Article by Karina Gaytan
Photos by Jamary Bobe
Starting in the music industry as the keyboardist of well-known deathcore band Winds of Plague, Pittsburgh native Alaena establishes her twist on pop music. After feeling like she was missing something in her musical career, Alaena left Wings of Plague and decided to seek it out. She then moved to Los Angeles right out of high school to pursue her career, where she later met producer Khris Lorenz. They worked jointly developing her unique sound, and in 2016, they released her first single titled “Bad.” As “Bad” gained momentum, so did Alaena’s fan base. Being heavily influenced by artists like Marilyn Manson, Britney Spears, No Doubt, Cradle of Filth, Muse, and t.A.T.u, the Queen of Darkness, otherwise known as, Alaena, is proving that a once die-hard death-core metal musician can go pop-grunge. Her 90s pop vibe combined with that grunge grit makes the Queen of Darkness unique. This is Alaena’s vision. It is something that is entirely her aesthetic with a sense that only she could bring. Believing that in order to get something raw and unique, you have to put yourself into your music; Alaena does everything she can to show herself in a true form.
In 2018, “I Get My Way,” was released. “I Get My Way,” was written while Alaena was on the verge of leaving a bad relationship, which was because her partner at the time, did not know how to treat her correctly. Alaena considered writing this song empowering because it was exactly what needed to happen in her relationship or else it would be over. It gave her that bit of power and confidence she needed to say, "hey, I can speak up and say what I want, how I want to and if you don’t like it then bye;" this eventually led her to be more honest with her music because she finally felt she had the confidence to be able to do so. On April 5, 2019, Alaena released "Paranoid." "Paranoid," was inspired by terrifying and intrusive images Alaena had the past couple of years due to anxiety and OCD. The song is her confession to everyone about how she managed to hide what had been occurring in her head and how it ultimately resulted in paranoia and pushing people away. After "Paranoid" was released, a myriad of people reached out to Alaena and told her that they experienced similar situations; Alaena felt quite honored to be able to speak about the topic of paranoia correlated to anxiety and have fans relate to her words. Alaena states that she will always try and help her fans as much as she can when they are going through difficult times because they have helped her so much. Alaena is taking the music world by storm, and soon you won’t remember a time in your life when you didn’t know about the Queen of Darkness. So go ahead and hit the follow button on Alaena’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to be kept in the loop!
