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Coheed And Cambria - Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two - No World for Tomorrow CD (album) cover

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

Coheed And Cambria

Crossover Prog


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4 stars This is Coheed's best album so far. The music is not only extremely progressive, but way more exciting than their older stuff. I can hear their Rush influence, but an all-new, more original sound is emerging. The only bad thing about the album is that I can still hear their emo/punk influences, though it's not as prevalent in this album than it is in older albums.
Report this review (#146139)
Posted Saturday, October 20, 2007 | Review Permalink
5 stars The chapter II has been relised and the longing of Coheed and Cambria fans is finaly over. Coming back from a album like From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness must have been a hard process. Whats new one the newest addition to the saga? For the Starters the massive guitar walls have been toned down for a little bit and it has given C&C more flex in the songs compared to the previous album. I personally like it a lot but this might divide the Coheed and Cambria fans in two groups. What music doesent. It makes me a little teary eyed when first i lived the albums story and the finishing song The End Chapter- V- On the Brink starts with such a soft and melodic guitar. I dont know why but that part minded me of Carlos Santana. Cant find anything to complain about. Allmost every song has great compositions.

By the lyrics Coheeds and Cambrias love story is one of the sadest things that i have seen put to music.

It never hits me on the first time with C&C albums, what does the lyrics mean, but like now when i sat down and lissened the whole album from start to finnish, with lyrics in front of me. It helped a lot. It opened my mind to a nother great piece of this story and to me The lyrics department has never been this good. From a deathseeking tale in Gravemakers & Gunslingers to the soft but sad Feathers and to the Mother Superior that i find to be one of the albums darkest probings in to he charachters live. Everyone has their favorite lyrics and its hard to debate over them but still i find that best lyrics are reserved for The End Chapter 1-5

The albums story in whole seams to sum the time where everything started to go to hell with their love.

If you havent picked it out yet, i think this is the best album the band has ever made.

When the -From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness- had a bit of a broblem keeping it all together this album stays solid throughout every song. Building the foundation for The End Chapter with the first eight songs works.

Like the song Mother Superior one of the best song in total. It creeps around the mind and crips with story and the compositions. In my mind it doesent lack anything. I hardly ever think perfection when it comes to songs, but this is frighteningly close.

And what does this all come down to? The End Chapter. 1-5 I was disappointed at first when i heard them... Was that it? I tought that it has nothing on The Willing Well 1-4 What a fool i was. The End Chapter blows The Willing Well away! Well its a bit of to compare them but that was one thing that came to my mind when i started to lissen to the album.

If i start to think the albums in the year 2007 this has just gone to the top. And what an year it has been! To think that some people have the nerve to say that no one makes good music.

Report this review (#146140)
Posted Saturday, October 20, 2007 | Review Permalink
4 stars The final chapter of Coheed & Cambria's epic concept is a bit of a step back in the "prog" sense. The songs are tighter and the album more consistent, but the song structure is geared a little more in the traditional pop direction. That's not to say that the album does not have it's share of progressive songs and moments, and it certainly is not pop music. This album rocks and rocks hard, while incorporating many of the progressive elements found in their previous albums.

The Reaping is a great acoustic opener that leads into the title track. This song features a fantastic main riff and chorus, and a middle section that really overpowers people familiar with the story behind the music. It represents a battle, and is one of the real progressive highlights on No World For Tomorrow. One of the better songs Coheed has done.

The Hound (Of Blood And Rank) is up next. I don't have too ch to say other than this is a very, very good hard rock song. I love it. Great guitar solo near the end of the song.

Feathers is next, and it's nothing short of a pop-rock masterpiece. This one hooked me right away. That riff and those vocal hooks are just awesome, you cannot help but love this one. It's not progressive but it's just downright great music. Can't praise this one enough.

The Running Free was the big single from the album, and, like the song before it, is just a really good pop-rock song with a great riff and catchy chorus. Little touches that you would expect from a prog band like Coheed really being this one out.

Mother Superior is the epic track of the first part of the album. It starts off as a great heavy ballad and builds into a powerful climax. Some of the most powerful vocals eer delivered by Claudio Sanchez and e really shows his chops as an acoustic guitarist.

Gravemakers & Gunslingers is up and it is the most furious, aggressive song in the Coheed catalog. It's a pure prog-metal masterpiece with amazing guitars and one of the best rhythm sections ever ut out by the band. It's an awesome, "knock 'em on their ass" type song. Simply great.

Justice In Murder is easily the low point on the album. It's got a very simple structure and just feels like filler. Apparently it's the most personal to frontman Claudio Sanchez, but I just don't like it.

The album ends with the 5-part The End Complete, which starts off with a weird acoustic/vocal piece called The Fall Of House Atlantic. Serves as a decent starter.

Radio Bye Bye is the poppiest part of the suite, but it's a cool little song. Love the main riff and it features a cool solo.

The End Complete is up next and it's one of the best songs Coheed has ever done. An epic, EPIC chorus in the beginning, followed by the climactic battle in the middle and the calm after the storm in the end. Very powerful song; the best screaming I've heard in rock, an AMAZING guitar solo, awesome vocal delivery... really the full package and a wonderful climax for the story.

The Road And The Damned follows the end of the story and sounds like an epic arena-rocker. It's one of the few times that I would call a Coheed song a moment of beauty, but this one does it.

On The Brink finishes the album off. It's the most progressive thing they've ever done and it's wildly unpredictable. I won't spoil it. Great stuff.

Overall, this is a masterpiece of rock music, but not necessarily PROGRESSIVE rock music. I consider it prog, but some might not. I want to give it 5, but a very, very strong 4 stars is appropriate here.

Report this review (#146548)
Posted Tuesday, October 23, 2007 | Review Permalink
5 stars I just got this off iTunes today, and have been anticipating it for months. They put the album up on their MySpace page prior to release, and I made sure not to listen to more than two tracks because I didn't want to spoil it. And boy, am I glad I waited.

Good Apollo Vol. I and In Secrets of Silent Earth 3 were both in my regular rotation, and this looks to make it in as well. There is pure rock poetry, guitar thunder, Rush-on-steroids vocals, catchy and solid hooks, and conceptual and lyrical originality that no other band in the mainstream music scene today can touch. And I say this with full knowledge and reverence that Dream Theater, Neal Morse, Marillion, etc. are not mainstream and proudly so.

So the new album? Total pwnage and then some.

With Good Apollo Vol 2., they sound like they've have amped up the drums a bit with Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters fame playing all tracks on the album (and Chris Pennie of Dillinger Escape Plan fame joining as the full time drummer after his contractual duties expire). They sound much more power-balladish and larger than on previous releases. This doesn't really make the "new" lineup sound much different - it just sounds cavernous and big, like they're playing in a warehouse on Mars with divine acoustics. And that's a great thing.

The guitar tracks are straight ahead, balls-out, knock your face off rock. Travis and Claudio give the entire guitar repartee nuance and texture among the bombast, with some great solos (dueling at times), nice clean tones, great compression, acoustic guitar interlaced and other neat sounds thrown in for good measure. The keyboards are sparse and accentuate the songs, providing glitter and adding depth to the album's sonic assault. The instrumentation, orchestration, production and layering is flawless.

This is a great band, and as it's status as "prog-related" indicates, it's difficult to pigeonhole them. I personally would classify them as neo-prog. They're part emo, part metal, part prog, part punk and part hair band. And it's refreshing and unbelievable well-done for this day and age.

Here's hoping they just keep churning out these high-quality albums one after another. I'm listening.

Report this review (#146638)
Posted Tuesday, October 23, 2007 | Review Permalink
sean
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars I've waited a while after the album was released to wait for the hype down, but even after these month I must say this is thus far the pinnacle of their careers, and the album they have had it in them to write, but they just hadn't done it yet. The punk/emo influences are almost gone, and when they do show up they just help out the song instead of taking over. No World for Tomorrow is the conclusion of the story that began with Second Stage Turbine Blade, and it is a fitting conclusion to the saga indeed, and the music has a sense of finality to it, particularly the End Complete suite, which I shall make a point of discussing later on. It begins with The Reaping, a departure from previous orchestral intros to an acoustic piece that sets the tone with some dark, foreboding lyrics. This is followed by the title track, a pseudo prog metal song with some great soloing. Another thing I forgot to mention is the presence of solos on this album, something I wish Coheed had done earlier in their career as these are some very talented guitarists. The album then moves on to three poppier tracks, which are still excellent. These being The Hound, Feathers, and the single, The Running Free, before moving onto the acoustic Mother Superior. Next is one of my favourites, the rocking, Gravemakers and Gunslingers, a guitar dominated hard rock track in the vein of Led Zeppelin. If you didn't listen to the lyrics it would seem quite upbeat, but I enjoy the darker lyrics Coheed has always written. Next is Justice in Murder, and then begins the highlight of the album, The End Complete, divided into five sections . The first is the short orchestral The Fall of House Atlantic, which sets the stage for the suite. This is followed by Radio Bye Bye, a short poppy song. The Next song is The End Complete, my favourite song Coheed has written. This song has everything, heavy riffs, a great hook, some mellow moments, and even some whoas thrown in for good measure. The Road and the Damned is another short number, which leads to the conclusion, On the Brink. This concludes the saga by beginning lightly, then just when you think it will end, it gets heavy with repeated shouts of hail!, followed by a bloodcurdling scream. This dies down and we are left with some jazz piano and then an epic guitar solo with some sci fi sounding synths to bring everything to a conclusion. An absolutely stunning release from this band, but I felt that some of the poppier songs were weaker and must resist the temptation to call it a masterpiece. 4.5 stars anyway. highlights: the end complete, on the brink, gravemakers and gunslingers.
Report this review (#158394)
Posted Saturday, January 12, 2008 | Review Permalink
Queen By-Tor
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars So much for the 'emo' tag!

Coheed & Cambria [C&C] have already created a lot of waves in their (thus far) short career, appealing to many from highschoolers to renegade prog fans. While they've been best known as an 'emo' band so far it seems with this album they decided to rid themselves of that title. Yeah, it's still there in small does, bur for the most part, this is the more 'rock' album they've put out to date. The second in a two part conclusion to the concept the band has been riding since the beginning of their discography, this one is destined to be dark - seeing as how it deals with the end of the character's world. However, the album is surprisingly upbeat (for the most part) and has some excellent and catchy rock tracks with some very nice prog moments. It seems the band really has hit a niche here, because while they were toying with some of the notions present here since their first album this is the first time they've really shown mastery of what they want to do. And what is that which they want to do? This album shows a huge step forward for the band in terms of songwriting. While they may not be churning out pomp-prog masterpieces, they're showing trough a series of shorter, well produced, written and played songs that they really could do it if they wanted to.

Often labeled as ''The Next Rush'' it's important to visit that idea once more. Now, as an avid Rush fanboy - I must say that it was that exact label that turned me off of the band to begin with. I've never wanted to hear the ''next'' anything, and hearing a clone of my favorite band would not be something appealing to me. However, it was after I finally decided t take the plunge and buy their Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth album that i would find a few things. One of which is that the Rush label is almost completely unwarranted. Sure, Claudio has a high voice like Geddy and the band may have been inspired by epics like 2112 with their stories, but that's where the similarities come to an abrupt end. C&C have a very ''modern'' sound, which may turn of some prog heads, but they elements are spaced out between hard rock guitars and a couple of very prog moments that show the band in the form of The Who or even (at one point) Pink Floyd.

While a large chunk of this album is taken up by their (now standard) suite that sits pleasantly at the end of the album. Up to that point however, we're treated with some of the strongest stuff that C&C have come up with. No World For Tomorrow shows a matured version of the band that brought us songs like Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth with it's chugging pace and screaming delivery, while Mother Superior makes for a tasty, prog flavored morsel that is quite slow, but well placed and very emotionally sung. The rest of the songs here simply rock out. Starting with The Hound (Of Blood And Rank) we're introduced to a series of songs that induce headbanding with their incredible beats, choruses and melodies. This one starting with an almost Baba O'Reily kind of synth. While this is something that doesn't usually go over well in the progressive realms, the band here manages to do with grace and produces some very very good songs. Among the best are the single The Running Free with it's instruments pressing the charge and Claudio's vocals shouting back at you. This one has an infectious drum beat that, I'm sure, will get your toe tapping.

Then we get to the suite. The End Complete is comprised of 5 parts with a total running time of around 24 minutes. While the songs may not be as linked as some prog heads would like them to be, they certainly segue and know how to work well together. Obvious nods to Queen with the title Radio Bye Bye, this is the second part after the opening minute intro and what a song. A heavy guitar in the background makes for a pleasant chorus when it gets around to it. That song is still pretty standard, it's the two longer pieces of the suite that progheads will likely be looking at. The End Complete (part III of the suite) is the first longer piece - while it comes off as mostly a complex rock song instead of full blown prog it still makes for a good listen with it's time changes and, again, pleasant choruses. On The Brink is where it's really at. The conclusion to the entire series and the last track on the album, this is easily the best song on the album. Very clear influences from David Gimlour are present in the opening guitar soloing, it's chilled out melodies relaxing until they almost The Wall like chanting of ''heil! heil!''. While it may be closing in a bit too close on Floyd for comfort at points, there's no denying that this is the way we all really want the band to go. Dare I say it, this final track is full out prog.

So while the entire album may not be prog in it's fullest sense there certainly are some great moments. The band may be a bit too simple for some people's taste, but what these guys to well - they do really freaking well. This is easily the best album from the band to date, and let's hope they choose to take the direction that the final tracks on this album suggest. Commercial suicide? Perhaps. But the prog world would be happy. 4 stars! Recommended to fans of heavy prog and anyone who likes a bit of rock to their prog. An excellent addition to your collection.

Report this review (#172328)
Posted Tuesday, May 27, 2008 | Review Permalink
The T
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Now I can understand what this band is doing in ProgArchives.

My first experience with COHEED AND CAMBRIA was not entirely successful. Though I gave their album "In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth" a 3-star rating, it was mostly out of promise, as the music really disappointed me after the first few good tracks, gradually turning into a emo-punk-pop bore fest. For some strange reason I decided to buy their latest record, "No World for Tomorrow" (the name is actually longer than that), and I'm quite happy to say the band has addressed many of the issues present in their previous work.

First of all, the vocals, which still sound very similar to other bands like THE MARS VOLTA, seem to have matured now. The tone of course is the same, but they're deployed in a much less annoying way, with more restraint, with less of that emotional (emo) vibe that they had in their earlier records. The singer sings more and whines less, which only helps to create a better experience.

But the most important change can be found in the music itself. If their preceding records still reminded me of an MTV program featuring emo-pop-punk bands, COHEED AND CAMBRIA have almost (there's still a little bit of it here and there) stripped themselves completely off that emo tag, now sounding much, much more like a true progressive-art-rock outfit. The whole album now is full of progressive references, not just the first tracks. It's easy now to detect influences like PINK FLOYD in the music, especially in the last track, "The End Complete V: On the Brink", and the riffs have also gotten much more complex, at times even getting close to progressive-metal territory. Even when the album is at its most "pop", in the infectiously catchy song "The Running Free", it never sounds trivial or blatantly commercial. It just sounds catchy. The "Oh Oh Oh Oh" that constitutes the chorus (or third section actually) of this track is really an idea that gets repeated throughout the whole disc, which helps to build a much more credible, coherent concept album.

The musicianship is still stellar. It was never a problem to begin with, but now, with better music, it shines even brighter. All in all, a far superior effort by COHEED AND CAMBRIA that's still not perfect (a few songs sound too similar to each other; the central part of the record is not as brilliant as the first five and last 3 tracks) but in general, this is a success story. With a little bit more development, I'm sure this band has what it takes to come up with a truly fantastic album. For now, 4 stars would do just fine.

Report this review (#175764)
Posted Sunday, June 29, 2008 | Review Permalink
4 stars This fourth album from Coheed and Cambria shows that practise makes perfect. Altough this album is not perfect it is certainly their best album so far and it is also their most progressive one. You can hear strong influences from various groups from the seventies like on the intro to On The Brink wich has a tuch of Pink Floyd to it. This is a good sing on where the group is heading and maybe one day Coheed and Cambria is going to be more the just Prog Related and be a full out progband. I certainly hope so.
Report this review (#179527)
Posted Wednesday, August 13, 2008 | Review Permalink
1 stars After seeing them at Warped Tour and giving a good few months of listening to their second album In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3, I was a mild fan of Coheed & Cambria. Sure, there was nothing complex in that release, but there were plenty of interesting parts. When I found they were coming out with a new album, I got a bit excited. The first time I was able to get to a mall and buy the CD I did.

What a horrible dissapointment. This one's just full of rock songs, nothing much more. The sophomore album did tend to lean towards basic alternative rock, but even that was catchier and it definetely had more interesting moments. This album was a chore to listen to. I am confused as to why they are labeled progressive. Is it because of the concept in the albums, or because of a few songs that go past the six minute mark? Is it because of the suites (none of which really seem to go together as a suite)? I'm not sure. I'll give a track-by-track review of this.

The Reaping is an intro to the album. Nothing terribly exciting. For a one minute intro, it is rather repetitive. Even for a 'creative' album, there's not much going on here. A couple explosions, acoustic guitars.

That turns into No World for Tomorrow. I will admit that the guitar riff at the beginning is quite interesting, but the rest of the song is very basic and doesn't really capture. It's a simple verse/chorus/verse/chorus type song. There really isn't much going on here.

The Hound (of Blood and Rank) does even worse. It starts with a quiet repeating keyboard chord. When the instruments come in, it turns into another alternative/rock song that doesn't do much. Normally when I hear these types of songs, I'm fine listening along a couple times, but a lot of these songs aren't even all that catchy. It can't even grab me at the first listen. The lyrics are also very distracting. Again, nothing exciting.

Feathers is the 'pop' song on the Coheed album. One thing about C&C fans is they always say that there are pop songs on there albums along with proggy songs. I have no clue what they mean by proggy songs, since really the proggy songs are just pop songs that aren't catchy. Either way, this is a pretty catchy song, but for their 'pop' songs this one lacks energy. I can't see myself going to one of their shows and enjoying myself listening to this song. Give me A Favor House Atlantic any day.

The Running Free seemed like a pretty good listen at first. It's got a pretty interesting intro, and the beginning verse is pretty cool. However, this one being pretty catchy does lend itself to repeated listenings to it until you've heard it way too many times. I guess it's got more energy than Feathers, but it's another basic alternative rock song.

After the alternative rock energy of the previous track, C&C gives the listener Mother Superior a ballad like track. It's mostly acoustic guitars. It has quite a few creative moments, especially with a bit of dissonance in the chords in the chorus. However, with the slow pace and lack of direction, this track gets pretty boring especially with its past-six minute length. Not too much happens in this track.

The next two tracks sound basically the same. Gravemakers & Gunslingers and Justice and Murder. They seem to fall in a hard rock vein with 'catchy' choruses that aren't really all that catchy anyways. More like pop with somewhat distorted guitars. One notable thing about the former is while I was trying to appreciate this album after a couple listenings was a friend of mine. As I played the album in the band room, he improvised along with it on the piano. After hearing this one a few minutes, he turned to me and said, This one has the same chord progression as another track. Sure enough. I turned it to No World for Tomorrow and I heard the same chord progression (Dm, C, Bflat, Am). This lost a ton of credibility on me.

Even though the next tracks are said to be in a suite, I have yet to see much similarity between the tracks. After all, all of C&C's music is a concept, so how can certain songs be more conceptual? That seems to be beyond me. Anyways, disregard the fact that the final 5 tracks are supposed to be a suite, because I don't consider them much of anything beyond 5 songs that happen to be on the same album.

That being said, the first one of the suite, The Fall of House Atlantic is pretty cool. The repeated acoustic guitar part is very interesting and has nice energy. A epic choir-ish sound is brought in, and there are some cool drums. Short and sweet. A good addition to the album.

The next song Radio Bye Bye is another catchy pop song that really isn't all that catchy. Nothing jumps out, even less so than the other poppy songs on this album. In the bridge section we are treated to more signature Coheed oh ohs (which I failed to mention, show up far too much in the band's music). Again, there really isn't much to this track.

The past few regular length songs have been nothing but basic filler songs. This one is an exception. The End Complete is a long filler song. There's nothing going on in this one. Really. At this point in the album, I'm wondering why I'm listening to this. It's just a terribly boring 7 minute verse/chorus/verse/chorus song. The verses are filled with basic strumming, and the chorus goes into a slower beat and overall sounds uninspired. This is part of the reason why I think this album is so bad.

The Road and the Damned is a pretty little ballad. I guess it's got a nice chorus, and it's overall sound seems to remind me of stuff like Aerosmith's I don't wanna miss a thing. It's got a decent orchestra type of a sound behind it. It's nice that it's short. I've pretty much summed up the song by saying it's like your regular classic rock ballad with an orchestrated sound. Not much else to it.

If I ever want to end an album with a bit of aimless noise, I'll do it with a song that sounds like On the Brink. This track has absolutely no direction. Some compare the overall atmospherics to Pink Floyd, and I really cannot compare the beauty of Pink Floyd with Coheed and Cambria. There's just no atmosphere in this song that sounds as moving as anything the former has done. After a couple of verses, there's a terribly awkward key change that does not do anything to make the song much better. After the key change and that 'pretty part', the instruments drop out, and then everything turns heavier. The drums pick up. There's a terribly repetitive shouting of Heil at this point (I think it repeats for 57 times! Dang!). Finally, after all that terrible repetition, it drops out into some faux-jazzy piano. As if they cannot tag on another disjointed section into this album, the drums pop in again and a pointless guitar solo comes on. This fades out for the next minute into some organs. An echoed drum stops all the instrument and closes the album. Finally.

I was considering making this a 2 star album, because after all it had a couple moments of creativity. However, I realized that when I bought this album, I was a fan of Coheed, and I thought this album was so boring to sit through. There are no surprises, it's basically a repetitive boring rock record with maybe a smidge of creativity, but the creative parts are put in such awkward and unfitting places that they might as well not be there at all. I wouldn't reccomend this album to anyone, not even Coheed and Cambria fans.

Report this review (#181934)
Posted Sunday, September 7, 2008 | Review Permalink
horsewithteeth11
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars I'm normally the kind of person who recoils in horror at the slightest mention of 'emo music'. However, after listening to this album, I was pleasantly surprised. Actually, I was more or less blown away. Compared to their first two albums, which have strong emo influences, Coheed and Cambria have completely moved away from that sound on this album, which I'll simply abbreviate as No World for Tomorrow. This is an album with strong prog influences that make me reminisce back to Pink Floyd at times, especially the 5 track epic at the end of the album. This is an album where I, for some odd reason, wish I could find just one tiny flaw with it, and considering my musical tastes I really shouldn't even like this album as much as I do, but I can't explain it. C&C is finally showing signs of a band that is coming to full fruition and maturing in their songwriting. The instrumental work is still amazing, especially Claudio himself. Granted he's not one of my favorite guitarists, but he at least proves himself to be quite competent time and time again. I don't find any of the tracks to be exceptionally weak on this album; however I can't recommend this to anyone who doesn't like the sound of mainstream alternative rock. For those of you who like or can at least tolerate such a sound, then definitely give this album a try. This album isn't entirely of "masterpiece" quality as a few of the songs tend to sound somewhat similar, but it's definitely a step in the right direction for C&C. I could easily see them making a 5 star album in the near future if they keep going in this direction. 4 stars from me, but I'll add in half a star for the musicianship and some of the ideas that are developed in the 5-track epic.
Report this review (#189409)
Posted Saturday, November 15, 2008 | Review Permalink
Conor Fynes
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars 'No World For Tomorrow' - Coheed & Cambria (8.5/10)

While I have been able to recognize a level of progressiveness in each of Coheed & Cambria's releases (to varying degrees) this album definately has the most progressive flavour to it. Songs like the title track 'No World For Tommorow' sound nothing like the emo stylings they had earlier in their career with 'In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth.' Nowadays, although theres still that mainstream feel to some of the songs, most of the music (especially the songs in 'The End Complete' suite) has a good prog vibe to it, and even the songs that don't pass as being complex are still really good and catchy ('Feathers.)

This album starts out fantastically, to say the least. The acoustic prologue 'The Reaping' is a nice change from the traditionally boring Coheed album intros. It leads into the epic, melodic 'No World For Tommorow,' which is one of the strongest tracks on the album.

'Feathers' is the next highlight (the third track is nothing special) which has a definate 'single' feel to it. It's really a great song, with some vintage guitar sounds. It sounds like an above-the-crowd 80's pop rock song, which by definition sounds really bad, but trust me, it's a beautiful song.

'The Running Free' is another great song, and the first song I listened to off of this album. The vocals from Claudio are exceptional; a very emotional (and occasionally intense) performance.

'Mother Superior' is a charming ballad that Claudio originally composed for piano, but transposed it onto guitar. It has a bit of a 'frontier' campfire sound to it, without sounding like country. The last highlight before the suite rolls around.

The rest of the stand-alone songs are alright, but not superb. The suite (a loose suite of sorts has been present on all save the first C&C album) is probably the most cohesive of the suites, and the best to listen to from start to finish as a suite, while the other suites worked exclusively on a stand-alone song base only.

The suite offers the most progressive dish this album has to offer. The typical suite on a Coheed & Cambria album isn't your usual 'epic.' It's usually passed me as a collection of songs that the band figured would appeal more to their prog audience, over the others and have a connecting lyrical theme, that I have yet to analyze and look into, although the idea of having a concept running through multiple albums is very interesting. The final highlight this album has to offer is the grandiose closer 'On The Brink,' which sounds like it wouldn't be out of place on a Broadway musical, before breaking down into a hard rock finale.

And thus technically ends the plot arc of the Coheed & Cambria's story, the 'Amory Wars.' Although there's still yet another scheduled release from the band, it functions as a prequel to 'The Second Stage Turbine,' which makes this album the conceptual 'last' album by this band. It's a very dramatic album, and of all of Coheed & Cambria's works, this should appeal the most to prog-fans. Four stars.

Report this review (#205611)
Posted Friday, March 6, 2009 | Review Permalink
Menswear
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars MTV written all over it.

When there's a new trend in the air, there's a hype. Where there's a hype, there's MTV. Kids are shovelled with sub-par bands, and sometimes initiated with new musical ways: the cross of emo and prog.

Prog is said here tongue-in-cheek: it's not really progressive, it's just more elaborated and not always the 3 same chords over and over again. So, you have lots of attitude, lots of style but a rather thin layer of diversity. It's basically the same guitar, with the same effects in every song. Hence the need of a keyboardist to create something thicker than this.

Anyhow, some songs are catchy, but again, very thin in terms of originality. The whole thing just breathes 'how-to-please-kids-101'.

Average, butt-kicking and furious.

Report this review (#245066)
Posted Saturday, October 17, 2009 | Review Permalink
4 stars Coheed and Cambria's fourth Studio album is a real corker; a well written and wonderfully produced record that picks up right where the 1st Burning Star IV record left off. This album contains just the right mixture of shimmering David Gilmore influenced high pitched riffs, Metal influenced breakdowns and sing along vocal sections that'll stick in your head for days on end.

Some fans will always have a problem categorising this band and dismissing them no matter what concensus is reached, they were never as progressive as the Mars Volta. In fact; they sounded more like the Foo Fighters covering 'Another Brick in the Wall,' at times. This isn't surprising when you consider that Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins recorded much of the drums and that Singer Claudio Sanchez redily admits being influenced by The Wall.

Regardless of what genre the album may be, or who the band do or don't sound like, this album is undeniably brilliant; full of great lyrics, catchy tunes, excellent vocal melodies and a sense of cohesion that many bands lack.

The only negative thing that I can say about this album is that occasionally the production and tonal choices can make certain sections of songs like 'Feathers,' 'Running Free,' and 'Mother Superior,' at times seem to feminine, too slick and a little overblown. This is a very minor flaw however, and doesn't apply to the majority of the album.

At the end of the day, this album boasts some of the best guitar work ever recorded, mixing both melodic and hectic solos with powerful riffing and a few soft ballads to create an powerful and enjoyable album.

Stand out songs include the brilliant single 'Gravemakers And Gunslingers,' which is possibly the funnest Coheed song to date; the catchy fast paced 'The Hound Of Blood And Rank,' and 'The End Complete,' which is quite frankly staggering, and closer 'On The Brink,' which is possibly the best thing the band have ever done. If you liked the first Good Apollo, you'll love this.

Report this review (#278831)
Posted Wednesday, April 21, 2010 | Review Permalink
4 stars I am a huge fan of Coheed and Cambria, and I hate to do this, but this album is just excellent! I just can't live with myself and give it 5 stars. This album is very strong with a great deal of amazing music like Gravemakers and Gunslingers and the title track, but I think Coheed took a step back from the proggyness of The Willing Well suite! There is a suite on this album, but its quite misleading, because this suite does not have the same cohesion as their previous two, and truly, it just sounds like 5 seperate songs! Overall an excellent album which I would recommend to anyone who loves music, but not Coheed's essential work!
Report this review (#280506)
Posted Tuesday, May 4, 2010 | Review Permalink
5 stars Now, this is the album that completly rids Coheed and Cambria of their 'emo' tag and into prog paradise (and now prog archives so good going xD) anyway what we have here is a total 100% more mature album which then continues into the next review as well. I think the songwriting again is fantastic, the musicmanship flawless as usual, but there was something missing..Joshua Eppard. Now I know people will have their views and i know that Coheed can and are continuing without Josh, i just thought he was just one incredible and original drummer (althuogh Chris Pennie brings a good bit with him as heard on their latest release) but anyway to this one, this is the final part of the Amory Wars saga, and wow its one epic way to end. Taylor Hawkins (from the Foo Fighters) took the place of Eppard just for this album as Pennie wasnt in contract as of yet to drum for Coheed, but Hawkins still does a top job. Standout tracks include the title track NO WORLD FOR TOMORROW, FEATHERS, THE HOUND OF BLOOD AND RANK, MOTHER SUPERIOR and of course THE END COMPLETE suite;

The Reaping - 9/10 No World for Tomorrow - 10/10 The Hound (of Blood and Rank) - 10/10 Feathers - 10/10 The Running Free - 9/10 Mother Superior - 10/10 Gravemakers & Gunslingers - 8/10 Justice in Murder - 8/10 The End Complete I: The Fall of House Atlantic - 8/10 The End Complete II: Radio Bye Bye - 8/10 The End Complete III: The End Complete - 10/10 The End Complete IV: The Road and the Damned - 10/10 The End Complete V: On the Brink - 10/10

My Conclousion? Im not gonna keep saying this, but...yet again a true epic masterpiece.

Report this review (#282542)
Posted Tuesday, May 18, 2010 | Review Permalink
Mellotron Storm
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Josh Eppard has left so we have a new drummer for this album. I must admit I like the previous album a lot better than this one. Even the cover art is better on "Volume One" in my opinion. Anyway this particular record just seems more commercial sounding than the previous one and if it wasn't for a strong second half on this one I wouldn't even like it.The first six tracks just don't do much for me to be honest.

"The Reaping" is a laid back intro track with guitar and vocals leading the way. "No World For Tomorrow" kicks in right away and we get some nice bass. It's heavier before 3 1/2 minutes.This is my favourite of the first 6 songs. "The Hound (Of Blood And Rank)" sounds like THE WHO to start then it kicks in with vocals.This almost sounds like it could have been a single, just not a very good one. We get a guitar solo before 3 minutes. "Feathers" is too commercial sounding. Sure it's catchy but it's too poppy. "The Running Free" opens with riffs that build then it kicks in with vocals. Not a fan of those vocal melodies.

"Mother Superior" is acoustic guitar and reserved vocals early but it does get fuller. Finally we get some heaviness with "Gravemakers & Gunslingers" and the guitar is in our faces too. An uptempo rocker. "Justice In Murder" is excellent as well with the prominant guitar including a solo 3 minutes in. We get a five part suite to end the album called "The End Complete".The songs are seperate though as they don't blend into one another. Part I is intricate guitar as drums and chants join in. A short intro track really. Part II is spacey to start then it kicks in. Nice guitar 3 minutes in. Part III is my favourite song on the album.The vocals get somewhat extreme and the guitar does too. Just a great track. Part IV is an uplifting tune. Part V has strings in it and i'm not a fan of it at all early on. It's better when it kicks in before 4 minutes as contrasts continue.

A good album but not even close to being 4 stars even with a strong second half.

Report this review (#445538)
Posted Tuesday, May 10, 2011 | Review Permalink
4 stars When this album came out, their was alot of hype. I mean alot of hype! And to be honest, it was odd to see a band have such hype for an album which really was quite a challenge to make.

This album was a challenge for the band, mainly because the band saw some schisms and failures in their line up, with both drummer and bassist leaving before the album was even in its foetal stages. But the album's continuation still continued, with the remaining 2 members working on the material, and bassist (Michael Todd), coming back into the band. Now the only problem was finding a drummer...and who better than Chris Pennie...although slight problem...for legal reasons he could not actually play on the album. So the band seeked Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters) for help...and here is where the problem lies.

Now Taylor Hawkins is an ok drummer. He's nothing too special, and he fails in comparison to Joshua Eppard & Chris Pennie. And it's one of these factors that weakens this album. Coheed used to have such dynamic drums, with different accents, time signatures and what have you not. But Taylor Hawkins simple 4/4 style, which for standard rock is good enough, still doesnt highlight any of Coheed's music. Now I know this album is slightly more straightforward in style, but so is their new album, and it sounds way better rhthyms style. And this also weakens Michael's contribution, with his basslines usually being highly diverse, and now just being watered down to suit Mr. Hawkins needs.

Now besides that, the style and musical direction has changed. The "emo" tag they've been given has been completely vanished, with their earlier sounds and influences being discarded, but to be honest, it was things like that actually made them slightly more interesting. Although, I'm still loving the sound on it.

Some of the songs are more straightforward, with no interesting twists and turns, with songs having a more strophic structure. The songs also seem to be slightly longer, at an average, with the shoter songs being just about 4 minutes, whilst on the first Good Apollo, a 3 minute song showed alot more and had alot more density than these tracks. Having said that, I still think these songs are great, and like the progression these guys are going in. This album also seems to have the bands most catchiest chorus' and a more straightfoward "prog" style really highlights these sing along moments. And Claudio's voice has never been better in my opinion. Lyrically, the album isn't as smart as the first 3, and the concept at times can be a bit of a head scratcher, but it's the end of the saga really, so what more do you want. It's a good enough ending I feel, and to be honest, if it was any different, I probabbly wouldn't have liked it as much as I do this album.

The build up towards the release was a tiny bit of a let down, but it was still a great rush, and the weekly updates where really fun to watch, and keep up with. The artwork of the album is also pretty damn cool.

1. The Reaping - Great atmopsheric intro, with voice and guitars really complementing each other. Very simple, but incredibly effective. 10/10

2. No World For Tomorrow - This is one of the songs from this album that still gives me tingles every time I hear it. This is ONE EPIC SONG, and in my opinion, is the best song on the album, and maybe one of their best songs...ever. It's just so diverse, with such power, emotion and just some amazing guitar riffs, that still confuse me to this day. 10/10

3. The Hound (Of Blood & Rank) - One of their best chorus' in my opinon. The arrangement really is spectacular and the song is just fantastic. 10/10

4. Feathers - Wow is this song catchy.Great chorus, and a great poppy moment. The arrangement is also great as well. And their is a video for this song, but its really stupid...so I reccomend you watch it haha. 10/10

5. The Running Free - This was the first update I saw. A live version of this song, which was pretty bad quality. But I could tell that this song was pretty good. Very catchy and just classic Coheed. 10/10

6. Mother Superior - A pre update really. An acoustic version. Now trying to pick a favourite between these 2 is hard, cause I love the acoustic version, but the album version is so grand, and the strings do a great job highlighting the beauty of this song. This is also a tricky song to sing and play at the same time. 10/10

7. Gravemakers & Gunslingers - This is a great fast paced song, and is very rocking. Another great chorus and some interesting lyrics. It's one of my personal favourites. The changes throughout are pretty cool too. 10/10

8. Justice In Muderd - Good chorus, and the songs is pretty good. Definitly not one of the albums strongest moments. 9/10

THE END COMPLETE

WARNING!: Compared to the Willing Well...meh, you'll see...

I.The Fall Of House Atlantic - Ok, as intro, this is pretty epic. Quite cheesy, but pretty epic nonthless. 10/10

II. Radio Bye Bye - The chorus is pretty catchy, but the song does go on a bit, and it really should have been shorter. 8/10

III. The End Complete - Ok, after some weak moments, this song picks it up more. This song is pretty epic, although not Willing Well epic, cause when comparing these "suites" this one is more kind of lack lustre with no real conncetcions, whilst the Willing Well was more exciting. Although, this song is the crowning moment of this "suite", with epic vocals, kick ass riffs, and a pretty cool chorus. I love the ending too. 10/1

IV. The Road & The Damned - Now this is a nice wee soft moment. A very beautiful song, with some really nice lyrics. 10/10

V. On The Brink - The first part I love. It has a very Elton John feel to it, with a great vocal arrangement. That "hail" bit is pretty stupid though, although I like the ending. 9/10

CONCLUSION: If any other band released this album...it would be their masterpiece. But because Coheed did it, its not as good as their others. Don't get me wrong, this album is still amazing, but it is quite weak at times. Although, the bands history and turbulence is partly to blame, so don't be hating it too much, its better than what most bands try to achieve.

Report this review (#473913)
Posted Saturday, July 2, 2011 | Review Permalink
Kempokid
COLLABORATOR
Prog Metal Team
3 stars 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.

Report this review (#2169308)
Posted Friday, March 29, 2019 | Review Permalink
Hector Enrique
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars Coheed & Cambria's fourth album, Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow, is part of the "The Amory Wars" comic saga created by its leader Claudio Sanchez. It is a combination of rock at times forceful, at times sublime, at times spatial, and decidedly direct. There is no room for excessively intricate developments, but not for that reason exempt from progressive elements that are incisive and powerful, with an aroma of the more aggressive side of Pink Floyd and also the Rush of the early eighties. The firm guitar riffs stand out clearly, very well supported by some keyboards that help to generate the atmosphere that the story requires.

From the clean acoustic intro The Reaping, the tracks follow one another swiftly, passing through moments of stupendous inspiration such as the intense No World for Tomorrow, the super rockers and festive Feathers and The Running Free, the passionate and sentimental Mother Superior, to the impeccable The End Complete III: The End Complete, which is probably the best achieved song and by the way the longest on the album (almost 8 minutes), with constant changes in the rhythm section and a dramatic final part.

The rest of the songs maintain the tension and do not lower their guard until the epilogue with The End Complete V: On the Brink, rounding out a very good album by New Yorkers. To enjoy from start to finish.

Report this review (#2475096)
Posted Thursday, November 12, 2020 | Review Permalink

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