Released: Feb 5, 2012
Genre: Progressive Rock, Alternative Rock, Post-Hardcore
Label: Hundred Handed, Everything Evil
Number Of Tracks: 9
This is the second album in the concept series "The Afterman", with the previous release, "The Afterman: Ascension" having come out just under 4 months ago.
The Afterman: DescensionFeatured review by: UG Team, on february 08, 2013 4 of 4 people found this review helpful
Sound: Having reviewed Coheed And Cambria's previous release just a few short months ago, I feel like I still have a fairly fresh perspective of the two albums side by side. Both albums are solid releases and tell the story of Sirius Amory, but of the two, "Descension" has a little more variety in sound and has really captured my interest. While I have been a casual fan of Coheed And Cambria for quite a while, these past two albums have really captured my imagination. They manage to blend genres seamlessly in many of the songs on the album and manage to sound both like a modern band and like a classic prog band at the same time – Claudio is a wizard when it comes to songwritng and composition. "The Afterman: Descension" has 9 tracks on the standard version of the album which I am reviewing, and has a runtime of just over 43 minutes. The iTunes Deluxe Edition has 12 tracks and clocks in at just under 60 minutes.
The songs on "Descension" are just a touch more out of familiar territory for Coheed And Cambria than their last album with some brief forays into horns, funk rhythms and some electronic music. The album is absolutely a 3 dimensional album – and by that I mean it is a nice change from most popular music today and doesn't follow any kind of standard formula. One song in particular, "Number City", seems to remind me at different points throughout the song of Kyuss, The Police, Lady Gaga, and Modest Mouse. At times throughout the album the guitars are heavily compressed, but this is for sections of the song and is done for the effect at the time and not the standard throughout the album. Having recently begun picking up on similarities between a lot of recently released albums, this is absolutely a breath of fresh air. I'm not going to do a song by song analysis of the album, especially as this is a concept album that is more about the album than individual songs. I love the fact that the album all works together even though some of the songs sound so drastically different than the others. // 9
Lyrics and Singing: I recently read somewhere that Claudio's vocals are "polarizing" and I have to absolutely agree with that statement. Originally, I wasn't a big fan of Coheed And Cambria but over time I got over Claudio's voice and began actually enjoying it. Earlier today I listened to "Descension" with a friend who somehow had never heard Coheed And Cambria before and after the first song they were saying how much they hated Claudio's voice, but around track 5 or 6 they said his voice was growing on them. I think that is probably a pretty common reaction to his voice. With that being said, Claudio's vocal performance on the album is solid and he goes outside of his comfort zone a few times and manages to pull it off. As I said in my review of the previous album, Claudio's vocals at times have some processing on top of them but it always serves the song and not used in excess.
Here are some lyrics from the track "Key Entity Extraction V: Sentry The Defiant": "Believer/ Your spotlight on the subject so incorrect/ and suggestion suggests that I'm someone you should not respect/ Oh you wear your facade so well/ covered up in a plastic shell/ you're a liar to everyone around you/ just don't forget/ face the honest truth/ you were never you/ now be defiant, the lion/ give them the fight that will open their eyes/ hangman hooded, softly swinging/ don't close the coffin yet/ I'm alive/ and it's homecoming/ and it's homecoming/ can you remember/ when there was no wrong in what I could do/ so young, biting off way more than I could chew/ and then one day I grew too old/ and my cares were now theirs to mold/ please accept this as my resignation/ it's time to go". // 9
Impression: I'm straight up impressed. I have a friend who would qualify as a Coheed And Cambria "fanboy" probably, and they constantly hassle me because I don't appreciate Coheed And Cambria to the same extent as them but the time has finally come that I have to give up the ghost on that argument – I am really loving this album. My favorite song on the album would have to be "Away We Go" or "Number City". There isn't a bad song on the album – they are one of the few bands releasing albums these days that still feel and sound like they're producing fresh ideas instead of rehashing things that have already been done. My only regret is that I didn't get the deluxe edition that comes with the coffee table book that goes more into the storyline. I'm gonna have to go get it now. I used to think of Coheed And Cambria as almost a "gimmick" band because of the comics and such, but now I realize that was my cynicism thinking for me – they are true musicians and artists. I'm ready to join their fan club.
The Afterman: Descension
Reviewed by:
Voodoochile711, on february 20, 2013 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Sound: I've been a big fan of Coheed since they started, and I've always loved everything they've done. "The Afterman" is the group's first double album, "Descension" being the second half. Like the first half ("Ascension"), this album showcases the group's classic rock influences, particularly on the excellent "The Hard Sell" which has a funky, near-Zeppelin vibe, and "Away We Go" which, to my ear, channeled Thin Lizzy right down to the vocal style. This is a side of the band I've always wanted to see more of. But the classic rock sound isn't all there is here, as "Number City", a catchy upbeat tune, comes right after "Hard Sell" to give us a taste of Coheed's apparent love of the 80's. The overall sound production is almost flawless, and the group's usual complex, thoughtful instrumentation is in full force here. // 9
Lyrics and Singing: For any who don't know this band, all their albums are concept albums set in vocalist Claudio Sanchez's fictional "Amory Wars" universe, and this album keeps that tradition. I'm not too familiar with the story, but I know that this album focuses on the namesake of the Amory Wars, Sirius Amory. For the most part, however, the songs can be separated from that concept as deep down they are really about Claudio's personal experiences and feelings. The lyrics are sincere and poetic, conveying well emotions such as anger, regret, joy and resolve, as heard in "Sentry The Defiant"'s emotional chorus:
"Face the honest truth: you were never you, and I'll be defiant, the lion. Give them a fight that will open their eyes. Hangman hooded, softly swinging, don't close the coffin yet; I'm alive!"
Claudio's vocals have always been a subject of controversy, deemed by some to be too high-pitched and annoying. While that is a matter of opinion, you can't deny the emotion and dynamic range of his vocals; one minute he'll be screaming with unadulterated rage, the next he'll be softly and sadly crying out to any soul willing to listen. I personally enjoy his tone as well for it's uniqueness, and his pitch is always spot-on. Anyone willing to accept a high voice and some interesting pronunciation will find an excellent vocalist in Claudio. // 9
Impression: This may make me sound like a fanboy, but both parts one and two of "The Afterman" are, in my opinion, the best albums Coheed And Cambria have ever made, though "Descension" is the better of the two. You can hear the evolution of the band and all they've learned from past albums, as they've effectively taken the best parts of every previous album and meshed them together. Some standout tracks for me were "Key Entity Extraction V: Sentry The Defiant", "The Hard Sell", "Number City", "Away We Go", and "2's My Favorite 1", though every track is great, classic Coheed. Any fans of the band, prog rock, or good music in general would do well to pick up this album. // 9
Gravity's Union is actually my least favorite on the album. I like both Ascension and Descension a lot, and I think Descension is overall a much better album, but Gravity's Union and Pretelethal I just can't bring myself to listen to completely. Maybe in time. Also somewhat disappointed that Iron Fist has all that electronic junk over the acoustic. They were playing it live on their Second Stage 10 year anniversary tour and it was perfect without all the sounds. It fits more with the album this way, but I would've preferred it as just an acoustic track. Just my opinion though.
Ascension and Descension were kind of a shock/adjustment for me on first listen. I actually didn't like Iron Fist at all the first time through, it was all just too different, but it's one of my favorites right now. I'm not sure how I feel about Gravity's Union...I feel like it's almost too messy or busy or...something in the beginning half. But then somewhere in the middle, for the rest of the song, I really dig it.
I was kind of happy to see more electronic elements that weren't just blipping transitional sounds, like on Good Apollo, in the the album probably because I also really enjoyed the Prize Fighter Inferno stuff and hoped to see some of those elements eventually become more prominent in Coheed's sound.
But I get what you mean, I had a similar reaction back when NWFT came out. I had seen that YouTube video of Claudio and Travis playing Mother Superior at NAMM and felt like the built up version was almost too built up, even though it fit with the rest of the album I really liked that first, stripped down version I'd heard.
Pretelethal is probably the best album opener I've ever listened to. The album itself just plays through so smoothly. This Ascension/Descension album is by the far the most diverse they've ever been as a band.
Really?? I thought "Pretelethal" was the only track I don't really care for on the album - especially as an opener compared to the awesome "The Hollow" from Ascension.
It is different from the orchestral they usually place to start the album but considering it's a "double album", this is more of a continuation. The sonic cliffhanger from Ascension flows so smoothly into the opening of Pretelethal to make for an awesome feel to the second half.
Just reviewed this for the school paper. Published a review for Ascension too.
Really, not that it's bad (I mean, it's still Coheed), but I just feel like Descension wasn't as good as it should have been. After Ascension, it just feels kind of weak to me. Still a good album, just a touch disappointing.
you say the music "doesn't follow any kind of standard formula" which isnt true for maybe 4 songs on decension and maybe 2 on acension, everything else is in pop structure and thats why i think coheed is on a downward spiral musically. they could do so much better like with Good Apollo 1. that album to me is THE coheed album and acension and decension just further drain me when i argue with myself if i love them like them or not
Good Apollo 1? I know of "Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume 1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness" is that what you mean? Because Claudio never made 1-3. Not yet anyways.
Haha yeah, I know, kinda weird but Claudio confirmed that as the full title somewhere at some point in time. It's just not very commonly referred to as that I guess
It's streaming on Spotify and from my first listen of the album the one thing that really stood out to me was Claudio's vocals are my favorite ever in a Co&Ca album. Just to be clear, it's not that I ever hated his voice I just that I think that it sounds really good on this album.
Glad you mentioned this was on spotify. I'm gonna listen before I buy. The last two disappointed me. Man, their first 4 albums are so awesome! I don't blame them for changing, a real musician's gotta experiment. Hoping they kill it this time!
You know one thing that I always found weird (in a good way) with them is that despite the fact that they have a very distinctive sound, their albums have very different mixes and accent different aspects of the band. My favorite albums by them are IKSOSE: 3 and No World For Tomorrow but plenty of people will choose different albums as their favorites because of whichever style they showcased at the time. I think it's really a testament to just how good they are, they could ask 7 fans what their favorite album is and receive 7 different answers
Love this beyond measure, even more than Ascension. The variety, the composition, the lyrics, the production, everything is just perfect. Going to listen to it back to back with Ascension this weekend, may not survive the experience. One of my favourite albums of all time, if not THE favourite.
I just remembered about this band a few days before this album was released. Might as well give it a go. Enjoyed their music, even though I don't usually like "epic" music (whatever the genre).
Better than Ascension, but together as intended an amazing double album. Establishing them very firmly as one of the very finest modern prog-rock bands.
One of my favorite bands. I agree with this review completely, not just cause I'm a fanboy, but because its actually that good. Seein them again tonight, can't wait!!
I absolutely love Coheed, but this album was a big disappointment for me. A lot of the songs just feel like nothing special, which is something I never thought I would say about Coheed. I will be giving this album more chances though. I'm glad it's getting a good reception.
Decided to give Coheed another chance, since I havnt really enjoy anything after IV: Volume I. I have to say... I am impressed. I'll have to check out the other half this album
I never thought I would say this... but Coheed have actually managed to top Good Apollo 1 with these Afterman albums (I'm counting them as one). Absolutely phenomenal.
I'm really surprised no one has commented on Zack Cooper's background vocals. They create a really great harmony with Claudio's in Descension, especially in Iron Fist.
Haha yeah, I know, kinda weird but that's what it's called in the liner notes of the record. Claudio confirmed that in an interview somewhere as well. It's just not commonly referred to as that I guess
I saw them in Chicago over the weekend and then in Des Moines last night. I've seen them 9 times, and they continue to get better live. It was a bummer to see them play the same setlist, but it was still awesome.
The musicality and the tightly knit connection this band has within their music is amazing to me. The production is great, and there's a sense of maturity to it just like the other albums, yet it has this youthful presence to it as well. It's just an overall great album, and already could stand as one of the best albums of 2013. My favorite songs are "Away We Go," "Gravity's Union," and "The Hard Sell."
Apollo 1 had many songs with pop structures. Anything with catchy lyrics is going to be considered "pop" unfortunately. Apollo 1 and 2 are both technically part 4 of the story. They have done 1 - 3 as well (Each having a number in the title except the newest three):
0pt1 - The Afterman: Ascension
0pt2 - The Afterman: Descension
1 - Year of the Black Rainbow
2 - Second Stage Turbine Blade
3 - In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth 3
4pt1 - Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume 1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness
4pt2 - Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume 2: No World For Tomorrow
In all honesty as a person that has followed them from their oldest album, I can say I have listened to Descension the most times in a row. The songs all flow well if evaluating the album as a whole, and each song holds its own. The Uke in Prelethal is awesome and the horns in Number City (especially in the outro) are amazing.
I honestly see a lot of classic rock and 80's rock influence within both of the newer albums. Rock is influenced by pop now a days, its hard to avoid. I play guitar in a local band and its something we constantly think about when writing songs.
Fact is, this double album is musically rich. Hands down.
Hoping they kill it this time!