This Random Playlist will give my thoughts on Coheed and Cambria's latest album - No World For Tomorrow (the full title being Good Apollo Vol. 2 etc etc). This post has been kicking about in a draft form for literally weeks, I've had to stop myself from going off on tangents exploring how the band almost split, and of course the story behind all the albums. Let's look past those for a moment, and keep this a very tight cohesive review - this should hopefully answer the question, hey! is this album for me?..
Now, the title "The End Complete" has been lifted from the 4-song epic at the end of the album - something which Coheed and Cambria have become renowned for doing in most of their albums, and in this case should mark the end of the story
Something that is immediately apparent on listening is the amount of solos now crammed into a Coheed album. Again it's a natural evolution of their sound, solos being something that's not really featured in their initial stuff, but became much more noticeable around Good Apollo vol.1, and now there is a solo for (pretty much) every song in vol.2. It does seem that more care has been take with the song construction as a whole too - Vol.1 had many songs with rhythm doing simple power chord progressions and then lead putting licks over the top, where in vol.2 the guitarwork is insane, both guitarists have equally exciting parts. That couples well with the increased pacing of Claudio's vocals making the album literally jump out at you.
I will hold my hands up and say this is their best album to date, I still have a sweet spot for the Second Stage Turbine Blade but the production values for this are literally through the roof. Claudio's vocals, whilst there are always a talking point for newcomers to the Coheed sound, sound better than ever, particularly in one of my fave songs off the album - Mother Superior - which has a kinda Stairway to Heaven feel about it, or maybe I'm greatly exaggerating. One thing that can be said is that Coheed and Cambria are the masters of creating a deeply layered sound - "The Hound (Of Blood and Rank)" is a great example of this. People often remark they are very much a headphones band, and sometimes you need that complete immersion to discover all the effects and extra little constructions which add to the whole experience. I even discovered thanks to my broken headphones that Mother Superior features two vocal tracks, one restrained and much lower in the background, and the other where he lets loose,particularly towards the end of the song.
Again, not to dwell too much on the story, but this is supposed to be the last chapter, with the next album being the prequel to Second Stage Turbine Blade and the first installment in the story. The title for the post "The End Complete" is the name of the 4 song epic which has now become the traditional method for finishing off their albums. It does suggest that To be honest I was left a little flat, I can't say for certain how exactly the story ended without visiting fan forums. Only snippets of the story are revealed in the songs themselves, and often it is quite cryptic. One thing for sure is that Claudio (yes, he wrote himself into the story :s) is still trying to get home. Now I can't make my mind up whether it's genius recalling past moments in the story, or simply lazy songwriting. I'm siding towards the later, almost to the point of rolling my eyes - "you're on your way home are you? Oh, tell us all something we don't know".
Like in earlier albums where Time Consumer was repeated as part of dream sequence, the haunting glockenspiel rendition of the opening riff from the Final Cut was pure genius, I really did get goosebumps.
That being said there are two minor allowable criticisms which can be made against the album. Since In Keeping Secrets... the first track has been the signature theme for the Co&Ca story. It's first appearance was actually at the end of the one of the songs in Second Stage... but got a revamp for the second album. It also appeared reworked with a more dark and sinister tone for Good Apollo Vol.1 but unfortunately it is missing from vol.2. It is a proper song in itself, but especially when listening to an album as a whole it does get you pumped - kinda like a "previously on Lost", something we expect to see at the start of every installment. The other disappointment is the song "The fall of House Atlantic". Upon seeing this in the track listings, I was hoping for a reprise of "A Favor House Atlantic" but instead it is a short instrumental track. It is the only track that could easily be dropped from the listing and not make a shed of difference - I usually skip it if it comes up in a randomplaylist.
Overall, as mentioned above, I believe this to be the best, the most "complete" (sorry for the poor pun) album to date. For those new to Coheed and Cambria, the level of quality of the songs, with personal preference rating some songs higher than others. It's probably a good idea to check out the singles that will come from this album for starters - "Running Free" and "Mother Superior". I still probably rate The Second Stage Turbine Blade a little higher than No World For Tomorrow only because it was the album that got into this band. Looking back Claudio's vocals were slightly echoey way back when - for the much increased production and musicmanship, this is technically their best album to date and a welcome return after a mini-slump with Good Apollo vol.1 with some songs being under par.
So go check them out, and also go check out the Prizefighter Inferno, Claudio's electro side-project, still supposedly set in the Coheed and Cambria Universe, but a very different sound - very cool.
EDIT: I just checked out the Feathers video, really good and it is also points out how distinctive Claudio's appearance is with his big hair, when it is not tied back, you're definitely not going to miss him walking down the street.
