Alesana

Alesana (pronounced /ˈælɨs ˈænə/ Alice-Ana) is an American post-hardcore band from Raleigh, North Carolina.
They have released one EP, and 5 of the 7 songs on that EP were used in 2 of their full length albums. The band has released 3 full length albums to date.

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 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" which were featured on a compilation All The Tragedy Money Can 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.They followed with a full-length album, entitled On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax, in the summer of 2006. 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 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. 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.
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 Shane's return, Adam and the band parted ways and Jake became rhythm guitarist.
In 2009 Alesana toured on the 2009 Australian Soundwave Festival, playing alongside; Nine Inch Nails, Alice In Chains, Chiodos, All That Remains, New Found Glory, In Flames, Lamb of God, Silverstein, Billy Talent, Emery, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Anberlin, Underoath and many other notable alternative bands. Alesana toured with Drop Dead, Gorgeous, Fear Before, I Set My Friends On Fire, and Fall From Grace on the World of Tourcraft tour later that year.
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 (Emarosa and DGD). The album, according to Shawn Milke on The Rave TV, will be entitled, "The Emptiness". The title "The Emptiness" has also been confirmed in a blog on the band's MySpace page. 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 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."
It has also been mentioned that the album's setting is at the turn of the 20th century. The Twitter account 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".
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 are currently headlining and performing with bands The Bled, Enter Shikari, Broadway, Madina Lake, and Asking Alexandria. On the Vs. tour, Alesana's set included 2 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, Shawn and Dennis held a second interview with TheRave.tv where they revealed that they were shooting a music video in the fall for one song off of their new CD. The two screamers 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. Shawn 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 AlesanaOfficial.com, is "The Thespian", the song was released on December 8, 2009. In 2009, the band won the Best Hardcore/Screamo Band at the Top In Rock Awards.
In the spring of this year, Alesana will tour the U.S. with A Skylit Drive, The Word Alive, Of Mice & Men, and We Came As Romans.
On January 22, Alesana uploaded all of their songs from the upcoming album on their myspace for free streaming.
Shawn stated on their MySpace-

“

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, today is a VERY exciting day for Alesana! we have released a streaming version of The Emptiness in its entirety today right here on myspace! this is your first chance to hear our story from start to finish! The Emptiness received a ( 2.5 / 5.0 ) by AP Magazine (www.altpress.com), a 7/10 by RockSound (www.rocksound.com), a ( 2.0 / 5.0 ) by RRR (www.reviewrinserepeat.com),and a ( 4.0 / 5.0 ) by Lexington Music Press (www.lexingtonmusicpress.com).

”

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.

Fourth Studio Album (2010-present)

July 22nd of 2010, Shawn Milke posted a blog on RevolverMag.com 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.  They Recently announced an upcoming tour entitled: Two Frail Weeks of Vanity and Wax, in which they would play the album On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax in full on the said tour. They also said that some songs would be retired after the tour. This tour was for those who have been with them from the start and going back to their roots. They have posted on their site that V.I.P.'s will also witness them testing out some new songs that are going to be on their 4th album which is going to be recorded on March 2011. On November 1st 2010, the news came out that Alesana signed to Epitaph Records

Members

Current members

• Jeremy Bryan – drums, percussion (since 2005)
• Shane Crump – bass, backing vocals (2007–2008; since 2008)
• Dennis Lee – screaming vocals (since 2004)
• Shawn Milke – clean vocals, rhythm guitar, piano (since 2004)
• Patrick Thompson – lead guitar (since 2004)
• Alex Torres - guitar (since 2010)

Former members

• Adam "Huckleberry" Ferguson – rhythm guitar, vocals (2005–2008)
• Jake Campbell - lead guitar (2008–2010) bass guitar (2008)
• Steven Tomany – bass guitar (2004–2007)
• Will Anderson – drums, percussion (2005)
• Daniel Magnuson – drums, percussion (2004–2005)