before.

music in this 2nd album is fairly generic and cookie-cutter, but at the same time mildly entertaining. anyway the band was grow and sound turn a bit harder.

Alesana's first album is great but this one is much better. The songs are much more catchy and the vocals are awesome! Don't listen to the bad reviews, if you liked alesana last album you'll love this one. Not much else I can say so take a listen to it for yourself!

I'm from Raleigh (where these guys hail) and picked up on this band a few years back. I really like their first album. At the time I was into Chiodos' first album and Alesana's freshman release was in a similar vein, so I really enjoyed the album. But this one (shaking head). I've listened through the album twice now and maybe I should give it another spin but it just is not grabbing me. The first one was innovative to a degree and grabbed me but this is just mundane and does nothing for me. Except, I do like the first 20 seconds of the first song. I will say this - the only good it's gonna do me is it just helps fill up my 360's play-list for when I'm randomly playing music while gaming. There's nothing special here and nothing much memorable...it almost reminds me of the direction He Is Legend took, or Dead Poetic, but not to that degree...cause they really went to crap.

I must say, I am very, very surprised. I hate Alesana's old albums, but...On Frail Wings is pretty much awesome. Tilting the Hourglass is by far the best song on the album. It's pulled off very, very nicely. Ambrosia is also quite amazing.

Really, though, who'd have thought such an emo band could make such a wonderful record? I really like it. 4.5/5.

...and if nobody had pointed out to me the inspirations from Greek mythology, I still wouldn't get it.

To start with, Alesana is nothing new. They sound like Aiden, just with more energy, and incomprehensible screaming. Even reading the lyrics while i was listening to the album didnt help, all i heard was some dissonant screams by apparently 3 different vocalists going on at the same time, accompanied by some of the most broken and fragmented guitar work Ive ever heard. The first few times I even tried to listen to it, I was forced to turn it off about halfway through the third track.

Then a friend of mine started talking about it. He pointed out how the first few tracks pay homage to the stories of Icarus and Pygmalion, albeit very brokenly, and I decided to take some notice. Not that Im saying this fact blew me away, but when you hear the music you're expecting whiny songs about heartbreak, when in fact I was getting (though very late) songs about heartbreak when your stone golem decided to hate you. Or songs about why life sucks when youre wax wings have just melted and youre plummeting to earth. Most of this might be me overanalyzing (which I do), but it did interest me.

But I digress. The music is basic. I can't see why they have three guitarists when one or two could have sufficed, I cant see why they have three people screaming when you can't make out a word they are saying, and or why they all look like Davey Havok. If you are a fan of Aiden, My Chemical Romance or bands of that nature, then by all means check this one out. You'll probably love it.

Alesana are featured over at Smartpunk.com (with an extra 'S,' no lesss) as of this writing. I sort of take it as a symptom of the times. If you can't quite accept Christina Aguilera as a "maturing musical force with real soul" and care not to listen to hip-hop or the Killers and their many followers, you probably pop versions of Alesana like tabs of acid at Woodstock. For better or for worse.

Looking at it, I notice the song titles. They've got more than one or two words. Think this might be an emo/hardcore band? Hey, "daggers." Not convinced? Elsewhere we have "pathetic," "ordinary" (in the same title) and "hate." But they're just words, after all. Shakespeare invented bunches, which must be why all the bands on the cutting edge try to evoke mirages of good ol' Billy in their dramatic poetry.

Listening to it, it's a mixed bag. There'll be something cool going on with syncopation or breakdowns ("Ambrosia") one minute, but something completely pedestrian and ordinary pops up the next (almost everything else here). Their "Apology" quickly morphs from a weepy, saccharine emo bawlfest into a full-on screamy moshpit exercise. So in a sense, it's got everything the discerning hardcore listener could want in under six minutes.

Maybe for some, the sound of the Chipmunks on the brink of suicide is a refreshing reprieve from the radio, but I've already listened to enough of Thursday to know I don't like them or their ilk very much. Skip it, but if you think the Shakespearian lyrical influence has potential, get the Receiving End of Sirens record ("Between the Heart and the Synapse") instead. Your ears will thank you for years.

This was recommended to me by Amazon because of Trophy Scars. This was just all right for me. I can't say that it was terrible because they aren't exactly a ripoff of everything else but at the same time there wasn't anything to make them special. It's a good idea to listen to some of the songs before you buy this.

This cd sounds like the normal scene core that is popular now, Although i'd say most closely compares to Chiodos. While this cd does fall well short of Chiodos's Debut full length, it does a better job than many of its other counterparts.