Where Myth Fades to Legend

The second full-length by North Carolina screamo act Alesana finds the sextet inching ever closer to the mall-punk mainstream, without the spark of personality or originality that might make them stand out from the crowd of equally unmemorable acts. Where the pretentiously titled debut On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax was focused primarily on lead singer Dennis Lee's amateurish, forced screams and growls, the more commercially minded Where Myth Fades To Legend makes far greater use of the band's clean vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist Shawn Milke, whose appealingly whiny voice is more suited to the rather cookie-cutter hooks-and-riffs songwriting that predominates here. Simply on that basis, the album is an improvement over their debut, but unfortunately the schematic songs all fall into basically the same pattern throughout the album, adding to the generally generic, by the book feel. Where Myth Fades To Legend is conceivably of interest to some subset of the Vans Warped Tour crowd, but forgettable tunes like "Goodbye, Goodnight, For Good" and "Sweetheart, You Are Sadly Mistaken" make it hard to differentiate Alesana from any of the other dozens of bands working this style.