The eerie piano plays in an auditorium scene while male and female vocals are harmonizing together, then a narrator speaking Romanian starts speaking with them. Those are the sounds heard from the introduction of the latest album, “A Place Where The Sun Is Silent” from alternative metal sextet, Alesana.
This album is a concept record; an album where there is a repeating theme throughout, like all other albums from the group.
The band has used themes all the way from Greek Mythology to making almost a whole record regarding Edgar Allan Poe’s poem, “Annabel Lee.” This time they have decided to make it a perspective of a play about two lovers who are both facing different problems with each other.
Lyrically, Alesana has never strayed from the path of being anything but excellent. Musically, you can always expect the dueling screamed and sang vocals while the three guitars usually consist of a rhythm and two different intricately written lines, while the drums and bass work together to form a beat that will easily be stuck with you.
Alesana has kept their greatness on all levels of music and lyrics. The band’s sound on this record are more like the sounds from their first two records; “On Frail Wings Of Vanity And Wax” and “Where Myth Fades To Legend,” with a  few elements such as  the more “epic feel” they tried to incorporate into each song on their last release, “The Emptiness.”
In the introduction you may think that the album is going to go completely slower sounding, unlike all of Alesana’s other work, but the next and first real song, “A Forbidden Dance” begins with brutal-sounding vocals and a well-written guitar, exactly what you’d expect from the group.
The album, like any other album, has its key tracks to listen to. One of those songs is the one mentioned from the above paragraph, “A Forbidden Dance.” The song utilizes the roots of the bands hardcore sound while eventually drifting onto a new direction while clean vocalist, Shawn Milke sings while a guitar slowly picks out its notes in a breathtaking fashion.
Another song that deserves a mention is the band’s first single from the album, “A Gilded Masquerade.” The song contains one of the greatest introductions to any song I have ever heard and keeps its strong foundation throughout, quite notably on the very catchy and greatly played chorus.
My personal favorite from the record would be the first full song from the “2nd Act” of the album called, “Labyrinth.” The song contains both the clean and unclean vocals of Alesana evenly and also gang vocals and a fast and dark-sounding verse that changes to an upbeat sung part to make the song have a different feel to it that makes it stand out more on the record.
Lastly, another highlighting song of “A Place Where The Sun Is Silent” is the sixth track, “Circle VII: Sins of the Lion.” The song starts with a catchy beat and has a great drum part through it all and every part of this song is played with beautiful musicianship and contains a orchestraical background in parts of it.
Overall, the album is what you would expect from Alesana. They have never failed to bring all of their old elements from any records and bring out a change in each, this one is that way as well. For being their fourth album, it sounds a if the band has had a solid music style since the first album, even after having to replace their lead guitarist, Pat Thompson with former Greeley Estates guitar player Jake Campbell.
Don’t be afraid to check this album out, if you’re an Alesana fan you’ll love it. If you’re a newcomer, there are parts of the album that will stick out to anybody. You won’t be disappointed with “A Place Where The Sun Is Silent.”