Review Summary: I refuse to say that this is a bad album, but at the same time hesitate to say it's great.
Alesana:
Dennis Lee - Screaming Vocals
Shawn Milke - Clean Vocals / Guitar
Patrick Thompson - Guitar / Backing Vocals
Alex Torres - Guitar / Backing Vocals
Shane Crump - Bass / Backing Vocals
Jeremy Bryan - Drums
Alesana really went all out with this release. In some respects, it worked. In others, it failed miserably. There were a few lineup changes coming off of "Where Myth Fades to Legend" in 2008 and we had a small hint that the music would sound different, and also that the band was going to make a huge effort for this newest album. Different studio updates were released documenting the process that the band through to compose the storyline and music for "The Emptiness". Shawn Milke seemed to be at the forefront of the imagination process in these updates.
This album does a few things extremely well. The usage of multiple backup vocals work out very well. It fills the empty holes that the music can have, even though Alesana does have three guitar players. Some heavier moments are included in this album that are sure to turn a head or two (i.e. "The Murderer"). Shawn's vocals on this album really outline the eerie and eccentric mood that Alesana tried to set with the backstory. Dennis' screams in tune with the mood of the songs, and he in fact sounds completely insane at some parts.
Single "The Thespian", is the one that will get the kids moving. It's a very fast paced song with an extremely catchy chorus and an interesting and dark video. This song features steady riffing, a guitar solo, and a hard-hitting breakdown to cap it all off. Alesana nails that formula in just about most of the tracks on "The Emptiness".
Songs like "The Artist" and "Hymn for the Shameless" are ready for the live set, and definitely satisfy. New melodies and harmonizations are evident in "The Artist". "Hymn for the Shameless" enters with a bang and proceeds to move in an eerie fashion. Shawn's cleans are at their peak here, and the catchiness factor is as well. Instrumental interludes are thrown in throughout the album that were arranged by Shawn. These interludes are very good and definitely should be listened to.
This album does satisfy. It does. But the replay factor will be slim to none. It's just a bland and empty album to me. It has it's very good moments where you can sense the maturity and growth of Alesana, but it also has moments where you kick yourself and go" "Why exactly did they do this?". The instrumentation is tight, and the vocals have greatly improved, but the underlying music is just still average. It doesn't scream out originality to me. The best thing on this album is the assault of vocals you get in both headphones when you listen.
So, they took a risk and went with a concept album that is based off of two Edgar Allen Poe poems. First off, it's too hard to know that unless you look it up. From listening to the album, you will not understand where the inspiration from the story is. It's just a hard concept to grasp for a kid listening to an album. And I feel that it's one of those concepts which you need to understand in order to enjoy it to the fullest extent. It just isn't evident in the first listen.
Alesana definitely threw all the cards on the table and left this work up to interpretation. You'll either love it, or hate it. Most people seem to be hating it, but it definitely requires the second listen. It's definitely good enough to pay the bills for them, but it isn't a career-changing piece of work; It lies somewhere in the middle.
