The Afterman Part II
This new album represents part two of a double album from Coheed and Cambria, the first was released last October and was entitled The Afterman: Ascension, (read our review Here) this record Descension details Sirius return to his home planet and the aftermath of the events in the previous record. It's a real shame these albums weren't released together as they flow well with a consistent sound and would really benefit from being heard in one sitting.
Descension begins well with the strong track Pretelethal giving an idea straight away (lyrically) of where we are in the ongoing saga and musically melding a lighter, dreamier touch with some great bombastic moments to give an epic feel overall. This is followed up by Key Entity Extraction V Sentry The Defiant - this tune has a strong, meaty central riff, acoustic strumming can be heard in the background adding depth, the drums are powerful and precise and over the top Claudio lets his vocals fly, showing off his unusual tone and range. It's great to hear him let rip again as on the last record in particular (Year Of The Black Rainbow) he'd sounded like he was holding back a touch. Here though, as was commented on in my review of The Afterman: Ascension, it feels like the band has been reinvigorated, like the passion for making music is back and the album as a result feels fresher, which of course makes it a far more enjoyable listening experience. They even give us a perky pop track in Number City which is one of those classic sing along Coheed and Cambria tunes, here with added brass and quirky little electro blasts.
Again, the main gripe with this release is the decision to release the two parts separately which (in my opinion) can only be for monetary reasons, putting that aside though, both parts of this record have been a very pleasant surprise, the re-invigorated sound they've found really rubs off on you and for this reviewer has reignited an interest in their music which began to peter out around Good Apollo [...] Volume II... - when they get it right, they really get it right and it works a treat here.