Alesana – Ambrosia (Lyrics)
Album: On Frail Wings Of Vanity And Wax
Year: 2006
Title: Ambrosia


the dawn echoes the night with my glory… The sun himself honors me
Once king of roses, now lord of gold
(blessed with the gift of gilded touch)
the Gods themselves envy my hand
(fate wields its knife to cut the thread)
I curse the day my dream became my descent
suddenly I long for you, my only love
In my perfection I have no want
(a folly as fatal as sin)
yet eyes still glint with greed untold
(has now become the end of me)
I curse the day my dream became my descent
suddenly I long for you, my only love
Have I not earned this, the gift of beauty within?
how selfish were the Gods to keep their riches from my rightful treasure?
I truly have become one of them… My fatal flaw
Oh yeah! Ive got her hook, line, and sinker!
thanks to me, she’s her own new necklace!
Now she’s good as gold!
I curse the day my dream became my descent
suddenly I long for you, my only love
… Cut the thread…

In Greek mythology, ambrosia is sometimes the food, sometimes the drink, of the gods, often depicted as conferring ageless immortality upon whoever consumes it. It was brought to the gods in Olympus by doves (Odyssey xii.62), so may have been thought of in the Homeric tradition as a kind of divine exhalation of the Earth (check Wikipedia).
Dan tipikal lagu-lagu bergenre emo/screamo nih, liriknya dalem, mellow, dan sangat filosofis (tapi musik cadas euy…). And I had to work hard to found out its meaning, hahah. Well, kurang-lebih yah, terlepas dari kisah mitologi Yunani itu sendiri, in our modern world, lagu ini berkisah (dari video klipnya juga sih) tentang kisah cinta dua insan yang tidak berjalan mulus. Tidak kekal. Si pria frustrasi, patah hati, dan merasa membutuhkan ‘ambrosia’ untuk cinta mereka agar kekal selamanya. Kalo versi mitologinya banget, si pria meminum ambrosia ini tanpa sengaja dan akhirnya dia hidup abadi, dan itu artinya dia akan berpisah dengan kekasihnya yg fana untuk selamanya. So many interpretation actually. Just use your imagination.
And Alesana rocks! Semua lagu mereka liriknya sangat mendalam, filosofis, berat, dan menyeluruh tanpa harus jadi cengeng, sok romantis, atau ngegombal. Dalam album On Frail Wings Of Vanity And Wax (2006) hampir semua lagunya terinspirasi oleh mitologi. And everytime I read every lyrics of their songs, I feel like I’m reading an anthology book of poems that written by a professional writer/poet. Well, they are smart guys, dude!

Terlepas dari itu, music skill mereka juga dahsyat. Kegalauan, kekecewaan, dan kesedihan khas emo-nya kentara banget. Mungkin karena kita akan mendengar dua vokal sekaligus hampir secara bersamaan di hampir sepanjang lagu dalam lagu-lagu mereka… Vokal nyanyian sedih dan galau dengan nada tinggi khas emo, serta vokal teriakan garang khas metalcore yang menginterpretasikan kemarahan dan kekecewaan. Mungkin Alesana lebih tepat disebut bergenre emocore. Terkadang ada juga yg menyebutnya bergenre melodic metalcore. But, IMHO, they are different. Contoh band yg bergenre melodic metalcore or melodic scene tuh Bullet for My Valentine, di mana vokal nyanyiannya bersuara berat dan maskulin. Alesana, dengan main vocal yang melengking panjang dan terdengar ringan serta tenor bahkan nyaris feminin (emo identik dengan hal-hal yg berbau androgyny) sudah otomatis terklasifikasi dalam genre emo/screamo.
And, like my friend said, “I think they are too cute and too stylish to be rockstars.” Well, I agree! Heheh… But, I think this is how they show their image as emo. Well, in their latest album Where Myth Fades To Legend (2008) I only have heard Seduction song. Gotta check them for more…!

- Current members are:
- Dennis “Diablo” Lee – Screaming vocals (2004-present)
- Shawn Milke – Vocals, Guitar, Piano (2004-present)
- Patrick “Peezee” Thompson – Lead guitar, Backing vocals during live performance (2004-present)
- Jeremy “Jables” Bryan – Drums (2005-present)
- Shane Crump – Bass guitar, Vocals (2007-present)
- Jake Campbell – Rhythm guitar (2008-present)