GOOD APOLLO, I'M BURNING STAR IV, VOLUME TWO - NO WORLD FOR TOMORROW

I don't quite understand why people keep saying that this album completely shed their emo sound and became more pure prog rock, as this album is one of the more pop oriented in their discography. After their more ambitious, proggy previous album, Coheed and Cambria seem to have gone more towards a sound focusing even more on their hooks and catchy melodies than before, not that that's a bad thing. The sound is definitely more refined all around however, without any songs which I would consider major filler in the same way of previus albums, and definitely some moments of a heavier sort of sound, which is very welcome in balancing the accessibility of other tracks.,.

Just as with any other C&C album, the first two tracks are easy enough to predict, the first being a brief intro, and the second being an anthemic epic that's consistently one of the best songs on the entire album. In this case, I'd say that No World For Tomorrow is one of my favourite of these sorts of songs, starting off with a cool riff that before unleashing one of the most epic, dramatic songs they've written, strong basslines undereath incredible vocal melodies, and a downright incredible chorus, as well as a cool reprise of the chorus of Blood Red Summer. The Hound (Of Blood and Rank) is a more fun song, once again with a cool chorus, as well as some cool string arrangements, with cool vocal harmonies, although it does drag on a bit. Feathers is definitely one of the most underrated songs by the band, sure, it's without a doubt one of the most commercial, poppy songs they've written, but I love the catchy hook and Claudio's extremely pleasant vocals, along with the guitar solo near the end. One issue that I do have with some of the heavier songs here, in particular The Running Free and Gravemakers and Gunslingers is that they do sound qiute goofy in general, mostly because it's cleat that a harder edge to the music is being pursued, but Claudio's voice is just too high and melodious to make it sound the way I feel like they tried to make. The other song on this first half that I really like is Mother Superior, which is just brimming with emotion all the way through, being powerful when it works, and subdued otherwise, making for one of their better crafted songs.

There is one problem I definitely have with this album is the fact that The End Complete suite is undoubtedly the worst of them that the band has made, with Radio Bye Bye and The Road and the Damned both being serviceable songs all around, but not as special as the songs on all the other suites are, feeling quite disjointed overall. The Fall Of House Atlantic is a cool minute long, complex and overlayed guitar piece that is quite nice, starting off the suite well, but it's really The End Complete and On The Brink that make this worthwhile at all. The latter is highly climactic, serving as an excellent closer to the entire plot of this part of the Amory Wars, and The End Complete stand out as another of their best songs, starting off in fairly standard fashion, being catchy and well played, but then it goes completely insane, showng the band at their most intense. This section distorts Claudio's vocals and then provides a very chaotic instrumental backing while the vocas are absolutely belted out, even bringing back his screaming that he didn't end up using last album at all (for the better mind you, it just works well here).

Overall, this is one of the weaker albums by the band, not having any major points of filler, but almost never reaching the heights that even Second Stage Turbine Blade reached, although this album is more varied and consistent. That said, when this album is good, it's really good, I just don't think that it has the same magic as their previous two albums at all. I'd recommend their previous two albums if you want to check out this band, and think that people who can enjoy more pop oriented elements of music at points will find those highly enjoyable.

Best songs: No World For Tomorrow, Mother Superior, III - The End Complete

Weakest songs: The Running Free, Gravemakers and Gunslingers

Verdict: A more refined, pop oriented album by Coheed and Cambria, but also a less interesting one than their previous two albums, which I'd recommend you listen to first before giving this one a shot.