Alesana (pronounced alice-anna) is a post-hardcore band from Raleigh, North Carolina, formed in 2004.

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History

Formation and Try This With Your Eyes Closed (2004–2005)

Although the band's members first began playing together in Baltimore, Maryland, the band officially formed in October 2004 in Raleigh, North Carolina by Shawn Milke, Patrick Thompson, Dennis Lee, Steven Tomany and Daniel Magnuson. The name of the band is derived from Alice-anna St., which Shawn Milke and Patrick Thompson lived on when playing in Baltimore, MD. Alice-anna St. is located in Fells Point, a neighborhood in Baltimore. Alesana was the first band to join Tragic Hero Records in 2005, and they 3 demo songs titled "Apology", "Beautiful in Blue" and "Goodbye, Goodnight for Good" which were featured on a compilation All The Tragedy Money Can't Buy . Later they released their debut EP, Try This With Your Eyes Closed , in May of that year. They 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 they added a new drummer Jeremy Bryan to replace Will Anderson and added guitarist/vocalist Adam Ferguson to their lineup. ^[1] They followed with a full-length album, entitled On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax , in the summer of 2006. Many of the songs on the album take inspiration from Greek mythology, for example: "Ambrosia" is based upon the food of the gods, which grants immortality, and "The Third Temptation of Paris" is based upon the Trojan War. In late 2006, they signed on 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 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. They also played at the entire Warped Tour 2007. In early 2008, On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax charted on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, peaking at #44. ^[2]

Where Myth Fades to Legend (2008-2009)

In 2008 Alesana finished recording their newest 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. Alesana is touring as of November, and will head to the eastern United States, which includes shows in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania with A Static Lullaby, Greeley Estates, Jamies Elsewhere, and many more.

As with their previous album, the majority of the songs are related to fables and the members’ “Favorite Stories” compiled from The Brother’s Grimm. Except for “As You Wish”, that is based on the story The Princess Bride. The song “All Night Dance Parties In The Underground Palace” is partly based on the story "The Worn Out Dancing Shoes." It was written by Shawn Milke, for his fiance, Naima. The album was produced by Steve Evetts and recorded in Los Angeles, California. The song “Seduction” is said to be the first single from Where Myth Fades To Legend, as well as the music video, which was recorded late summer ‘08. The track “A Most Profound Quiet” has been released on their MySpace page. The Single “Seduction” was leaked onto the internet with the title “Subscription” on the Warped Tour 2008 compilation. According to guitarist/vocalist Shawn Milke, “This is Usually the Part Where People Scream” is influenced by the television show Heroes. “Obsession is Such an Ugly Word” features vocals from the entire band.

Since the release of the album, the band has gone through several line-up changes. On the 2008 Warped Tour, Shane Crump briefly left for personal matters and, Jake Campbell (Twelve Gauge Valentine guitarist) became a temporary fill in bassist. After problems were solved, Alesana, announced Shane has come back, but Adam has left, and Jake is now the permanent rhythm guitarist.

In 2009 they have also been named along with Nine Inch Nails, Alice in Chains and The Bloodhound Gang to tour Australia with the Soundwave 2009 festival and also this spring Alesana toured with Drop Dead Gorgeous, Fear Before, I Set My Friends On Fire, and Fall From Grace on the World of Tourcraft tour

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-present)

Late in February Shawn Milke said Alesana is starting to write new material for their upcoming album.

Alesana started recording their third studio album,in July 2009 in Portland, Oregon with producer Kris Crummett,the album is, according to Shawn Milke on therave.tv, is going to be entitled, "The Emptiness" ^[3]. The band has made their progress in the studio viewable to fans though a Twitter page and an official website run by the band themselves. In mid July, Alesana had their myspace page 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.", the subtitles on the left page read, "Local Artist Draws Attention with Macabre Sketches" and "Town Beauty Annabel Lee to Cut Ribbon at Local Tavern" on the right page ^[4], it has also been mentioned that the album's setting is at the turn of the 20th century, and on a lesser scale involves time travel. The Twitter updates reveal that Melissa Milke and Adam Fisher of Fear Before have contributed vocals to the album, and that Shawn Milke appeared as a guest on metalcore band Asking Alexandria's debut album, in the song "Hey There Mr. Brooks".

Members

;Current members

• Dennis "Denny Diablo" Lee - Screaming vocals (2004-present)
• Shawn Milke - Vocals, Guitar, Piano (2004-present)
• Patrick "Peezee" Thompson - Lead guitar, Backing vocals during live performance (2004-present)
• Jeremy "Jables" Bryan - Drums (2005-present)
• Shane Crump - Bass guitar, Vocals (2007-present)
• Jake Campbell - Rhythm guitar (2008-present)

;Former members

• Adam "Huckleberry" Ferguson - Rhythm guitar, Vocals (2005-2008)
• Steven Tomany - Bass (2004-2007) ^[5]
• Will Anderson - Drums (2005)
• Daniel Magnuson - Drums (2004-2005)

;Contributors

• Melissa Milke - Female vocals on "The Third Temptation of Paris","As You Wish",and "Congratulation,I Hate You""as well as some backing vocals on other songs
• Adam Fisher (of Fear Before) - Guest vocals on Alesana's third studio album

Associated acts

• Former drummer Daniel Magnuson joined Left on Cates as his most recent project and his side projects band An Autumn Surrender
• Former bassist Steven Tomany joined We Were Gentlemen after leaving Alesana
• Former guitarist/backup vocalist Adam Ferguson and former drummer Will Anderson started Christian Metal band At His Right Hand
• Current bassist/backup vocalist Shane Crump played bass for Your Name In Vain before he joined Alesana
• Former drummer Will Anderson joined alternative band Harbor View
• Former guitarist/backup vocalist Adam "Huck" Ferguson started a solo project called Love Equals Life
• Current guitarist Jake Campbell played guitar for Twelve Gauge Valentine before he joined Alesana
• Vocalist/guitarist Shawn Milke, and his sister Melissa Milke are creating a duet called "Tempting Paris"
• Shawn Milke said he with Alex from Greeley Estates and other alesana member create a side-project called "Wake Me Up, Juliet"
• Shawn Milke performs guest vocals in metalcore band Asking Alexandria's song "Hey There Mr. Brooks" ^[6]

Discography

EPs

• 2005: Try This With Your Eyes Closed (Tragic Hero Records, re-issued in 2008 on Fearless Records)

Albums

• 2006-2008: On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax (Tragic Hero Records, re-issued in 2007 on Fearless Records)
• 2008-2009: Where Myth Fades to Legend (Fearless Records) U.S. #96 ^[7]
• 2009-present: The Emptiness

Music Videos

• Ambrosia from On Frail Wings Of Vanity And Wax
• Seduction from Where Myth Fades to Legend

Compilation Appearances

• All the Tragedy Money Can Buy

#Apology #Beautiful In Blue #Goodbye, Goodnight For Good #All the Tragedy Money Can Buy

• Punk Goes Acoustic 2
  Apology (Acoustic)
• Warped Tour 2008 Tour Compilation
  Seduction
• Soundwave 2009 Album (Australia)
  This Is Usually the Part Where People Scream
• Punk Goes Pop 2
  What Goes Around... (Justin Timberlake cover)
• The Fearless Records Spring/Summer Sampler 2009
  This Is Usually the Part Where People Scream
• The Fearless Records Spring/Summer Sampler 2009
  Seduction (music video)

Unreleased 2003

• Baltimore Sessions

#Cancer Or Car Accidents #Days That End In Why

Trivia

• "As You Wish", from Where Myth Fades to Legend is based on the story of The Princess Bride.
• "Obsession is Such an Ugly Word" features vocals from the entire band's line-up at the time. The lyrics during the breakdown (the very end of the song, which lasts around 3 minutes) have still yet to be decypherd.
• Alesana played the song "Congratulations, I Hate You" in every show, until they toured headlining the Where Myth Fades to Legend tour.
• The name "Alesana" comes from Alice-Anna street, where Shawn and Patrick were living at the time.
• Many Alesana songs in the first album are based on mythology, mostly Ancient Greek, for example: "Ambrosia" is based upon King Midas & his golden touch, and "The Third Temptation of Paris" is based upon the Trojan War.
• "This is Usually the Part Where People Scream" is based on the television program Heroes.
• The Justin Timberlake cover was recorded in just 8 hours; drummer Jeremy Bryan was ill from food poisoning the whole time.

References

1. Alesana at Allmusic
2. Billboard, Allmusic.com
3. http://www.therave.com/theravetv.asp?videoid=60
4. http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=5187194&blogId=500962343
5. Band WebsiteList of Original Members
6. http://www.indiestar.tv/grafwall/2009/08/studio-video-shawn-milke-with-asking.html
7. Billboard, Allmusic