On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax is the debut full length album by Alesana

Alesana

Alesana is an American rock band from Raleigh, North Carolina. Formed in 2004, the group is currently signed to Epitaph Records and have released one EP and four full-length studio albums...

. It was originally released on June 6, 2006 by Tragic Hero Records, 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

Icarus

-Space and astronomy:* Icarus , on the Moon* Icarus , a planetary science journal* 1566 Icarus, an asteroid* IKAROS, a interplanetary unmanned spacecraft...

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Track listing

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
  Hades
  Hades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades...
  
  ' lust for Zeus' and Demeter's daughter Persephone
  Persephone
  In Greek mythology, Persephone , also called Kore , is the daughter of Zeus and the harvest-goddess Demeter, and queen of the underworld; she was abducted by Hades, the god-king of the underworld....
  
  . 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
  Orpheus and Eurydice
  Orpheus and Eurydice is a tale from Greek legend. Works making holistic use of this legend include:-Literature:* The Death of Eurydice episode which occurs in Book X of Metamorphoses by Ovid * Sir Orfeo, anonymous narrative poem Orpheus and Eurydice is a tale from Greek legend. Works making...
  
  . 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
  Nero
  Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
  
  . He was infamous for his tyranny, calling many executions, including those of his mother and stepbrother. He then blames the Great Fire of Rome
  Great Fire of Rome
  The Great Fire of Rome was an urban fire that occurred beginning July 19, AD 64.-Background:According to Tacitus, the fire spread quickly and burned for six days. Only four of the fourteen districts of Rome escaped the fire; three districts were completely destroyed and the other seven suffered...
  
   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
  Troy
  Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
  
  .

Personnel

Alesana

• Steven Tomany - bass guitar
• Jeremy Bryan - drums
• Dennis Lee - screamed 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