Album of the Week: Coheed and Cambria - The Afterman

     The observant among you (or just the extremely set in the routine among you) may have noticed something missing from your week last week: an album recommendation from yours truly.

     Don't worry, I didn't forget about you, and I haven't called it quits with the Album of the Week feature just yet. The last couple of weeks have been a little busier than normal here at Loud Noises HQ, and last week's album just slipped through the cracks. By the time I got my shit together to do one, it was already the weekend, and I figure you deserve the full week to do your homework.

     On the other hand, I don't like the idea of just skipping last week, even though that's essentially what we're doing here today, and I'd like to play catch up a little bit, even if it is only symbolic. To that end, I've decided that this week's album pretty much has to be a double album. Is this cheating? Maybe, especially when you consider that the record(s) I've chosen weren't even released simultaneously, but who cares?

     So, without further ado, this week you're going to spend some time with one, or preferably both, of Coheed and Cambria's Afterman albums. I've been a fan of Coheed for years, but even if you haven't, I think you'll still appreciate the high calibre of the total Afterman package: poppy, rocking, proggy, songs that span a gamut of styles and moods; some sci-fi concepts woven into the lyrics (but not an inextricable part of them -- no need to find a Coheed wiki to get up to speed on their albums-spanning space opera); hell, even the album artwork is suitably far-out.

     As much as the band's sophomore In Keeping Secrets... might still be my favourite record from their catalogue, there's no question that The Afterman, Part I: Ascension and The Afterman, Part II: Descension represent the band's best work in years, and there's also no question that I eagerly look forward to whatever they release next. Give these records some spins this week and I'll bet you'll be clamouring for new Coheed too.

Album of the Week: Coheed and Cambria - In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3

     Last week when I was recommending the Coheed song "Ten Speed (Of God's Blood and Burial)" it occurred to me that they're a band with a nice, deep back catalogue that could most definitely yield an album with enough meat on its bones for a week of auditory enjoyment. So today I'm makin' it happen, cap'n.

     But which Coheed and Cambria album should you spend the next seven days getting to know? There's several good candidates. The band's debut Second Stage Turbine Blade is a landmark in the post-hardcore movement of the early 2000's. Then again, their most recent work, the Afterman double album, is a bit of a return to form after a lackluster record or two, and as good as anything from their lengthy career.

     For my money, however, if you have to pick one Coheed album to push on people, it's got to be sophomore disc In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3, an album that works on multiple levels. If you're a sci-fi dork who digs the ongoing story of the Kilgannon family, then I put it to you that IKSSE:3 is when the story really kicks into gear. If, on the other hand, you couldn't care less about the concept and instead dig Coheed and Cambria on a purely musical level, all you need to know is that IKSSE:3 is a stellar prog-pop post-rock (is that a thing?) album from front to back, a genre classic like its predecessor the aforementioned Second Stage Turbine Blade. Riffs, beats, songs, melodies, harmonies, this record is so well crafted it's scary. Get familiar this week if you're not already. 

Monday: Coheed and Cambria - Ten Speed (Of God's Blood and Burial)

     Speaking as I was yesterday/earlier about bands that should get back in the saddle and write a new record already, Baroness isn't the only act I'd put on this list. I know they're gearing up for a fall tour playing their breakthrough album in its entirety, but Coheed and Cambria could stand to drop some new music on me.

     Sure, the second part of the acclaimed The Afterman double record did only just come out last year, but I'm already ready for the next Coheed chapter. Their catalogue is just so consistently good that I figure more can only be better, right? Yeah, that might be both flawed logic and tempting fate a little bit, but the heart wants what it wants.

     So have a listen to a pop-rock blast from Coheed and Cambria's past in the form of "Ten Speed (Of God's Blood and Burial) from the band's longwinded 2005 record Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV Vol. 1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness. It might be a convoluted song title, and a convoluted album title, but the track is rock solid, so check it out.

Monday: Coheed and Cambria - Delirium Trigger

     Finally back on top of things, and we're going to cap all this catch-up off with a quickie post for your Monday evening.

     It hasn't been that long since Coheed and Cambria released the second part of their The Afterman double album, but I for one am already ready for new material. This isn't to say that The Afterman isn't a satisfying listen, because it is -- more satisfying perhaps than the couple of records that preceded it. Coheed is just one of those bands that I've been into for so long that I'm always interested to hear what they'll come up with next.

     Tonight, however, we're looking back because we can't look forward to new material on the horizon any time soon. Your Monday song is "Delirium Trigger" from the band's debut 2002 LP Second Stage Turbine Blade. Enjoy.

Song of the Day: Coheed and Cambria - Number City

     The Volto song "Tocino" from a couple of days ago has a video that's a bit... strange, I think does it. Today's song also has an interesting video, although it's a different kind of strange.

Song of the Day: Coheed and Cambria - The Velourium Camper II: Backend of Forever

     I've no doubt that pop proggers Coheed and Cambria earned themselves a bunch of new fans with last fall's The Afterman: Ascension and this spring's The Afterman: Descension. Maybe you're among them.

Song of the Day: Coheed and Cambria - Key Entity Extraction V: Sentry the Defiant

     This past Tuesday saw the release of the second half of Coheed and Cambria's latest space epic The Afterman. Last October saw part one of the story of Sirius Amory, entitled Ascension, and now we've got the second half in Descension.