With humble beginnings in Baltimore and then solidifying their lineup in Raleigh, North Carolina, the genre-blending quintet called alesana has come a long way in order to bring you their musical vision and incendiary live performance. Exploring the heights of love and the lows of heartbreak and bitterness that often follow, alesana's music strikes a universal chord with audiences around the world. Fans embrace the emotional sincerity and undeniable intensity of the music while reveling in the reckless abandon with which alesana performs.
Formed in October 2004 when guitarist/vocalist Shawn Milke, guitarist Patrick Thompson, vocalist Dennis Lee, bassist Steven Tomany, and drummer Daniel Magnuson, alesana quickly became a staple of the burgeoning Raleigh post-hardcore scene. Metal and hardcore fans were drawn to alesana's gut-wrenching vocals, solid riffs, blasting double bass and intelligent breakdowns. Progressive fans were drawn to their cascading song structures and deft control of dynamics, and emo/pop punk fans were drawn to their catchy hooks and heartfelt lyrics. In May 2005, alesana signed with Tragic Hero Records and began work on their debut EP.
The disc "Try This With Your Eyes Closed" was released in mid-June 2005 to an ever-expanding fan base eager to take alesana home with them. Word-of-mouth, internet promotion and online sales have given fans around the world access to alesana, landing the EP in Europe, Australia, Central America and across the nation. Since the release, alesana has been hard at work playing shows across the region (including the Cornerstone Festival and an episode of the MTV series "My Super-Sweet Sixteen") and writing new material for their first full-length release.
Formation and Try This with Your Eyes Closed (2004–2005)
Although the band's members first began playing together in Baltimore, Maryland, Alesana officially formed in October 2004 in Raleigh, North Carolina
and was founded by Shawn Milke, Patrick Thompson, Dennis Lee, Steven
Tomany and Daniel Magnuson. The name of the band is inspired from
Aliceanna St., which Shawn Milke and Patrick Thompson lived on when
playing in Baltimore, MD. Aliceanna St. is located in Fells Point, a
neighborhood in Baltimore. Alesana was the first band to join Tragic
Hero Records in 2005,
and their 3 demo songs titled "Apology", "Beautiful in Blue" and
"Goodbye, Goodnight for Good" were featured on the compilation All The Tragedy Money Can Buy. In May 2005 they released their debut EP, Try This With Your Eyes Closed. Alesana toured in the United States, including an appearance at the Cornerstone Festival. In the same year Daniel Magnuson was replaced by Will Anderson.
On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax (2006–2007)
In 2006 the group added a new drummer Jeremy Bryan to replace Will
Anderson and added guitarist/vocalist Adam Ferguson to their lineup. They followed with a full-length album, entitled On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax, produced by Kit Walters, during the summer of 2006. In late 2006 Alesana signed to Fearless Records,
which re-released their LP in March 2007 to mixed reviews and released a
music video for "Ambrosia". In the same year, the song "Apology" in an
acoustic version was featured on the compilation release, Punk Goes Acoustic 2.
Later in the middle of the year, Steven Tomany left the band and was
replaced by Shane Crump who had previously played bass for Your Name in
Vain. The band played the entire Warped Tour 2007 and 2010. In early 2008, On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax charted on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, peaking at #44.
Where Myth Fades to Legend (2008-2009)
In 2008 Alesana finished recording their second album, "Where Myth Fades to Legend". The album was released on June 3, 2008 but was leaked on popular torrent sites on May 25. Where Myth Fades to Legend is also the title of their headlining tour with Sky Eats Airplane, Our Last Night, Lovehatehero, and The Chariot.
Shane Crump was recently revealed in the intro to Alesana's 4th video
blog on PureVolume to be a vocalist on the new album. All the female
vocals done on the band's albums are done by guitarist Shawn Milke's
sister, Melissa.
On the 2008 Warped Tour, Shane Crump briefly left due to personal matters at home and Jake Campbell (Twelve Gauge Valentine
guitarist) became a temporary fill in-bassist. Upon Crump's return,
Adam Ferguson and the band parted ways and Cambell became rhythm
guitarist.
On January 20, 2009 the music video for "Seduction" was officially released and on March 10, 2009 the album Punk Goes Pop 2 was released which includes Alesana's cover of "What Goes Around...Comes Around" by Justin Timberlake.
Alesana's Where Myth Fades to Legend has also charted on the Billboard 200 at #96 and on the Billboard Hard Rock Album at #13.
The Emptiness (2009-2010)
In late February, Shawn Milke announced Alesana had started writing
new material for their upcoming album. They began recording their third
studio album, in July 2009, in Portland, Oregon, with producer Kris
Crummett. The album, according to Shawn Milke on The Rave TV, would be
entitled "The Emptiness". The title "The Emptiness" has also been confirmed in a blog on the band's Myspace profile. The band has made their progress in the studio viewable to fans through a Twitter
account and an official website run by the band themselves. In
mid-July, Alesana had their Myspace profile edited by Justin Reich with
pictures that according to Shawn, hint towards themes in the concept
album; the photos show the band in fine suits holding bloody weapons
inside an abandoned room, and a newspaper article with a headline
"Alesana Unveils New Story This Winter."
Shawn Milke declared on August 19 via Twitter,
| “ | It is 6:19 AM and I just finished my last scream...the record is finished..."The Emptiness" is complete...xo shawn | ” |
concluding the band's recording session, which began on July 10. Alesana then set out for North Carolina to rest before they began their Vs. tour, which they headlined and included the bands The Bled, Enter Shikari, Broadway, Madina Lake, and Asking Alexandria. On the Vs. tour, Alesana's set included two new songs titled "To Be Scared By An Owl" and "The Thespian". Soon after concluding their month long Vs. tour, Alesana headlined the "You'd Be Way Cuter in a Coffin" Tour with From First To Last, The Word Alive, Asking Alexandria, and Memphis May Fire.
On October 2, Milke and Lee held a second interview with TheRave.tv
where they revealed that they were shooting a music video in the fall
for one song from The Emptiness. The two members went on to tell Linda, the interviewer, that due to their large fan base in Mexico and South America, they would be releasing a Spanish version of 2 of their songs. Milke also revealed that the album, The Emptiness, is to be released on January 26, 2010. The band finally released the track listing and cover art to the new album on November 10 on their Myspace blog On November 23, Alesana released their first recorded work off of The Emptiness, "To Be Scared By An Owl" and began to promote it as a single.
The same week, they entered the studio to begin filming their third
video which according to their website, is "The Thespian", the song was
released on December 8, 2009. In 2009, the band won the Best
Hardcore/Screamo Band at the Rock on Request Awards.
Milke announced
After the release of their music video for "The Thespian" on March
17, the band became less active and starting promoting the 2010 Warped Tour, which they took part in at the end of June. Right before their first venue on the Warped Tour, guitarist Jake Campbell left the band to be with his family, and Alex Torres of Greeley Estates took his place. The album debuted at #68 on the Billboard 200 making it their highest charting album.
July 22 of 2010, Shawn Milke posted a blog on the official Revolver website regarding his constant desire to write scripts, stories and music; considering The Emptiness
his 'first printed story'. Milke went on to say that he is constantly
writing, and that new material for an Alesana album—as well as material
for Wake Me Up, Juliet and Tempting Paris—was already being created.
The group announced a headlining tour entitled: Two Frail Weeks of Vanity and Wax, in which they would perform their debut album, On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax
in its entirety on each tour date of the tour along with stating that
some songs would never be played again after the tour. The band stated
that chosen VIP's will be involved within the testing of new tracks that
are prepared to be included on their fourth studio album, which is
going to be recorded in March 2011 with producer Kris Crummett. On November 1, 2010, it was confirmed that Alesana signed to Epitaph Records.
The band recently entered the studio to start recording their fourth
album. However, the band stated on their Facebook Page that, though they
have already titled the album, they will not reveal the title just yet.
A Place Where the Sun Is Silent (2011)
In the beginning of June 2011 the band finished the recording process
of their fourth studio album. Alex Torres, Shane Crump, and Dennis Lee
stated on twitter that the mixing is all done and that they have the
master copy. The name of the album is A Place Where The Sun Is Silent and was released October 18th.
The new album will thematize "The Inferno" by Dante Alighieri.
On August 24th, 2011 Alternative Press premiered the first song from the record, entitled "A Gilded Masquerade".
On September 20th, 2011, Buzznet.com started streaming another song,
"A Forbidden Dance" on their website as part of a contest for a lyric
video.
