try this: coheed and cambria (year of the black rainbow) review

The first song I heard by Coheed and Cambria was “Wake Up,” a slow, melancholy, acoustically driven ballad. You can imagine my surprise when I went to listen to their other stuff. I’m not a metal fan, but bands like C&C have pushed the boundaries of my musical tastes. I guess that’s why they’re classified as progressive rock. In a world full of Green Days and Weezers and Fall Out Boys (who are all great in their own right), it’s still refreshing to hear rock that goes a little harder and a little longer.

When I heard that C&C’s albums are all based on a comic book storyline written by frontman Claudio Sanchez, I was surprised that this boundary doesn’t limit the band to write only in one specific way. I haven’t read the books, but with C&C’s latest album Year of the Black Rainbow, Sanchez released a novel of the same name, which is the prequel to the stories. The stories are called The Amory Wars, and each C&C album released is actually a chapter in Sanchez’s science-fiction concept. As a result, the song lyrics are focused, yet not totally specific to the story. I think it’s insanely genius to have an idea so powerful that you need multiple creative outlets for it. I kinda want to read the stories so I can interpret the lyrics in a new way, guessing which character is which, and diving deeper into their inner monologues. Year of the Black Rainbow has been released just in time for their return to the desert music festival Coachella, which I will be at in 3 days. :)

An ominous intro leads into “The Broken,” a powerful first track and a great first song release. The next song “Guns of Summer” is a flurry of palm mutes and effect pedals that drown out the lyrics. It’s too much. I can’t even imagine what this drummer looks like playing on this one though. It’s crazy. The highlight of the album and the first single is “Here We Are Juggernaut.” (“This is not your playground/it’s my heart.”) On “Far,” Sanchez croons “No matter the distance/No matter how far.” Nope, that’s not a quote from a Backstreet Boys album. This one is a little slower and has a bit of an electronic beat. It gets kinda dull about halfway through, even though they toss in an arena-rockish solo. “This Shattered Symphony” has a ton of minor key madness that was a little offputting a first, but the song grew on me quickly. Not much else is worth mentioning until “The Black Rainbow,” a 7 minute finale that climaxes in wailing guitars, screams, and chaos. It abruptly ends, and fades out with an outro that’s as haunting as the intro.

While Year of the Black Rainbow isn’t exactly a step back from the sound of C&C, it isn’t a step forward. The album seems like it is lacking in production, at least compared to their previous albums. There is no standout track like “Welcome Home” to fully round out the epic-ness of the prequel, instead leaving it as a flat introduction to The Amory Wars saga, and the other C&C albums. Maybe the album just needs Sanchez’s novel to compliment it, but that’s a review for another day.