On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax

On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax
Studio album by Alesana
Released	June 6, 2006
Recorded	March - May 2006
Genre	Metalcore, post-hardcore
Length	48:01
Label	Tragic Hero, Fearless
Producer	Kit Walters and Jamie King
Professional reviews
The reviews parameter has been deprecated. Please move reviews into the “Reception” section of the article. See Moving reviews into article space. P&H Magazine Absolutepunk 69%[1]
Alesana chronology
Try This with Your Eyes Closed (2005) On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax (2006) Where Myth Fades to Legend (2008)

On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax is the debut full length album by Alesana. It was originally released on June 6, 2006 by Tragic Hero Records^[2], but when the band joined Fearless Records, it was re-released on March 20, 2007 with two bonus tracks, four live videos, and an interview with the newer label. The title refers to the Greek myth of Icarus.

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Icarus"	1:00
2.	"Ambrosia"	3:05
3.	"Pathetic, Ordinary"	4:00
4.	"Alchemy Sounded Good at the Time"	4:14
5.	"Daggers Speak Louder Than Words"	3:27
6.	"The Last Three Letters"	3:33
7.	"Apology"	5:18
8.	"Tilting the Hourglass"	3:49
9.	"This Conversation Is Over"	3:24
10.	"Congratulations, I Hate You"	4:02
11.	"The Third Temptation of Paris"	3:42
12.	"A Siren's Soliloquy"	4:01
13.	"Nero's Decay"	4:26
Total length:		47:55

Reissue bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
14.	"Early Mourning"	3:54
15.	"Apology (Remix)"	3:59
Total length:		55:45

Allusions

• Icarus- This refers to the Greek legend of Icarus, who died trying to escape the island of Crete on wings built by his father, by vainly ignoring his father's warnings that the wings could melt if he flew too close to the sun.
• Pathetic, Ordinary- This refers to the Greek legend of Hades' lust for Zeus' and Demeter's daughter Persephone. She is kidnapped by demons and brought to the underworld, where Hades holds her as his queen. Once Zeus hears, he demands Hades to release her, but Hades had convinced Persephone to eat pomegranate seeds of the underworld, therefore binding her to the underworld. In order to compromise, Zeus allowed Hades to have her for a third of the year, while she returns to the surface for the other two-thirds of the year.
• Alchemy Sounded Good At The Time- This song is based on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. After Eurydice dies by falling into a pit of vipers while trying to escape from Sator, a half-man half-goat demon, Orpheus will not accept it, so he ventures to the underworld to retrieve his love. He tricks the ferryman into letting him across, and uses his amazing musical talent to make it past Cerberus, the three-headed dog monster guardian of the underworld. Hades is so impressed, he allows Orpheus to have Eurydice back,as long as during the entire journey back, until they reached the surface, he could not look back to verify that she was behind him. Eventually he couldn't bear it, and looked back, causing Eurydice to be sucked back down to Hades.
• Nero's Decay- This song refers to the story of the Roman emperor Nero. He was infamous for his tyranny, calling many executions, including those of his mother and stepbrother. He then blames the Great Fire of Rome on Christians, in order to deflect the blame from himself. In the end, a revolt led by Gaius Julius Vindex, which results in his loss of power, and rather than face public execution, he commits suicide on 9 June 68.
• Third Temptation of Paris - based on the epic fall of Troy.

Personnel

Alesana

• Steven Tomany - bass guitar
• Jeremy Bryan - drums
• Dennis Lee - uncealn, lyrics
• Shawn Milke - lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, piano, lyrics
• Patrick Thompson - lead guitar; vocals (track 11)
• Adam Ferguson - lead and rhythm guitars, death growl vocals

Additional personal

• Melissa Milke - Female vocals (track 2, 6, 10 & 11)
• Rebecca "Sandy" Carter - Additional vocals (track 1)

Production

• Kit Walters - Engineering, mixing, additional vocals (track 11)
• Jamie King - Mixing, mastering, production
• First sound clip on "Alchemy Sounded Good At The Time" courtesy of film "Underworld"
• Final sound clip on "Alchemy Sounded Good At The Time" courtesy of film Full Metal Jacket
• Kenton Spohr - Band photography
• Jessica Redmerski - Cover photo (Little Lovely II)
• Kevin Moore - Art direction and design
• Blake Farabi - Enhanced CD
• Live Footage provided by Punkrockvids.com

• Director/editor - Christopher Heimrich
• Filming - Christopher Heinrich, James Stephen, Josh Hewins, & Dustin Cardenas

• Video interview by newbandtv.com

• Executive producers - Eugene and Robin Fouchia
• Producer - Mark Yager
• Cameras - Mike Wildt, Zac Hargrave, & Mike Longenbach
• Audio - Jeff Pace
• Interview by Tyler Trautman

• Booking - Jeremy Holgerson
• Management - Eric Rushing
• Tour Management - Devin Timmons^[3]

References

1. ^ http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=813802
2. ^ http://www.musicemissions.com/artists/albums/index.php?album_id=6024
3. ^ Liner notes