COHEED AND CAMBRIA — Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow (review)

COHEED AND CAMBRIA — Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow album cover

Album · 2007 · Metal Related

4/5 · 2011-07-02
arcane-beautiful

When this album came out, their was alot of hype. I mean alot of hype! And to be honest, it was odd to see a band have such hype for an album which really was quite a challenge to make.

This album was a challenge for the band, mainly because the band saw some schisms and failures in their line up, with both drummer and bassist leaving before the album was even in its foetal stages. But the album's continuation still continued, with the remaining 2 members working on the material, and bassist (Michael Todd), coming back into the band. Now the only problem was finding a drummer...and who better than Chris Pennie...although slight problem...for legal reasons he could not actually play on the album. So the band seeked Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters) for help...and here is where the problem lies.

Now Taylor Hawkins is an ok drummer. He's nothing too special, and he fails in comparison to Joshua Eppard & Chris Pennie. And it's one of these factors that weakens this album. Coheed used to have such dynamic drums, with different accents, time signatures and what have you not. But Taylor Hawkins simple 4/4 style, which for standard rock is good enough, still doesnt highlight any of Coheed's music. Now I know this album is slightly more straightforward in style, but so is their new album, and it sounds way better rhthyms style. And this also weakens Michael's contribution, with his basslines usually being highly diverse, and now just being watered down to suit Mr. Hawkins needs.

Now besides that, the style and musical direction has changed. The "emo" tag they've been given has been completely vanished, with their earlier sounds and influences being discarded, but to be honest, it was things like that actually made them slightly more interesting. Although, I'm still loving the sound on it.

Some of the songs are more straightforward, with no interesting twists and turns, with songs having a more strophic structure. The songs also seem to be slightly longer, at an average, with the shoter songs being just about 4 minutes, whilst on the first Good Apollo, a 3 minute song showed alot more and had alot more density than these tracks. Having said that, I still think these songs are great, and like the progression these guys are going in. This album also seems to have the bands most catchiest chorus' and a more straightfoward "prog" style really highlights these sing along moments. And Claudio's voice has never been better in my opinion. Lyrically, the album isn't as smart as the first 3, and the concept at times can be a bit of a head scratcher, but it's the end of the saga really, so what more do you want. It's a good enough ending I feel, and to be honest, if it was any different, I probabbly wouldn't have liked it as much as I do this album.

The build up towards the release was a tiny bit of a let down, but it was still a great rush, and the weekly updates where really fun to watch, and keep up with. The artwork of the album is also pretty damn cool.

1. The Reaping - Great atmopsheric intro, with voice and guitars really complementing each other. Very simple, but incredibly effective. 10/10

2. No World For Tomorrow - This is one of the songs from this album that still gives me tingles every time I hear it. This is ONE EPIC SONG, and in my opinion, is the best song on the album, and maybe one of their best songs...ever. It's just so diverse, with such power, emotion and just some amazing guitar riffs, that still confuse me to this day. 10/10

3. The Hound (Of Blood & Rank) - One of their best chorus' in my opinon. The arrangement really is spectacular and the song is just fantastic. 10/10

4. Feathers - Wow is this song catchy.Great chorus, and a great poppy moment. The arrangement is also great as well. And their is a video for this song, but its really stupid...so I reccomend you watch it haha. 10/10

5. The Running Free - This was the first update I saw. A live version of this song, which was pretty bad quality. But I could tell that this song was pretty good. Very catchy and just classic Coheed. 10/10

6. Mother Superior - A pre update really. An acoustic version. Now trying to pick a favourite between these 2 is hard, cause I love the acoustic version, but the album version is so grand, and the strings do a great job highlighting the beauty of this song. This is also a tricky song to sing and play at the same time. 10/10

7. Gravemakers & Gunslingers - This is a great fast paced song, and is very rocking. Another great chorus and some interesting lyrics. It's one of my personal favourites. The changes throughout are pretty cool too. 10/10

8. Justice In Muderd - Good chorus, and the songs is pretty good. Definitly not one of the albums strongest moments. 9/10

THE END COMPLETE

WARNING!: Compared to the Willing Well...meh, you'll see...

I.The Fall Of House Atlantic - Ok, as intro, this is pretty epic. Quite cheesy, but pretty epic nonthless. 10/10

II. Radio Bye Bye - The chorus is pretty catchy, but the song does go on a bit, and it really should have been shorter. 8/10

III. The End Complete - Ok, after some weak moments, this song picks it up more. This song is pretty epic, although not Willing Well epic, cause when comparing these "suites" this one is more kind of lack lustre with no real conncetcions, whilst the Willing Well was more exciting. Although, this song is the crowning moment of this "suite", with epic vocals, kick ass riffs, and a pretty cool chorus. I love the ending too. 10/1

IV. The Road & The Damned - Now this is a nice wee soft moment. A very beautiful song, with some really nice lyrics. 10/10

V. On The Brink - The first part I love. It has a very Elton John feel to it, with a great vocal arrangement. That "hail" bit is pretty stupid though, although I like the ending. 9/10

CONCLUSION: If any other band released this album...it would be their masterpiece. But because Coheed did it, its not as good as their others. Don't get me wrong, this album is still amazing, but it is quite weak at times. Although, the bands history and turbulence is partly to blame, so don't be hating it too much, its better than what most bands try to achieve.