Alesana’s fourth studio album opens dramatically with “The Dark Wood of Error,” where spare piano notes, cultish chants, and Latin incantations come together. “The Forbidden Dance” follows the intro with dangerously catchy emo rock, where distorted guitars intertwine with an amazingly arranged horn section. This recording finds Dennis Lee’s clean inflections taking a more prominent role than the scream/singing that shared the spotlight on previous albums. A Place Where the Sun Is Silent also puts cranked guitars on the back burner to successfully implement tastefully arranged string sections and piano parts. “A Gilded Masquerade” is an exquisite standout ballad that contrasts themes of light and darkness, where heavenly harmonies and lush orchestration rub against the grain of guitar distortion and demonic-sounding vocal shredding.