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Coheed and Cambria |
| Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV Vol 1 |
| Equal Vision / Columbia | 2005 | Album |
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Coheed & Cambria, a progressive rock quartet, plays their music to the backdrop of a long and convoluted story that has its fans constantly waiting to find out what happens next in the epic as much as what song comes next. The group has just released their third album entitled, “Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness”, which certainly holds up to the reputation they have gained for long songs with long complicated names. With a name like “Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness”, one should expect a certain amount of gravitas and emotion weighted on this record. The album, truly a work of art, hardly ever lets you down.
From start to finish, each song is so gracefully articulated that one could wonder how an artist could churn out so many quality songs. While at first the album can seem like it only holds a select few truly great songs, after a couple listens one finds the grace and beauty in each song. Every song becomes your favorite. The music of each song grabs you and sucks you in. From the fluidity of the opening instrumental named “Keeping the Blade” to the power balladry of the album’s most heartfelt song, “Wake Up” to the vicious and visceral rock tetralogy that is the album’s last four songs, all named with the prefix of “The Willing Well” each with their own subtitle, it is clear Coheed & Cambria has not lost their talent for putting out a consistently great record.
“Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness” is Coheed & Cambria’s first major label release and one can really feel they used the major label budget to their advantage. Throughout each song, one can hear all the bells & whistles that come with being able to spend more money on recording. Everything feels perfectly mastered with numerous background effects, which help build the songs into classics.
Claudio Sanchez, Coheed & Cambria’s singer and lyricist, writes all of the bands lyrics and came up with the story that serves as the backdrop for Coheed & Cambria’s music. Sanchez’s writing has continuously evolved and matured with every record and with this album, it seems he has reached a new high in his lyrics. He has created lyrics and music that completely mesh and fit each other in a poetic and impressive way.
The flaws of this album are noticeable but do not mar the record, they only prevent it from being a classic. The ordering of the songs can feel at sometimes like it is in the ordered wrong. For example, when the quiet acoustic song “Always & Never” plays after the epic instrumental introduction, it feels if it is in the wrong place and that the band’s single, “Welcome Home” would create more of a flow had it been put first. The only other complaint I have of this record is the use of the same chorus in two songs. While the band says that it is for the purpose of the story, one can only help feeling like the songs, while the chorus is excellent, would pack more of a punch had the choruses been different. Other than these two minor complaints the record is nothing short of amazing.
The band, with this release, has pushed themselves and their musical boundaries to create songs that cannot be defined by a genre, and are nothing short of spectacular and sincere. |
| Wilhelm H. Jacobs the III |
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