The first thing you hear is a…ukulele? Yep. That’s a ukulele. Prelethal, the first track off Coheed And Cambria’s The Afterman: Descension, is very pretty, and sets the scene nicely for the rest of their seventh studio album. Technically, the record is part of a double album, with 2012’s Afterman: The Ascension, also released on label V2, comprising the first half.
Of course all of Coheed And Cambria’s albums form part of a bigger story – The Amory Wars – the series of comic books written by frontman Claudio Sanchez. Rumour has it Mark Wahlberg is even working on an adaptation for the big screen. The story takes place in Heaven’s Fence, a collection of planets held together by an intricate network of energy beams. This latest instalment focuses on the character of cosmonaut Sirius Amory and his investigation of these beams, known as the Keywork.
Musically The Afterman: Descension is a bit lighter than many of the band’s previous offerings, and the album shows depth to a degree which they have not exhibited before. This is likely to result in a few fans being disgruntled, but even more likely to delight many more at their level of skill as musicians and songwriters. In general it is melodic, intricate and pleasing, and Sanchez’s voice maintains its expressiveness and passion which has a tendency to frustrate new listeners and delight older ones.
The album’s best song also has the most cumbersome title, a Coheed And Cambria speciality, Key Entity Extraction V Sentry The Defiant. Well-crafted, brooding and menacing, it stands alongside their best work.
BY JOSH FERGEUS
Best Track: Key Entity Extraction V Sentry The Defiant
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: THE DEAR HUNTER, RUSH
In A Word: Diverse
