They've written albums that spanned multiple universes. They've toured the world. They've made a 4-part live DVD spanning what was their entire career at the time, complete with a documentary and some of the best songs modern rock has seen in the last decade. They've gone from an indie label to a major label, and were actually able to stick around that major label for more than an album (think about it, how many other bands can say that?). They've captivated the minds, hearts, skin, and souls of countless crowds of fans across the globe. But if there's one thing Coheed & Cambria has never done, it's compromise their unique artisitic vision. Even if some think Year of the Black Rainbow was a misstep, but for what the band wanted to do with the end of the saga of The Amory Wars, it was the epic, stadium-ready ending to a career-spanning story that only their minds could have even conceived. Now, Coheed & Cambria are in a state of near-reinvention: they've got a new double-album coming out that they've chosen to self-release, and given the varying levels of disappointment Black Rainbow and No World for Tomorrow were received with, the band's career may be in the balance of what they've been able to come up with in the newest installment of The Amory Wars, the journey of The Afterman.
The Afterman: Ascension is the first of the two-album set, and though it only contains nine songs, they are some of the best Coheed has come up with since Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Vol. I. Beginning as Coheed's albums often do, with an instrumental scene-setter, we are introduced to the Afterman, an explorer who appears to be investigating the keywork after the Amory Wars have ended. His journeys lead him to enter the lives of four people, the first of which is "Domino the Destitute," who is the subject of the nearly eight-minute proclamation from Coheed & Cambria that they've gone back to what people loved about them in first place: monstrous guitars thrown in with Claudio Sanchez's unmistakable voice and storytelling method of lyrical content, wrapped neatly into tracks that seem pleasantly neverending. "Domino The Destitute," "Holly Wood the Cracked," "Vic the Butcher," and "Evagria the Faithful" make up the four "Entity Extractions," which are an interesting twist in Sanchez's story, as he writes from the perspectives of people other than Coheed and Cambria. These multiple perspectives are Sanchez's greatest experiment, and they never come across as fake; in all actuality, they help him purvey the emotions that drive the meanings of the songs with even more clarity, and show a depth to the story that seemed a little lacking on Year of the Black Rainbow. The Key Entity tracks are reminiscent of the Willing Well tracks from Good Apollo I, and even the Velorium Camper tracks from In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3, but because of the change of pace Sanchez provides on Ascension, there's a lot more weight to this particular series of tracks that come to define the album.
Musically, as always Coheed & Cambria are peerless. The guitar tandem of Sanchez and Travis Stever has always been the band's musical highlight, and they live up to their reputation yet again. However, the musicianship received a welcome addition in bassist Zach Cooper, who is replacing original bassist Mic Todd, who was removed from the band for less than amicable reasons, and an unlikely reintroduction of the band's original drummer Josh Eppard, who left the band prior to No World for Tomorrow. Eppard and Cooper are faced with the dubious task of backing up the storied guitar tandem of Sanchez and Stever, especially considering it's their first release working with one another, but the two work cohesively together, as Eppard's drumming harkens back to In Keeping Secrets, which fans of "old Coheed" will love, while Cooper powers each track by not overdoing anything, and finding his way to cooperate and complement the chemistry that had already been established between the rest of the band members. Cooper's effort is one of the most commendable this year, as he entered a situation riddled with controversy and rather than adding to it, he simply let his music do the talking, and helped Coheed re-establish themselves as one of the most forward-thinking bands on earth.
Though the Key Entity tracks are the highlights of the album, the tracks they are littered between add great depth to the beginning of the saga of The Afterman. "The Afterman" features a somber opening with Sanchez crooning over a great guitar riff and Eppard's drumming, before the string arrangement arrives and ends up adding a new layer to the song. "Mothers of Men" starts off with a riff that would have fit in perfectly on No World for Tomorrow, and "Goodnight, Fair Lady," evokes a similar reminder to Good Apollo I. These tracks don't feel like lazy re-hashings, though, but expansions on where the band has come from in order to show where they want to be. The gloss and more straight-up rock feel that Year of the Black Rainbow was lined with has been combined with what made Coheed's previous releases so special, and the result is an album that feels expansive, validating, and all-encompassing.
The Bottom Line: There is something on The Afterman: Ascension that any fan of Coheed & Cambria will enjoy. Though there are only nine songs, they all do a wonderful job in building on one another, which creates even more anticipation for The Afterman: Descention, which is due out next February.
Recommended if you rock: I honestly don't think there is any band I can list here other than Coheed & Cambria.
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