Review Summary: The storyline continues…
For those unknowing of the storylines behind each album Coheed and Cambria has released they coincide with Claudio’s ongoing comic series which focus on a rather sci-fi matter, and in the case of the
Afterman Series are actually a prequel to
The Black Rainbow. Both the
Ascension and
Descesion focus on Sirius (the main protagonist) and his exploration of an energy source that holds seventy eight planets together. The albums tell of the struggle of the journey and also the complications of the choices made once returned home. The title –
The Amory Wars Saga.
Despite the walking comparisons found in comparing one to the other, Coheed and Cambria have always released records in a series, like a never ending book which has chapters following the next – finishing, but not quite ending.
The Afterman Descension picks up where
Ascension (and rightly so) left off. It’s not so much as a carbon copy but more of an extension of the previous. There is a contrast though, where Ascension had a roughly darker straight-forward theme,
The Afterman Descension finds itself sightlier poppy. It’s not a display of rainbows just more mellowed, up-beat and thoroughly uses the electronic devices to promote this bouncy energy; ultimately the record closes the
Afterman chapter on a high note, but is far from changing the opinions of listeners’ either way. For fans, this release is everything the record needed to be, full of hooks, thick sounding soundscapes and strong content – however for those who found most Coheed and Cambria records over-bearing or try hard in nature this is sure to continue that trend.
The Afterman Descension has its share of classic singles, sure enough to be mentioned on the listeners’ “try this track” before you write them off, but even with the digital effects, wah-oh’s and well-placed hooks tracks like ‘Key Entity Extraction V: Sentry The Defiant’ and ‘The Hard Sell’ display some of the strongest song-writing Coheed and Cambria’s had since the early days of the
Good Apollo series. In fact ‘Sentry The Defiant’ may just be one of the catchiest tracks to be ever produced by the group just by using a simple riff presence and excellently timed hooks. Regardless, the release is critically consistent, building off the first so-called chapter in the
Afterman series and developing into a quality display of song writing and a great storyline.
Musically, most of the album is top notch, apart from the occasional filler sections that do no more than push the record along its journey, maintaining the storyline ensuring that everything is well presented and shown with a flair for virtuosity. However there is a feel that if this wasn’t indeed a concept album the storyline would be non-plus and all listeners would be left with is the occasional single, an extremely catchy hook from time to time and a more than needed filler section. Thankfully this is not the case and the storyline acts as the records backbone, highlighting just how well this concept can be applied musically to the comic book saga.
The Afterman Descension shows an excellent execution in design. Building off the foundations of the first chapter in the
Afterman series Coheed and Cambria round off the story but not without leaving the door wide open for yet another chapter…
