YEAR OF THE BLACK RAINBOW

Ok, I bought this with some trepidation, since I wasn't the biggest fan of their previous outing, No World for Tomorrow. I was pleasantly surprised. This is easily one of Coheed's best albums. It's obvious they really focused on songwriting this time around. The radio ready tracks alone (the Broken, Here We are Juggernaut, Far, Made of Nothing) show real improvement as they are not nearly as grating as previous efforts and are bound to have a longer shelf life (Feathers, the Running Free, I'm looking at you). Coheed has cut back on the overblown, pretentious crap and put out an album full of what they do best; kick ass, original rock songs with undertones of pop sensibility. The drumming really shines on this album with the addition of Chris Pennie of Dillinger Escape Plan fame. He has breathed some much needed energy back into this band. There are really no weak tracks to be found, especially if you're already a fan. One of the standouts is Guns of Summer. For some reason this song has split the fan base but it's really one of the best Coheed songs I've heard in a long time. Great job guys. Put out another album like this and I'll start the Rush comparisons.