Where's Adalia?

"56 years ago on June 23rd, 1951, Adalia went missing..."

Isolated from the world and nestled between protective mountains lies a small town known as Madina Lake. Despite its innocent appearance, this quiet lakeside community is anything but. Among the residents breed lies, crimes, deceit and many strange occurrences. Such a place obviously does not exist, especially being set in the 1950s, but where did this fictional town come from?

On March 7th, 2005, brothers Matthew and Nathan Leone took place in a special twins episode of NBC's "Fear Factor". The two faced three other sets of twins in grueling competitions in hopes of obtaining the $50,000 cash prize. Together they hung from helicopters, ate raw flesh and organs from a cow, and even crawled through trenches filled with said cow's remains (and yes – just like anything that has ever been recorded, it can be found on Youtube). After suffering nasty infections and nearly facing death in the hospital, the Leones claimed their prize and immediately used it to set to work on their dream: becoming a rock band.

Once the twins used the money to buy a tour van and record a demo, it was time to work on the band itself. It was decided that Nathan would be the vocalist and his brother would be the bassist. Mateo Camargo (guitars, programming, additional engineering and backing vocals) and Dan "Chisel" Torelli (drums) soon completed the band, and the four young men began their first song.

Madina Lake's first album came out on March 26th, 2007 with a suiting title. "From Them, Through Us, To You" is what's known as a "concept album," or an album with a story behind it. Each song on the disc tells a different story about those residing in Madina Lake, the fictional town created by Matthew Leone. In this town, it seems to be everybody's wish to be famous – probably a side-effect of being so isolated from the rest of civilization. But when the town's most beautiful, well-known socialite Adalia goes missing, the town is in total disarray. The album seems to be the people's way of reaching out through the band, inviting all who will listen to join the search for the long-lost Adalia.

With Nathan's unique voice and each song on the album so different from the next, it's hard to compare Madina Lake to any other band. From sad songs such as the one named after Adalia herself to more inspiring songs such as "Now or Never," Madina Lake does an amazing job of evoking one emotion after the other through their 13 catchy tracks. The band is inspired by other bands such as Smashing Pumpkins, Refused, Muse, Nine Inch Nails and At The Drive-In. Their most popular song and first music video, House of Cards, helped them become noticed in a short period of time. In only five months of being a band under Roadrunner Records, the four men were invited to join the Projekt Revolution tour, where they would play alongside well-known bands such as Linkin Park and My Chemical Romance, as well as other growing bands like Saosin.

However, Madina Lake is more than just a few songs that you might find yourself humming now and then. They really are "all about the fans", unlike many other bands that claim to be so. The sudden shock of being on such a big tour and the realization that they are becoming more and more well-known did not affect this. During the Projekt Revolution tour, the band members would spread out in the crowd after their performance and meet the fans. They happily signed autographs and took pictures with those who asked and not once seemed annoyed by the swarm of people. Upon personally meeting the twins at the show in Jones Beach, it's safe to say that they are possibly the friendliest people anyone could hope to meet (especially since members from a few other bands were caught walking around as well—and doing whatever they could to avoid the fans).

So the question still stands – where's Adalia? Perhaps Madina Lake will continue their search in a future album. To hear the stories of those who currently live in her small, deceptively quiet hometown, pick up a copy of "From Them, Through Us, To You" and let the band take you through the mistakes these fame-obsessed people make throughout their lives – and their hopes for one day solving the sudden disappearance that destroyed their entire town.