The Emptiness (album)
| The Emptiness | ||||||||||
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| Studio album by Alesana | ||||||||||
| Released | January 26, 2010 | |||||||||
| Recorded | Fall 2009 Orion Studios, Baltimore Portland, Oregon |
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| Length | 49:59 | |||||||||
| Label | Fearless | |||||||||
| Producer | Kris Crummett | |||||||||
| Alesana chronology | ||||||||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AbsolutePunk | (25%) |
| Allmusic |    |
| Rock Sound | (7/10) |
| Under the Gun Review | (7/10) |
The Emptiness is the first concept album, and overall third full-length album by American metalcore band Alesana. It was recorded in the fall of 2009 and was released on January 26, 2010 through Fearless Records. The album is considered that of a rock opera because of its in-depth story. Milke and Lee have both stated that the idea of writing an album based upon their own authored story has been present with them since the band's first release, Try This with Your Eyes Closed.
Before the release of A Place Where the Sun Is Silent, The Emptiness was Alesana's best-selling album at the time, claiming the 68th position on the Billboard chart upon its release.
The Emptiness is unique in being the first work by Alesana to have official singles: "To Be Scared by an Owl" and "The Thespian". On November 23, after showing teaser versions of the song, the band digitally sold "To Be Scared by an Owl" on their website. The second single "The Thespian" was released two weeks later in the same fashion, shortly after the filming of its music video.
The Emptiness became available for pre-order on iTunes on January 14 and the full album was leaked on January 21, five days before it released. It debuted at #68 on the Billboard 200 chart.
The album differs from the previous albums musically. After the line-up confusion of 2009, Adam Ferguson left the band and Jake Campbell, who had temporarily replaced Shane Crump on bass guitar, became the new guitarist. Though Campbell increased the amount of dual guitars played throughout the album, he did not provide any of the vocals Ferguson had in the past. However, the album features more guitar solos than that of their previous releases.
Although the former albums have references to mythology of different cultures, this is the band's first concept album where the story is not based on anything else. While touring in Europe, Shawn Milke and Dennis Lee decided to create a horror theme for their third album as well as using Edgar Allan Poe as an influence for their work—more specifically, the poem "Annabel Lee". Faint references are also made in the liner notes to "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Cask of Amontillado" in that it describes a body hidden under the bricks in the main character's basement, in comparison to the heart under the floorboards and the man behind the brick wall. In an interview, Milke included Stephen King, David Lynch, and the film Friday the 13th as further influences for the story.
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