Alesana

Where Myth Fades To Legend

Written by: TL on 25/07/2008 23:04:19

You know those times when someone you think has a shit taste in music recommends you a band and you almost make an effort to not like them, simply because you\'re sick of listening to their hype? That\'s what happened to me with Alesana, and I\'ve been actively ignoring their debut \"On Frail Wings Of Vanity And Wax\" ever since it came out. Pretty fuckin\' lame I hear you say, and you\'re right, and it seems I\'m getting my just dessert, because if their sophomore \"Where Myth Fades To Legend\" is a display of their overall quality, I\'m going to have to bite the bullet, go back and listen, and probably love \"On Frail Wings..\" as well.

If you don\'t know Alesana, try to remember every musical element that was ever stereotypical to emo, throw them in one band, and you\'re not far from the truth, because Alesana are all that, and then they\'re also a little bit more. It\'s all there, the dual guitars, the screams, more screams and high pitched vocals, sung like lives depended on it. However, the way Alesana plays it sounds like they\'re doing it while falling down a staircase. There is mostly a lot going on, with melodic scales swiftly being ripped apart by blasting drums and breakdowns, only to re-emerge and then transform into something different. It sounds like Silverstein songs, cut into 12 or more pieces and fitted together randomly. It can\'t be random though, because it works wonders. Compared to bands like A Skylit Drive or akissforjersey, Alesana\'s songs come off as somewhat unfocused and raw, but after listening to their stuff once or twice, you\'ll still feel like coming back to the record time after time. They sound like your favourite 3rd wave emo/screamo act, like Funeral For A Friend or Silverstein, the way they sounded on their first albums where the songs might not exactly have been perfect, but where the energy was fuckin\' irresistible.

It\'s this crossing between a golden sound of old and a seeming desire for chaotic expansion that works as a base upon which Alesana occasionally make melodic miracles. Just listen to \"A Most Profound Quiet\". I dare you. The chorus of that song is more infectious than the flue, and the more you listen to the rest of the album, similar parts begin to stick to your mind, for instance in \"Better Luck Next Time Prince Charming\". Add the fact that while Alesana say their songs aren\'t personal, instead rather inspired by literature (it shouldn\'t take a genius to figure out the inspiration for \"On Frail Wings Of Vanity And Wax\", and \"Where Myth Fades To Legend\" is allegedly about the adventures of the brothers Grimm), you\'ll be fooled in several places, and there\'s plenty of lines for you to relate to if you\'re ever in a bitter mood. Again, Silverstein fans should know what I\'m talking about.

\"but guilt still burns inside of me! I feel as if I am responsible!\"

I know I\'ve been grading a load of screamo records highly for a while now, and while I must surely seem biased by now, I\'m sorry but they\'re simply all that good at the moment. In Alesana\'s case, this album doesn\'t at all seem as consistent and focused as some of the others I\'ve listened to lately, but somehow that doesn\'t degrade the experience at all. On the contrary, this record will be a dream for those who feel that contemporary screamo acts are getting a little bit too streamlined and polished. The expression might not be as deep and the sound not as vast, but instead it\'s jagged and filled with odd bits here and there making it seem - dare I say it? - rock\'n\'roll! Now if you got tired of the bands I\'ve compared Alesana with before they all more or less lost their edge, you can swap my grade for a [4]. For us who still sometimes long for the golden days of the genre, \"Where Myth Fades To Legend\" is a welcome reminder, a grower and a record where the highlights easily outweigh the lulls.

8

Download: A Most Profound Quiet, Better Luck Next Time Prince Charming, Sweetheart You Are Sadly Mistaken
For The Fans Of: Silverstein, From Autumn To Ashes, A Static Lullaby
Listen: myspace.com/alesana

Release Date 03.06.2008
Fearless Records

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