Coheed and Cambria Album: “No World For Tomorrow [Edited]”

THE BAND: Claudio Sanchez (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards, synth), Travis Stever (guitars, background vocals), Michael Todd (bass), Chris Pennie* (drums & percussion). *It is noted in the album liner notes that "Taylor Hawkins played all drums on this album".

THE DISC: (2007) 13 tracks clocking in at approximately 60 minutes. There are 2 versions of the release - the single disc in a slim cardboard sleeve (only); and the 2-disc 4-section foldout set containing the album on disc-1, and disc-2 being the DVD containing the making of the album with in-studio footage - including inspiration, turmoil, artwork concepts, etc (21+ minutes); original acoustic demos - 5 songs (27 minutes); "Mother Superior" performed live and acoustic (5+ minutes); and a tour photo album set to music (8 minutes). Included in the 2-disc set is a 14-page booklet containing song titles/credits, song lyrics, artwork pertaining to the story (by famed fantasy artist Ken Kelly), and thank you's. Recorded at The Pass Studios, Los Angeles, CA. Label - Columbia Records / Sony.

COMMENTS: After listening to Coheed & Cambria's 1st three albums... and then hearing this "Part IV - Vol. 2 - No World For Tomorrow"... it somehow just all fell together for me. Coheed & Cambria's 1st album - "The Second Stage Turbine Blade " (2002) was an odd listen. The music was incredibly intriguing for a debut. However, the vocals were the biggest obstacle for me to overcome. Five years and three complete albums later, I couldn't picture their music without the high-pitched creator and band leader Sanchez. The DVD lets you in on the mind of Sanchez - for the most part he's introverted and keeps to himself and his close-knit group of friends. And, that his music is a way for him to branch out and bring his innermost thoughts and fantasies to life. "No World For Tomorrow" is the 4th installment of Sanchez's sci-fi dream about the Amory Wars (want the full story - check out the series of comic books written by Sanchez and published by Evil Ink Comics). I've read that "The Running Free" is the first single to be released (a cool song with some great guitar work, minus the chipmunks gleeful background vocals with all the "ohs"). To date though, I am yet to hear any of this album on the radio. "No World For Tomorrow" starts off in mellow fashion. The gentle acoustic 1+ minute "The Reaping" sets the tone nicely for the title track (listen for the thunder in the background). Track 2 - the song "No World For Tomorrow" is my favorite on the disc (describing how the world is falling apart and there is great change coming). The melody is heavy - in my opinion, the heaviest and darkest thematically on the album. Other highlights include "Feathers" (an upbeat happier tune with some great rhythm guitars and a ripping solo); my 2nd favorite song on the disc - the intricate "Mother Superior" - with it's acoustic opening, rocking middle, and big ending (complete with orchestra strings); the rocking "Gravemakers & Gunslingers" with its fast pace and heavy guitars ("Go on and pull that trigger!"); as well as the entire 5-part "The End Complete" (tracks 8-13... the highlight being the album closer "On The Brink" - glorious guitars and bluesy undertone with an ending reminiscent of the prior album's last track, "The Willing Well IV: The Final Cut"). There is absolutely no filler on this album. I love the disc in its entirety. Out of the four Coheed albums to date, this "No World For Tomorrow" is my new favorite. In my opinion, it's more rock than progressive in tone. The band is extremely tight (showing maturity on their respective instruments) and the guitars are once again the show-piece of the band. Beware of the single disc purchase and the lack-there-of case and liner notes... go for the 2-disc set - it's worth it (5 stars).

In following with the epic feel of "Fear Through The Eyes of Madness", Coheed & Cambria have delivered a hard-hitting, rip-roaring, ear-bleeding gem of an album. This album outdoes even the most epic of metal bands from the '80's to present day. I would break down the songs one by one for you, telling you their pros and cons, but, honestly, there are no cons, and I don't think I have enough space here for the pros alone anyway. My favorite song on this album is definitely "Gravemakers and Gunslingers" because it really shows both Claudio Sanchez's (lead singer, guitarist) and Travis Stever's (lead guitarist) talents as guitarists. An easy five stars out of five. If there were more stars, I would give them. Five out of five does not even come close to doing this album justice.

A quick note on the band in general: I have told many of my friends about Coheed & Cambria over the years since the release of "The Second Stage Turbine Blade" and have had only a few converts. This has led me to believe C&C are definitely an acquired taste, much like good wine. You have to savor them, taking in every nuance. It's definitely a good idea to listen to an entire album if it's your first time hearing them. Their albums are not meant to have one song taken from them because their albums are a continuing story, meant to be taken/absorbed as a whole. For those of you who haven't heard much of C&C yet, give them a chance and I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Barring a possible prequel bearing the number one, Coheed and Cambria's fourth album wraps up the story they've been creating since the The Second Stage Turbine Blade, although it's not really clear to most people what that story is. Instead of saying anything understandable, the lyrics tend to just string together thoughts and oddly structured sentences in a way that hints at meaning but is generally pretty inscrutable. But we listen to music to enjoy the songs, not analyze the message, and No World for Tomorrow is still pretty good in that regard. Coheed's another one of those bands that just never quite reach what you think they might be capable of. There's a lot of nice touches and interesting musical moments, but a lot of the music is repetitive, not especially catchy pop punk. The better songs are all departures from that radio friendly style, with more of a progressive/operatic tone. The band is still full of great musicians, and there's some nice instrumentation here. They don't bring back the lullaby from the first three albums, but they still recall a few different themes and lines, adding a sense of coming full circle with the story and wrapping it up nicely.

"The Reaping" is an atmospheric, acoustic song that leads into the title track, a good song with a variety of catchy sections. "The Running Free" is the current single, and starts off very strong. It's a bit less entertaining after the vocals start, but it's decent. "Mother Superior" is a softer ballad in line with something like "The Light & the Glass", another standout among the more generic stuff around it. The End Complete is the coalition of the last five tracks much like The Willing Well from the last album, and is fairly epic in scope, representing the climax of the tale. "The Fall of House Atlantic" is an instrumental, and a fairly enjoyable one at that, in a slightly cheesy way. "Radio Bye Bye" is a conventional pop punk song that snuck in there somehow, and pretty forgettable. "The End Complete" is nearly eight minutes of pomp, with some good music and dramatic flair. "The Road and the Damned" is fairly solid, and transitions into the falling action of "On the Brink", which is also largely instrumental after a few minutes, with a clash of different styles ending in a slightly altered reprise of the solo from "The Final Cut", the last track of Volume One. It's not as grand as it could have been, but No World for Tomorrow is still a pretty decent album.

No World for Tomorrow is a really good album. Definately worth checking out. A few cuts such as "Running Free" are almost certainly going to be radio favorites. I have all of the Coheed albums thus far and although I love their music, I have no clue of the storyline. I haven't picked up the comics and haven't talked to anyone who can explain what's going on. That aside, they are extremely talented musicians and Claudio is an excellent front man and song writer. In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth is still my favorite cd by the band so far. This one ranks just below Good Apollo. But just barely. Give NWFT a chance. You won't be disappointed.

Coheed is one of the most technical bands out there, and they have yet to let me down. Each album has a new element to it. There are some very decent songs on here, and they have kept their original sound. Buy this album if you like coheed.