Hello
there folks, I'm finally bringing this blog back out of the dark. I failed on
my notion to bring a bunch of new content and I do feel terribly guilty about
it all. But I don't want to bring down this post with any further pessimism so
let me get ahead with some of the changes I'll be bringing and some of the new
promises I'll be trying to keep.
First and
foremost, I'll be aiming to reduce the broad area of media that I tried to
cover before and specify the topics that I find most interesting. As a result,
gone with the random reviews (though they'll feature from time to time as
specials - largely videogame reviews [Assassins Creed 3 will be getting the
treatment as soon as I finish it]) and instead I'll focus on updating my blog
on a more regular and scheduled basis.
Continuing
from this, I'll focus the majority of my attention to music and film. I'll be
putting together batches of content based on these two forms (if I have the
content to do so) and try to keep to a theme with each post (limited as I am in
regards to accessibility, I can't keep a promise on these exact terms). I'm
excited to get to work on this and I'll try to update at the end of the week
(so if you're interested, there will hopefully be a new post either on the
Friday, Saturday or Sunday of each week).
'Welcome
Home' - Coheed & Cambria review round-up
Back in
October, prog rock enthusiasts C&C released their sixth record, 'The
Afterman: Ascension', the first of a two part album ('Descension' is due to be
released in February 2013) exploring the namesake of the series their previous
records take place in, Sirius Amory. To get into the story of 'The Amory Wars'
and explain to you the concept behind each one of the albums would take me an
extremely long time and I have little motivation or desire to do so.
So here
is a couple of links that may help you:
To
celebrate the release of 'Ascension' and to look forwards to 'Descension', I'll
be looking at their released records, offering a slight insight and reviewing
them all. So let's get to it.
The
Second Stage Turbine Blade
Released
back in 2005, TSSTB took the music world by surprise, offering a highly
conceptualised prog rock album in the form of the second (yes, second. I'll get
to this later) part of a five part story. TSSTB tells the story of Coheed and
Cambria, the genetically engineered heroes of the story as they fight to oppose
the villainous Ryan Wilhelm, the Tri- Mage who dictates over Heavens Fence (the
universe the story is set in) as he seeks to topple the Keyframe (a chain of
deceased souls which keeps the universe stable and connects the various planets
within the system).
Combining
exciting riffs and solos with window-shattering vocals, front man and guitarist
Claudio Sanchez manages to bring forwards a unique approach to the performances
and song writing (he's the creator of The Amory Wars, after all) in his vision.
'Time Consumer', the first song after the title track opener is the first case
of this, as the song shifts from propelling verses into a chorus that feels as
if it has been written for live performances. 'Everything Evil' continues this,
combining the previous qualities and ending with a chant that raises hairs and
will leave you wanting more after it's quite abrupt ending. There is a slight
issue here though, as there doesn't seem to be a great deal of stand-out
singles. 'Hearshot Kid Disaster' and 'God Send Conspirator' provide some of the
more invigorating moments but due to their length and nature don't offer
themselves as single-material. However, TSST seems to benefit from this,
particularly as it allows the album to fit together perfectly, offering a
comfortable balance amongst the tracks, rather than becoming a collection of
'killer' and 'filler'.
Verdict:
a fitting debut, full of potential and great riffage. 8.0/10
In
Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3
Following
the death of Coheed & Cambria Kilgannon (the characters, not the band),
Claudio Kilgannon (again, the character, not the bands vocalist) must continue
the battle against his parents enemies in hope of saving Heavens Fence.
After
TSSTB, KSSE is somewhat of a disappointment. The album lacks the strength of
their debut as a whole and the majority of the tracks are overshadowed by some
of the stronger titles. But whilst this album isn't as strong overall, tracks
such as 'A Favor House Atlantic' and 'The Light and the Glass' keep this album
afloat with the bands back catalogue. Starting strong with the album’s title
track, an eight minute epic detailing the battle between Claudio's uncle, Jesse
and the enemy forces, C&C showcases one their finest moments, not just on
the album, but in their collection as an whole and to this day it keeps up as a
live track. After this though, the albums starts to lack any real strength for
the most part up until the halfway point with single 'Blood Red Summer'. Despite
being a potential re-boot for the album to follow, KSSE continues onwards
onwards with The Camper Velourium series: three songs which start off the bands
fascination with collective tracks. Whilst not the worst tracks on the album
they do little to keep the record afloat. Followed by this is the albums
strongest track, 'A Favor House Atlantic' which features Claudio's vocals at
their finest. The album then plays out with 'The Light and the Glass' and
'2113', each a nine minute stint which in themselves alone starts to make up
for the first half of the album.
Verdict:
Certainly the weakest C&C effort, KSSE isn't without faults but is saved by
several tracks which portray what the band has to offer in the future. 6.0/10
Good
Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume I: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness
The first
volume of the finale, FFTEM picks up from the strengths of KSSE and delivers
them in a way which has seen C&C become better and better with each record.
The album comes from the perspective of The Writing Writer ('Apollo I:The Writing
Writer') whom alongside his talking bicycle ('Ten Speed: Of God's Blood and
Burial') tells the story of how they are writing out Claudio's destiny. Intro
'Keeping the Blade' is an instrumental featuring the bands signature melody - a
track which features throughout the bands tracks and continues here. Acoustic
number 'Always & Never' is followed by one of the bands biggest hits -
'Welcome Home'. The six minute epic features a solo battle between Claudio and
fellow guitarist Travis Stever and an epic, hair-raising finisher. 'Welcome
Home' serves as one of the bands finest tracks to date. Single, 'The Suffering'
offers the strongest moment of the record, adding piano chords to the
sing-a-long chorus and ecstatic guitars. The final four tracks, 'The Willing
Well' series do little except to weaken the overall approach and while it does
serve to benefit the story, the tracks fail to live up to the standard that has
been produced before it.
Verdict:
a much stronger approach than its predecessor, FFTEM offers an exciting first
half to the anticipated finale. 7.0/10
Good
Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume II: No World for Tomorrow
Continuing
the flow of the story, NWfT is the bands best attempt since their debut. The
first half of the record shows the band at their finest: ‘Feathers’ and ‘The
Running Free’ are fierce tracks, offering a mixture of tight, upbeat guitars
and massive sing-a-long moments while acoustic hit ‘Mother Superior’ helps to cement
the band, particularly Claudio as a master of their craft. After ‘Gravemakers
& Gunslingers’ the record seems to drop off slightly (there’s been a
massive trend of this so far...) but never falters. Radio Bye Bye reigns the
album back up to the brilliance of ‘Feathers’ and the eight minute opus that
is‘The End Complete’ stands above the rest of the following tracks.
Verdict:
the best record since TSSTB, C&C have finally started to reach the dizzying
heights their earlier effort had promised. 7.5
Year of
the Black Rainbow
‘Year of
the Black Rainbow’ is the long awaited prequel (or part one of five) to the
story so far. Certainly a different beast to their previous efforts, gone with
the epic guitar solos and in with a higher production value, YBR does not come
across as a typical C&C album, but you shouldn’t let this put you off. By changing their sound, C&C have come up
with their biggest record yet. Single ‘The Broken’ pulls you in from the start
and never lets you go. The technicality of ‘Guns of Summer’ drums offers the
most distinct sound from the band to date. Album highlight ‘Here We are
Juggernaut’ is the most intense moment, with its early chorus that continues
the ferocity up until following track ‘Far’. Slowing things down, ‘Far’
continues the technicality of YBR but opts for a slow burner rather than the
intensity stirred ups so far and gives itself to a solo. ‘This Shattered
Symphony’ and ‘World of Lines’ re-build the pace but then the album launches
into acoustic track ‘Pearl of the Stars’ which might possibly be the most
defining acoustic track from the band, in ever. The final quarter doesn’t quite
match the efforts of the rest of the album but it still proves itself to
potentially be the best C&C record to date.
Verdict: despite
its differences, C&C have proven that they can make a brilliant record even
after making changes to their sound. Come into this one open minded and you’ll
not be disappointed. 8.5/10
The
Afterman: Ascension
The most
recent release, ‘Ascension’ is a fitting culmination of everything C&C from
their debut release ten years ago. Although the shortest album, it is a
brilliant mixture of the of their earlier sound (‘Mothers of Men’ and
‘Goodnight, Fair Lady’) and the more technical and somewhat industrial sound of
‘No World for Tomorrow’ and ‘Year of the Black Rainbow’ (‘The Afterman’ and
‘KEE II: Holly Wood the Cracked’). TA:A tells the story of the series namesake,
Sirius Amory as he explores the Keywork and so forth.
Following
subtle intro ‘The Hollow’, lead single ‘KEE I: Domino the Destitute’ shows just
how far the band have come in the past ten years, combining nerve-shredding
guitars with vocals that fit the live performance perfectly. Highlight ‘The
Afterman’ and album finisher ‘Subtraction’ provide the less intense moments on
the record and serve to benefit the collection of tracks brilliant due to their
differing styles (‘Subtraction’ is acoustic, ‘The Afterman’ is not) and space
in between one another. ‘KEE III: Vic the Butcher’ proves itself to be the
records highlight, providing the most perfect combination of the various styles
C&C have proved to be masters of that leads out with the potential of being
a great live performance.
Verdict: the best C&C to
date, ‘Ascension’ sets itself up perfectly for next Februarys release in the form
of Descension. The next few months cannot go by quick enough. 9.0/10
So that’s it. Well at least for a
while. Until I put up the ‘Looper’ review. This will be as soon as I’ve
published this post. So yeah... until then, adios!
