Review Summary: No World For Tomorrow is only an evolutionary album for Coheed and Cambria. But the standout tracks on this album are undoubtedly essential listening for a fan of rock music.
In one word, it is "Safe". No World For Tomorrow just seems to echo a lot of what was created on From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness. From the track structure, to the track layout itself, it seems like Claudio spent a little too much time with his own history.
However, there are definitely some pure stars on this album. After many listen-throughs, I have found that "The End Complete III: The End Complete" and "Justice In Murder" are the stand-out tracks of this album. These are the defining tracks. Why? Because they are tight, well organized, not too long, and are creative in a way that only Coheed can be.
Other notables are "The Hound (Of Blood and Rank)", "Radio Bye Bye", and "The Road and the Damned". The bottom line is that much of the rest of this album suffers from overly long, drawn out sequences which actually kill much of the emotional tension that is characteristic of a Coheed album. I am especially disappointed that "The Fall Of House Atlantic" was essentially a preface for The End Complete series. I was hoping for a full, fleshed-out song. And, "On the Brink" is a beyond-disappointing close to an epic series of albums. There simply is no need for exactly 57 screams of "Hail!", set to one single, boring riff, that take up the 2nd half of the song...no matter what it has to do with the story. This is a rare Coheed weakness...letting the story overshadow the music at hand. In fact, this is the most story-driven album of them all. And it seems to have hurt the cohesiveness of the MUSIC when all is said and done.
I give this latest installment a 4.5/5 mainly due to the fact that the star tracks on this album are absolutely ESSENTIAL listening. This IS one of the greatest bands in the last decade. And this album's entries are ONCE AGAIN absolutely monumental to the world of progressive/epic rock - regardless of whether you like Coheed or not.
"The End Complete III: The End Complete" is perhaps one of Coheed and Cambria's greatest songs of all time. Certain parts sound very much like the 3's album, The End Is Begun. As a whole, The End Complete III is one very progressive, very tight, very emotionally driven, VERY Coheed song. This is THE star track of the album and a hallmark for them as a band.
I would have given the same rating to a "hardcore/ no fluff" version of the album that only included the following tracks:
1) The Reaping
2) No World For Tomorrow
3) The Hound (Of Blood and Rank)
4) Justice In Murder
5) The End Complete II: Radio Bye Bye
6) The End Complete III: The End Complete
7) The End Complete IV: Road and The Damned
As individual parts, these songs are classically Coheed. As a whole, this ablum stands as an evolutionary, rather than revolutionary entry into the epic history of this band.
