In the midst of the bleak and the boring, there will always be those projects that come along, break the cycle of mediocrity, and bring us into a brighter, more awe inspiring state of mind; those projects that offer up a little more depth and substance. The post-hardcore genre is packed full of wannabes and has-beens that seem to have the recipe, yet lack the skill to execute their sound. This is not the case for Alesana. This post-hardcore outfit out of Raleigh, NC are coming at us like a hurricane of melody with their second studio release titled The Emptiness. Right from the start, these guys throw a melee of melody and mayhem your way; and it’s easy to tell this is not their first rodeo. Some bands spend years searching for their sound and their niche in the community, but it seems Alesana has settled into their genre nicely and are doing what they do well. Their sound is huge, their transitions are flawless, and their execution is indeed infectious.

The album itself tells a story, and it’s almost as though you have to listen to it all the way through to really appreciate what they are offering. There seems to be a theme to The Emptiness that, at times, comes across a little too emo for me, but still keeps me intrigued and eager to listen until the end. They definitely show both the dark and light sides of their sound throughout the album, with a sound very similar to that of Silverstein or A Skylit Drive. They are definitely more progressive than they are metal, but they break up the overly-emo feel by throwing in some pretty aggressive, beastly ballads. The melody driven by Shawn Milke is complimented well by the heavier style that Denny Diablo offers up, which is what makes their sound so appealing, in my opinion.

One key aspect of this album that gives it such a huge atmospheric feel is the spoken word and orchestral arrangements that are sprinkled throughout. I’ve never been a huge fan of spoken word in my music, but they use it tastefully, which really helps to keep the theme going and the record flowing.

They really hit their stride in track two, “The Artist,” which is the song that really sets the mood for the rest of the album. The guitar work is simple, yet savage, and the mixture of heavy and light vocals gives the song layers and depth that really opens it up to give it a huge feel.

Song four, “The Murderer,” comes at you like a demon out of the pits of hell. Denny Diablo shows his Danny Filth (Cradle of Filth) side in this one, and if it weren’t for the chorus where vocalist Milke gives off more of a Davey Havoc (AFI) feel, this song could easily pass in the death metal genre. To me, it shows their roots and versatility; and although they make this song more death emo than death metal, it still has an interesting and infectious feel to it.

Track seven, “Heavy Hangs The Albatross,” is a slit-wrist serenade kind of song that starts off a little emo, goes very metal, then back emo with a nice big chorus – with a fairly smooth transition, too. I know it sounds strange, but like I said, they have a solid sound so you have to hear it to really understand what I mean. It has a lot of transitions between screamo and metal (mostly vocal), which is why I think they are able to pull it off. The music keeps a steady post-hardcore feel too, so you’re not getting whiplash with a lot of stop/start rhythms and melodies.

Overall, The Emptiness was a good album, and I highly recommend that fans of bands like Silverstein, A Skylit Drive, We Came as Romans and Escape The Fate give it a listen. Alesana has a huge following and I’m sure their fans will find this new release right in their wheelhouse. When they go heavy, they sound like a mixture of AFI and a slightly watered down Swedish death metal band. While that reference might be slightly unsettling, give it a shot. These guys are masters of their trade, so you just might enjoy yourself a little along the way.

4.0/5