Review Summary: Coheed climbs up the ladders of supremacy with their strongest work in a long while
Coheed and Cambria have always been a band who’ve flirted with the waters of pop rock throughout their storied career, be it “A Favor House Atlantic” or “Feathers”, or even the entire pop rock venture that was
The Color Before the Sun.
Unheavenly Creatures was a solid, if not misguided, attempt at fully merging their pop and prog influences into a single behemoth, heralding a brand new saga in their expansive Amory Wars universe.
Window of the Waking Mind perfects the formula, giving us what may be Coheed’s most cohesive and solid album since
The Afterman.
This is an album that undoubtedly aims to be a mostly radio-friendly, pop rock affair, and it succeeds pretty well in that regard. What helps this to escape the muddy waters of mediocrity is the passion with which Coheed plays, and the general cleverness of the writing, including all of Coheed’s lyrical eccentricities (“I’ll confess what your heart is feeling in a Hallmark card of your fears” is possibly the most Coheed line to ever Coheed). Take a listen to the anthemic energy in “Beautiful Losers” or “The Suffering”’s baby cousin song known as “Comatose” (in sound, at least), or maybe the fierce and gritty hooks that dominate “Shoulders”. It’s the band’s most solid attempt so far at writing a poppier rock album, and it holds up pretty well throughout the runtime.
Outside of the usual rock affair, there are a few tracks that dare to take a step beyond, to varying results. “A Disappearing Act” is the unabashed star of the album’s front half, with a glorious synth melody underscoring the track, and “Bad Man” contains a wonderful chorus and a truly great sci-fi feel throughout. Conversely, “The Liar’s Club” is genuinely forgettable in the grand scheme of the album, and “Our Love” is the album’s biggest misstep, a song that doesn’t stick around long enough to fully make an impact, and what’s actually there feels more like an interlude to segue into the next 3 tracks.
But oh lord, those last 3 tracks. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the grand halls of Coheed prog suites. “Ladders of Supremacy” is far and away the album’s highlight. Claudio Sanchez is singing his heart out as the darkest guitars so far clash against crashing drums, all leading up to a glorious climax as Claudio belts out “Climbing up the ladders of their supremacy!” It brings to mind the best tracks from
The Afterman, and it’s an incredible way to show that Coheed are still in touch with their prog roots.
“Rise, Naianasha (Cut The Cord)” was a huge question mark amongst the singles during the album’s pre-release cycle, but it fits so much better within the context of the album, especially knowing how much of Claudio’s own fatherly journey inspired this album. The chorus is the highlight, wonderfully loving and tender. And, of course, there’s the title track. Soft intro passages lead into one of the heaviest moments on the album. “Window of the Waking Mind” feels like a journey more than any of the other songs on this album, all concluding in an upbeat and jaunty passage that ends
Vaxis II on a strong note.
Poppy as it may be, Coheed’s latest album is a strong exclamation point from a band well over 20 years into their career. If this is how the rest of the Vaxis saga will play out, then I can safely say that I’m excited to see where everything goes from here.
