Alesana - On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax
Record Label: Fearless Records
Release Date: March 20, 2007
Alesana is no doubt one of the scene’s love-hate relationship bands. Even though they draw criticism for being highly generic, they also draw praise for being one of the best cookie-cutter bands in the post-hardcore scene. Both of these comments on the band follow through on their debut On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax. Though Alesana has since recorded another, much more mediocre album, this disc shows plenty of potential for the band. From slow piano ballads that showcase vulnerability and beauty to the furious, fast-paced rockers that take a page from death metal, this album is as diverse as it is promising.
The disc opens with “Icarus,” a one minute track that showcases the epitome of Alesana’s vocals: its lyrics are mainly spoken over a backdrop of a scream/sing harmonization. The band then takes no time to breathe as they follow up this short, and succinct summary of their band with “Ambrosia,” the album’s first single. This song contains a great, sing-along chorus, amazing screams, and even mixes it up with an interesting guitar line. “Pathetic, Ordinary” is a much catchier pop track that showcases clean vocals above all. The contrast between this and the next track, “Alchemy Sounded Good at the Time,” is amazing. “Alchemy” is one of the album's heavier tracks and introduces a death metal-like growl and a sort of discord that makes the listener queasy and impressed at the same time.
“Daggers Speak Louder than Words” is very generic in the sense of the album as a whole, while “Last Three Letters” opens with some soft singing and a mellow guitar line before launching into a hardened scream. The song transitions between heavy and soft for most of the track, making it a definite highlight of the album. “Apology” is another standout. Though the transition screams from the soft intro to the faster verses is cringe-worthy, everything else in between is amazing. The next three songs, “Tilting The Hourglass,” “This Conversation Is Over,” and “Congratulations I Hate You” have amazing parts interspersed all over the three tracks (the chorus of “Tilting,” and the intros and choruses to “Conversation” and “Congratulations”), but overall are very generic. “Third Temptation of Paris” and “Siren’s Soliloquy” are nothing special, but album closer “Nero’s Decay” features some impressive scream/sing harmony.
If you are lucky enough to have the bonus track to this album, you are probably wondering why “Early Mourning" didn’t make the album proper. This piano ballad is probably the best thing I have ever heard from Alesana, and the lyrics bring tears to the listener’s eyes as the band recounts an experience involving a lost love. The chorus contains amazing harmonies and the highlight of this song is the beautiful screaming that takes place over the crooning of the song’s finale, the only appearance the harsh vocals make during the song’s nearly four-minute duration. Following that is “Apology (Acoustic)”, which is basically a piano-only version of the original song. The screaming is toned-down, and that makes this track better than the original.
This release was a strong debut for Alesana, and only time will tell if they can bounce back from their recent sophomore slump.
You need another " after "Early Mourning for one thing... and idk what's with that last sentence.
As for the review itself.. Good job. I don't exactly agree (I think this album is pretty terrible, and they're far from "the best band in the post-hardcore scene") but you did good at getting your point across.
Thanks Nicky, Adam, and Jay...
i discovered this band during the summer and it took time to grow on me...
and ive started to grow out of them slightly...
but i still find this album (and a few parts of the newer one) a bit of a guilty pleasure
Didn't quite agree with the whole The Devil Wears Prada thing in the RIYL, and I don't really think they're the best band in the post hardcore genre.
But other than that, well written.
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