posted 09/09/2008 (Tue) @ 04:51 pm
>>> Music Reviews
Alesana - Where Myth Fades to Legend (2008)
This Is Usually The Part Where People Whine
- This Is Usually The Part Where People Scream
- Goodbye, Goodnight, For Good
- Seduction
- A Most Profound Quiet
- Red And Dying Evening
- Better Luck Next Time, Prince Charming
- The Uninvited Thirteenth
- Sweetheart, You Are Sadly Mistaken
- And They Call This Tragedy
- All Night Dance Parties In The Underground Palace
- Endings Without Stories
- As You Wish
- Obsessions Is Such An Ugly Word
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.
Tags: emo, hardcore, metalcore, punk, rock, screamo, vocalists
