On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax

On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax is the debut full-length album by post-hardcore band Alesana. 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, new cover art, and an interview with the newer label.^[1]

In 2006, they added guitarist/vocalist Adam "Huckleberry" Ferguson to their lineup. They followed with a full-length album, entitled On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax, produced by Kit Walters, during the summer of 2006.^[2] The album was their first foray into concept albums with most songs being based on Greek mythology. In late 2006 Alesana signed to Fearless Records, which re-released their LP in March 2007 to mostly positive reviews and released a music video for "Ambrosia". In the same year, the song "Apology" in an acoustic version was featured on the compilation release, Punk Goes Acoustic 2. The group parted ways with Steven Tomany on the second to last day of tour followed by a break before playing the entire Warped Tour 2007. He was replaced by Shane Crump.

In early 2008, On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax charted on the Billboard magazine's Heatseekers chart, peaking at number 44.^[3]

The lyrics for the album's songs were written by Dennis Lee and Shawn Milke.^[1] Many of these lyrics were inspired by Greek mythology. For example, "Ambrosia" was based on the myth of King Midas and his golden touch, "Nero's Decay" was based on the fall of Rome, and "Third Temptation of Paris" was based on the Trojan War. Dennis Lee also stated the following:

The album is our interpretation of Greek mythology, and how the same stories and lessons apply to modern society. Each of our songs takes a different myth with a modern twist in most cases, but trying to leave the essence of the stories intact.

Dennis Lee, vocalist of Alesana.^[4]

The album was initially released by the record label Tragic Hero Records on June 6, 2006.^[1] However, in late 2006, Alesana signed with the record label Fearless Records, re-releasing the album on March 20, 2007,^[1] and adding a two-song bonus track to the original track listing: "Early Mourning" and "Apology (Remix)." The re-released album also included a video of a live performance by Alesana in San Antonio, Texas, on December 8, 2006, performing four of its songs: "Apology," "Ambrosia," "Congratulations, I Hate You," and "Tilting the Hourglass"; and a video of the band being interviewed by NewBandTV.com.

Alesana

• Dennis Lee - unclean vocals
• Patrick Thompson - lead guitar and additional vocals (track 11)
• Steven Tomany - bass guitar
• Shawn Milke - clean and unclean vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, and piano
• Adam Ferguson - rhythm guitar and backing vocals
• Jeremy Bryan - drums

Additional personnel

• Rebecca Carter: vocals on track 1
• Melissa Milke: vocals on tracks 2, 6, 10 & 11)
• Kit Walters: vocals on track 11