Alesana's next album probably won't emerge until 2010, but the Raleigh screamo band still just notched a pretty impressive chart milestone. Alesana's shock-value cover of Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around... Comes Around" apears in the album-opening pole position of a new compilation called "Punk Goes Pop Volume Two" (Fearless Records), which debuts at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 this week -- 81 notches higher than Alesana appeared with its own most recent album. The band's next local show is April 29 at Cat's Cradle.

This year has seen a ton of fantastic local records perfect for gift-giving -- just check the tags on this post for a few suggestions on acts to look for. And for further specifics, click here.

Meanwhile, the annual "alternative" musical gift guide is coming on Dec. 14. Check previous years' installments here.

As we covered recently, Alesana might be the most impressive band to call the Triangle home. And the group's fame is spreading, too. Just in time for its Warped Tour stint (which kicks off Wednesday in Phoenix and runs through mid-August, including a July 14 date in Charlotte), the Raleigh band has cracked the top half of the Billboard 200 album-sales chart.

Alesana's new album "Where Myth Fades to Legend" (Fearless Records) debuts at No. 96 on the big chart. By my count, that's the best chart showing by a local hard-rock band since Corrosion of Conformity hit No. 104 on the same chart back in November 1996.