Album Review: No World for Tomorrow

And so, ladies and gents (few of you as there are), welcome to my inaugural album review. It's only here because I am particularly excited about this one. I love this band so much that when I think about them, I get what a friend affectionately calls "joy seizures." I shake uncontrollably. But I will try my best to be unbiased, as I review...

ARTIST: Coheed and Cambria
ALBUM: Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Vol. 2: No World for Tomorrow

After the loss of half the band, the restoration of a quarter, and the addition of a new member, progressive rock's poster boys Coheed and Cambria have come out with their new album, Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Vol. 2: No World for Tomorrow, or NWFT, for short. This album brings to a close the epic tale of Claudio Kilgannon, son of the ill-fated (and title) characters Coheed and Cambria. Never to be outdone, C&C's latest album ends with--what else?--the destruction of the universe.

Intriguing (and confusing) side-story notwithstanding, the music is an issue in itself. Like any good progressive band, Coheed's music does just that: progresses. From their decidedly heavy debut, Second Stage Turbine Blade, the band's sound has changed drastically. No longer dirty and grunge-infused, the band's next release, In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 brought them the attentions of Columbia records, who distributed the band's next album, Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Vol. 1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness, with the epic "Welcome Home" and inventive "Willing Well" quartet at the close of the album. Many fans are disappointed in this, Coheed's fourth release. They've lost a lot of their edge, it is true. However, "edge" in Coheed's case was just poor musicianship, slowly leaving as these boys grow to fit the mantle handed them last fall by Alternative Press: This generation's Led Zeppelin.

Erroneous comparison? Perhaps not. Frontman Claudio Sanchez certainly has as unique a voice as Plant's, and both he and guitarist Travis Stever are no slouches. They are certainly better than their contemporaries in their genre, as was Jimmy Paige.

If any album has the ability to show the world what Sanchez and Stever can do, it is this one. Unlike the other releases, NWFT has solos aplenty, and even the background riffs can be mind blowing (see "No World for Tomorrow," the title track). Their classic rock emulation becomes evident in "Gravemakers & Gunslingers" above all. It's hard to think of a band to cite...think the four-on-the-floor feel of a good Lynard Skynard song, or Thin Lizzy, but with flashy guitar to shame Rush. Speaking of Geddy Lee, the next track, "Justice in Murder," out-Geddy's the shit out of him. Nobody does poppy, layered falsetto like Claudio Sanchez.

NWFT musically goes places no other Coheed Album goes. Second Stage is the same from beginning to end, a cohesive sound. Album by album, Coheed has been working its way down the spectrum to NWFT. It holds itself together beautifully by taking risks. The last song, "On the Brink," has Sanchez singing with just a piano and a cello for a while, and he goes totally a cappella for a few bars in "Radio Bye-Bye." There's some blues guitar and piano thrown about, along with some very IKSSE:3-like drive on "No World for Tomorrow." The whole album utilizes more non-traditional instruments to great effect. The mis-mash of styles and sounds is quintessentially Coheed, and that's what makes them good. They go places that other bands are afraid to go. They don't worry about "a sound" to adhere to. And that's what gives them the best shot at that Zeppelin mantle. Their sound isn't genre-bound. They take risks. They make music.

Songs to Listen to:
...the whole album, preferably, but if not:
"Feathers"
"Mother Superior"
"Gravemakers & Gunslingers"
"Radio Bye-Bye"