Review Summary: The album's personal topics are bogged down by an overall lack of energy.
For many people, the main focus of
The Color Before the Sun is Coheed and Cambria’s decision to temporarily abandon the narrative behind their sci-fi rock opera The Amory Wars. While some might argue that the storyline is far and away the defining aspect of the band, it never took away from the actual quality of the music. The focus now shifts to more personal issues regarding the lives of the people in the band themselves, and not some made-up characters in a plot they created.
Spurred by frontman Claudio Sanchez’s move from tranquil New York state suburbia to the bustling metropolis of Brooklyn,
The Color Before the Sun never fails to feel genuine at heart. Much of the album’s lyrical content is inspired by recent events that occurred in Sanchez’s life, ranging from the feelings of fatherhood to addressing the critics of his work. The results are mixed – while the epic, progressive “Atlas” excels in serving as a heartfelt dedication to his newborn son, the cliché-ridden power ballad “Here to Mars” contains possibly the worst lyrics in a Coheed and Cambria song, topped with the cringe-inducing cheesiness of “There’s no one like you on Earth that could be my universe”.
While there’s no doubt that
The Color Before the Sun is rooted in genuine emotion, the problem is the music is easily the blandest it’s ever been for a Coheed album. The energy simply isn’t there, and it has nothing to do with The Amory Wars. Although Zach Cooper’s bass playing is admirable (and audible), the rest of the band musically fails to deliver in moments such as the dull “Young Love” and the heavy yet uninteresting “Eraser”. These songs have the potential to be great, but they’re held back by their own monotony. The instrumentation fails to be engaging, instead playing along too safe and uninspired.
The diminishing of Coheed and Cambria’s progressive rock influences is noticeable on the album, which leans more towards the band’s pop-punk and alternative rock side. Its highlights are often at points where the amalgamation of their prog roots and their flair for bright, poppy hooks is at its best. “Island” is undoubtedly a flawless example of such, with its upbeat riffs and major-key chorus exposing Claudio’s personal emotions in a memorable manner. The stripped-down “Peace to the Mountain” is perhaps its most surprising song, with usage of acoustic guitar, trumpets, violin and bells tying together the album’s themes in an intimate and sentimental fashion. It’s unlike most Coheed tracks, and that’s part of what makes it so special.
The integration of Claudio’s life experiences into
The Color Before the Sun also coincides with the streamlining of the band’s sound into one that is more straightforward and accessible. Unfortunately, the instrumentation is too damn dull and bland to really push home the genuine emotions that are outlined within the lyrics. “Young Love”, an easy candidate for the album’s worst song, was written about a country house that was secretly used to grow pot in by a group of tenants, so why isn’t it performed with the emotion that was put in to writing it? The lack of energy is the main downfall behind this record, and it’s a shame that Coheed and Cambria’s first foray into the personal lives of its band members is depleted of the passion they put into some people fighting each other in space.
