Confessions

North Carolina-based post-hardcore act Alesana return with Confessions, their long-awaited fifth album and the concluding volume of their ambitious Annabel Trilogy. A mix of highly theatrical alt-rock and intense screamo, a sound the band has labeled "sweetcore," Confessions is the third of Alesana's concept albums to deal with the fictional character of Annabel and her relation to several major works of literature. She was first introduced on 2010's The Emptiness, inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's poem Annabel Lee, and then again on 2011's A Place Where the Sun Is Silent, which took its inspiration from Dante's epic poem Inferno. On Confessions, Annabel appears in the world of sci-fi/fantasy author Madeleine L'Engel's Time Quintet of books. Eschewing traditional labels, the album was released on Revival Recordings, a company owned by bandleader Shawn Milke, who also co-produced alongside the band's longtime engineer Neil Engle. ~ Timothy Monger