Concept albums can either be well done or go sour rather quickly. Alesana’s fourth studio album, A Place Where The Sun Is Silent, is presented as a concept album that builds its storyline with 16 tracks through two acts. In listening to the album from start to finish, I forgot this was an album and thought maybe I had pressed play on a theatrical soundtrack.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t follow along too much with the lyrics on what this story is about other than love, despair and looming evil.
What really stands out on this album is the maturity in the band’s sound and the overall cohesiveness in the instrumentals and vocals. Nothing is forced or overdone and the balance of clean and screamed vocals is perfect. They do feature a female vocalist, whom I could have done without, but I can see how the band felt it was necessary.
You’ll find a bunch of guitar solos, as on “Beyond The Sacred Glass,” nestled in songs at the appropriate times, mostly transitions between tracks. Alongside the use of strings and lots of piano breaks, the music still remains typical Alesana with quick, catchy hooks, like on “Labyrinth.”
Some parts do become campy and a bit too dramatic, like on “Vestige.” The strongest song comes at the end with “The Best Laid Plans Of Mice And Marionettes,” which has a little of everything. Produced by Kris Crummett, who also did their previous album, this is Alesana’s best work to date and will surprise not just fans, but those who had overlooked them in the past.
In A Word: Scripted
