Coheed and Cambria- The Afterman: Ascension(After about two complete listens)

I am bit blown away by this album, to be quite honest. As far as being a concept album, this is by far the strongest Coheed album. The story is easier to discern, and the songs flow better than any previous Coheed record.

At least after my couple listens, there isn't a weak link on this album. The song that comes the closest is the closer, "Subtraction". I still can't say I didn't enjoy it, though.

Josh Eppard's influence is felt on this album, big time. His drumming isn't as showy or ridiculously technical as that of Chris Pennie, but it fits the band far better. Along with the new bassist, Zach Cooper (Who lays down an absolutely filthy bassline on "Key Entity Extraction II: Hollywood the Cracked"), Coheed's rhythm section is as cohesive as it has ever been.

That's not to say that Claudio and Travis have been left in the dust on this album. They have completely upped their game. The variation of styles of playing on this album blows my mind.

I'm going to cut this short before I start to ramble, but this is the best Coheed record since In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth:3, and together with the second half of the album, Decension, may in fact be Coheed's magnum opus.

Key Tracks: "The Afterman", "Mothers of Men", "Key Entity Extraction III: Vic the Butcher", "Key Entity Extraction IV: Evagria the Faithful".

Overall Rating: 9.6/10 (Outstanding)

The Mars Volta - The Bedlam In Goliath (7.8/10)

It's easy to hear why this album got such mixed reviews. While there are parts that are well-crafted, about 1/4th of the album is rather chaotic. While it never does fall into an unlistenable mess, it comes about two inches away from near-headache inducing at times. Not a terrible album, but it's hard to really find much that stands out.

The Gathering - Disclosure
8.75/10

Katatonia - Dead End Kings
8/10

The Pineapple Thief - All The Wars
7/10

Nonpoint - Nonpoint (2012)

The boys from Nonpoint, going through yet another key lineup change, have officially redeemed themselves with this follow-up to the mediocre Miracle album. Old-school Nonpoint, with their old-school energy with a healthy mix of their new sound. Reminds me most of Vengeance and Recoil with hints of Statement and To The Pain here and there. Solid variety throughout, one of Nonpoint's best efforts thus far. Highly enjoyable for a long time fan.

8.75/10

Two more... (yeah, on a bit of a roll today)

Threshold - March Of Progress
5.5/10

Fantastic vocalist... horribly pedestrian instrumentation.


Octavia Sperati - Grace Submerged
6.25/10

Almost see above, but the instruments are a bit better. Basically imagine a more doomy Lacuna Coil and you're on the right track.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - ALLELUJAH! DON'T BEND! ASCEND!
at least a 9/10

Faith No More - The Real Thing (9.5/10)

There's not much I can say about this album, besides that fact that it is probably one of the most satisfying ones I have ever listened to. Even over twenty years later, it sounds extremely fresh and well put together.

In the lead-up to my purchase of The Afterman: Ascension (I'm broke right now), I'm going to go back and check out each of CoCa's albums again.

The Second Stage Turbine Blade

Pretty ballsy for what it is, with some nice patterns and crunchy guitars, but a lot of the songs go on for too long and Sanchez' voice still needed a bit of seasoning at this point. I definitely like IKSoSE:3 more.

7.5/10

The Beatles -- Revolver

Like I really need to say anything here.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MrFruitLord

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - ALLELUJAH! DON'T BEND! ASCEND!
at least a 9/10

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So pissed I'm working the day they're coming to Michigan

Delain - We Are The Others
6.5/10

Basically a low-rent version of Within Temptation. Some interesting ideas pop up here and there, but it seems mostly a straight-ahead sort of album. Not unenjoyable, but really not much to it that makes it stand out in a very crowded field of European symphonic metal.


Kaipa - Vittjar
7.5/10

In some ways a step forward from In The Wake Of Evolution, in some ways a step back. While the epics don't stray much from their tried-and-true "Yes meets The Flower Kings" formula, much of the rest of the album seems to revel in taking up new ideas, be they quasi-metallic soundscapes, a minimalist, almost post-rock approach, or even singing in their native Swedish (on the title track, which might be the standout of the album despite being a more four minutes long). Overall, the balance between old and new is a bit uneven, and may have been better suited as a 2xLP album rather than a single CD.