Review Summary: Did they really know that they were creating one of the most memorable records for a generation of followers who couldn't accept less?
I thought it would be insane to try and run up in the same year as Thrice’s long anticipated Alchemy Index. I mean it just seems like suicide knowing that Thrice doesn’t disappoint and is a healthy modern example of how a band matures from being good to excellent. Coheed and Cambria if any band found reason to try and go a few weeks after Thrice’s Alchemy Index which is a masterpiece in the works. I never followed the comics or the story line of this band but I’ve always followed the music. I have all of the CD’s in the order or releases and never found any of them to come up short. About a year ago it was safe to say that this band was in somewhat of a turmoil with the departure of long time drummer Josh Eppard and Mic Todd on bass. I mean there’s no doubt in my mind that the media has focused in on this band with front man Claudio Sanchez and his Rush like vocals and palm tree afro hair but this is a band that contributes on all 4 cylinders. Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters and Chris Pennie formerly of Dillinger Escape Plan has come to fill in the void and Mic Todd returns for the so called last chapter of the series. Further into the review I’ll exercise both of these members roles and how they’ve contributed into this bands outstanding effort. The album artwork and presentation of this album is nothing short then stellar as you’ve come to expect from this band. I can’t believe that people are considering the album artwork awful for this album when their have been so many hideous looking album covers released this year that it’s like a plague. The comic book loving band simply translated their music for the vivid artwork and linear notes that are beautifully replicated. I know this isn’t a place for the depicting artwork but more the music but anyone could find the images created in comic book like fashion as eye pleasing. The music doesn’t let the consumer down either through the other sense of ears.
No World For Tomorrow
Just over one minute is the acoustic ballad that introduces this album on the right foot. Beautifully finger picked that can be compared to a song such as The Mars Volta - Televators creates the atmosphere very dark and forest like. Whether you love them or hate them… Claudio Sanchez sounds up to par just like the previous album with his unique vocaling techniques. The title track “No World For Tomorrow” was meant to mean a lot to the album. It’s the first real example of the band back together with new addition Chris Pennie. The song starts off with a soloing lick in the guitar and really never lets the listener now but only prepares them for one of the longest songs off the album. Mic Todd has never been a background part of this band and continues in stride with punchy bass riffs that divert from the winding sound of guitars. Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters holds up a bold backbone for the band and quickly adapted to their song writing constructions. “No World For Tomorrow” holds true to the rock like anthems that this band is known for creating. “The Hound” starts off with the sound of synth’s and a thinly reverbed guitar. The song winds with all of the band kicking out on full force. The infamous use of “Ooo Ooo” and all those weird sounding vocals are more then present in this song and make for a very danceable song. The song can’t help but to feel poppy but doesn’t fall into the stereotype of simple as there are many intricate layers to the song. Behind the vocals being all over the place and very exaggerated, the bass that has a moving bass line throughout, and the clashing guitars + a solo. As the guitar licks away on it’s chops during the solo even the bass goes through a solo phase and yet can remain very listenable friendly without sounding cheesy.
“Feathers” is a song that I feel is one of the most underrated on the album and will go without much notice.
It’s very poppy and catchy but reminds me why most pop-punk today is so overdone and boring. This song is full of hooks and movement which is also found in the previous song but executed a bit better here. The guitar tone reminds me of an 80’s metal band in the intro and really winds itself into a very sugar coated poppy song. With the bass line bouncing all over the place it really makes the listener just want to dance. The vocal hook in the chorus will make this a song an instant hit with all of the teen girls in this band which even had me singing along. Song’s like this also shows the side of Coheed and Cambria with more modern pop-punk like influences instead of their defiant technical prog works. “The Running Free” is the first single off of “No World For Tomorrow” and a very radio friendly song. It could kind of be compared to what “Welcome Home” was for the first volume of Good Apollo and as it isn’t your standard of a radio friendly single, yet isn’t really up to par with the other songs off the album. The song seems to be a tad more centered on the vocals than the others and even though the instrumentals are right up their it’s probably the easiest song to listen to off of the album and the closest to their previous works. I’d recommend this song for the long avid fan since he’d feel much at home by it.
“Mother Superior” is another acoustic ballad on the album which feels like a long intermission for the middle point of this album. Not much to say here except it’s Claudio’s vocals more audible then ever with a very soft and melodic tune.
If you like this band but can’t care for the vocals of it then I could understand how you could highly dislike this song. Others who are a fan of his vocals will stamp mark this song as the greatest example of how he is a diverse and powerful vocalist. The little things like the piano keys in the hooks and the other array of instruments used really makes this song much more layered and brilliant then it probably seemed on paper. “Grave makers & Gunslingers” continues the stadium rock anthem course that this band has in certain elements. The song stays on a fast tempo and is very guitar centric this time around showing off a lot of those 80’s glam metal influences. The female vocals during this song is a nice hook and will probably give a dork a hard on. Swift time changes and grim reaper vocals toward the intermission keep the song fresh without mentioning the guitar shredding that occurs towards the end. It’s obvious that they weren’t leaving that out for their epic songs during this record. Instead of being like so many bands in the genre they don’t rinse and repeat but find new captivating elements to entice the listener to listen throughout every moment of the story. “Justice In Murder” is the end of the first half of the album and keeps up to par with everything this band has done previously. I feel like I repeat myself heavily on the whole vocal hook thing and it’s really because it feels like every song on this album had at least 3 in each song. Overall I feel like the song could have been a much flashier exit but in essence I feel like the solo in this song is one of my favorites overall and has somewhat of a redeeming ability.
Time to grab another cup of tea…
“The End Complete” is supposed to be the ending to the whole story I believe (I said I didn’t really follow it). The first song “The Fall Of House Atlantic” feels like an epic beginning (or maybe ending) to a hellacious film. Think along the lines of when the Red Sox came back against the Yankees in the ALCS a few years ago. If their were highlights for the Yankees demise this would be a great song to use in the background of it. “Radio Bye Bye” feels like a song that’s saying goodbye to their radio friendly songs. The song is poppy in essence with a weird vocal breakdown that just felt pretty unnecessary IMO but it wasn’t strenuous to listen through. I wouldn’t say this song is in the top half of great songs on this album but is still a strong song. “The End Complete” track starts off with a real twisty road but ends epic. I feel like all of these songs have an epic like feeling to them and I don’t know if it’s because they really are or if it’s because it says they are :D. This song has a lot of palm muted build up in it’s verses and really turns into a climatic melodic chorus. “The Road and the Damned” continues in transition with “The End Complete” and takes an even more melodic path. If the dissonance of guitar work had to come somewhere… it was now. The swelling of vocals that put shivers down the listeners spine in the chorus is quite a feeling. The way the guitar solos in each chorus is as profound impact as you can feel from a band like this I feel. The last track “On The Brink” ranks in at a whopping 7 minutes and 8 seconds. It’s one of the more ambient and experimental tracks from the band which takes up most of the time. The guitar work right from the get go seems very bluesy and jam session like. I know a lot of the musician gurus out their should feel right at home to this track. A lot of that live jam sessions that we’ve all seen when seeing them live comes out here. If the band was to never record again then I feel like this is the perfect track to go out of the game with. Long drawn out and epic sounding just as every Coheed and Cambria album has come to be…
The Running Free
It seems pretty clear that Coheed and Cambria went into the studio as usual and created once again another masterpiece to put their finishing touches on their epic story. To be blunt, they really went out of their way and really don’t leave any stones unturned. All of their elements and techniques from all of the previous albums come as one right here in “No World For Tomorrow”. If you’re a long time fan of this band then you shouldn’t even be reading this to know that you’ll be in for a treat. Mic Todd simply has become one of my favorite bass players with this album and I’m sure a lot of guitar heads feel like same towards Travis Stever. Taylor Hawkins from the Foo Fighters fills a great void and does his job beautifully in a short amount of time. I can’t even imagine what Chris Pennie would of added to this band during this album if only he got here a little sooner. Never the less I don’t know how to put it in words that whether you know what this band is made of or want to get into a different style of “prog” music the buck really does stop here.
Pros:
+ Instrumentals running at full force
+ Vocals running at full force
+ So many hooks and crannies to fall in love with
+ V - On the Brink
Cons:
- Poppy Repetitiveness
Coheed and Cambria are:
Claudio Sanchez - Vocals, Guitar, Keys & Snyths
Travis Stever - Guitar
Mic Todd - Bass
Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters) - Drums
Chris Pennie(ex- Dillinger Escape Plan) - Drums
Release Date: October 23 2007
Produced By Nick Raskuliecz
Label as produced: Columbia
