Coheed and Cambria – The Color Before the Sun
Review by Alex McCullough
Score: 7/10
The Color Before the Sun is an album that I’ve been looking forward to since it was announced with mixed feelings of worry and unbridled excitement. Coheed and Cambria are a progressive rock band whose albums, up until now, have all been set in a fantasy universe that lead singer Claudio Sanchez created in his comic book series titled The Amory Wars. Coheed’s first seven records all follow the characters in these comics through their epic adventures of cosmic war. I realize that sounds extremely corny, but I’m not ashamed to say I’m a huge fan of the band; Claudio’s awesome storytelling combines with the band’s epic, monolithic songs/albums to create an experience that’s unique from anything that I’ve heard from any other band. That being said, The Color Before the Sun is Coheed and Cambria’s first album that isn’t based on The Amory Wars. I love hearing Claudio’s story unfold through his music, so I was a little skeptical about the new record, but TCBTS is an undeniably solid release that shouldn’t disappoint the band’s insanely devoted fans.
The first thing that jumped out at me about this record was how poppy it is. The first single that was released from the album, “You Got Spirit, Kid”, is an angsty, rebellious pop-rock song that has a super catchy chorus that’ll stick in your head and not leave. Catchy songs aren’t really out of the norm for Coheed, so I was still feeling pretty optimistic about the album. Then “Here to Mars” and “Eraser” got released and my feelings got a little more mixed. “Here to Mars” is another catchy song, but it’s cheesier than anything Coheed as ever done. Lyrics like “honey it’s in the stars, ‘cause you’re my everything from here to Mars” made me cringe a little the first time I listened to the song. “Eraser” sounds pretty scattered and awkward at first listen, so the two follow up singles dropped my expectation a bit. BUT, both of these songs seemed to get a little better each time I listened to them, and soon I was singing along enthusiastically with both of them as I tend to do with Coheed songs. Expectations back up.
I’ve been listening to the album a lot over the last week, and there really aren’t a lot of weak moments, but at the same time there aren’t a lot of super strong ones either. Claudio is giving us our first real look at his personal life, and some of the songs just don’t have that grandiose feel that we get with songs about The Amory Wars. However, I need to separate this album from that universe to hear the album for what it is. Some of the songs are very personal; “Atlas” is a touching tribute to his son, “Ghost” is a pretty bleak picture of the sadness and anxiety that Claudio feels, and “The Audience” is a very Coheed-esque epic about how Claudio feels about his work, his dedicated fans, and his place in the world. The album closes with “Peace to the Mountain”, a gorgeous song that sounds like it would fit well into one of those fan-made slideshow videos. The song sounds like it could be an end-of-career anthem, but I really doubt that Coheed and Cambria are done with their work.
The Color Before the Sun is a solid Coheed and Cambria record. No, it’s not as epic as In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 or as crisp and heavy as The Afterman, but it is what it is: a respectable pop-rock album. I think most Coheed fans will respect what they’re doing with this album. Claudio wanted to prove that the band can do something that’s not a sci-fi concept album, and he really opened himself up and gave us what is, for the most part, a catchy, emotional, and well crafted record. It’s not my favorite album from them, but with the deep love that I have for the band, it’s going to be on my radar for the foreseeable future. I don’t think this is the end for Coheed and Cambria, and I will always be excited to hear what they give me, Amory Wars or otherwise.
Recommended tracks: “Ghost”, “Island”, “Atlas”, “You Got Spirit, Kid”, “Peace to the Mountain”, “Colors”
RIYL: Circa Survive, Saosin, The Dear Hunter
FCC Violations: “Island”, “Eraser, “You Got Spirit, Kid”*
*For DJs: Clean version of “You Got Spirit, Kid” is included at the end of the album
