Coheed And Cambria - Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness - Review
First Impressions
Hooo boy. This was an absolute beast of an album, in length, in content to break down, in mental energy it takes to think about and listen. But above all, in quality.
To put it simply, this is a proper epic with every single one of it's tropes. It's got the bangers, it's got the ballads, the dramatic explosive moments, the gut wrenching emotional songs. The super long epics divided into different songs. This is nothing new in prog, but damn I love it when it's done well.
We've moved from a super heavy punk/post-hardcore sound with a tiny bit of prog sprinkled in, to full on prog metal. The scales have tipped to be completely balanced. Now, while we still have super punky and energetic songs like Ten Speed and The Suffering, we also have orchestral epics like Welcome Home, or the entire Willing Well suite, which is made up of four songs which are seven minutes each.
The songwriting here is just so much more sophisticated here. There are some really intricate and unique riffs and solos here. Once again, the lead guitars have a severe case of can't-stand-still-itis. But this time it's less chaotic and crazy, and it's so much more integrated into the mix and the composition. This makes the songs feel so solid and complete as opposed to the rough and raw tracks in Turbine Blade.
Now, this does bring up a little disadvantage of them becoming so polished. There was something about the super raw energy of Turbine Blade that was just incredible. It was so damn aggressive and fast. In comparison, this album, even at it's most intense moments, doesn't reach that intensity.
Take moments like the end of Ten Speed, or Once Upon Your Dead Body, Crossing The Frame. These moments I feel would have been so much more aggressive and emotional in Turbine Blade. Here, they're much tamer, though this is swapped for insane catchiness and still a decent amount of energy.
Where the climactic and cathartic energy of this album really goes to is the super grand and epic moments in the longer songs. Welcome Home ends with a whole ensemble of strings over a super dramatic chant. From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness has one of the grandest and most epic endings I've heard recently. The Final Cut is basically a 7 minute solo session to finish the album.
So we have less peak punk moments, and more peak prog moments, seems appropriate. Does this mean the album lacks teeth completely though?
Not at all. There is still a lot of energy and aggression. In fact, I would say this album is incredibly aggressive. Where the music loses teeth, the lyrics are absolutely savage.
As far as I know, within the story of the Amory Wars, this is about the literal writer of the story entering his own story and making the characters go through a crisis because of his own emotional troubles. This is exalted by him literally meeting his self insert in the story. This is made somehow even more meta when you realize this was because Claudio's partner had left him because of how big the band had gotten, and she just couldn't handle it.
This is an angry album, a damn rageful one honestly. You can really feel Claudio's heartbreak here, even if it's reflected in... somewhat violent ways. Talking about how much he wants to violently kill multiple characters. You get this in songs like Welcome Home, which is speaking literally about Claudio's relationship with his partner and how she left him. Once Upon Your Dead Body, The Final Cut. Honestly, most songs have some kind of really sick and aggressive implications. It is seething with rage.
This culminates in the death of the main character's love interest, and the whole thing just seems like a downward spiral into rage and existential dread. It is amazing.
Even if a lot of these songs are based on jolly and catchy melodies, this is such a narratively driven album. You can really hear the story develop as it goes, things get so much worse and climactic. These are the best kind of concept albums if you ask me, the ones that you can experience almost like a movie.
As for music, God I don't know where to start, there are so many catchy melodies here, practically every song here is super memorable and singable. The first two thirds of the album are individual songs, and they all have such amazing energy and emotion. The best are the super dramatic and epic ones if you ask me. Welcome Home, The Writing Writer, even the shorter ones manage to convey that epic feeling by building and developing ideas. Ten Speed and Once Upon Your Dead Body especially.
But then, you get to the final four songs. The Willing Well suite. I have to say, at first this was my least favorite part of this album. I thought they were kind of a mess and not cohesive at all. But as always with big epics, you kind of need to take them in and sit with them. Now, it's pretty much my favorite part of the album, save for Welcome Home, that song is just too good.
This is a proper epic. Honestly it borders on being one huge 30 min song, though I wouldn't say it fully does. This is good, I don't think it would be as palatable if it were that.
Instead we get four songs that always start with a more playful energy (except The Final Cut) and progressively get more dramatic and grand. They start with high energy and being fun, but by the end it's a huge climax and it's so good. This is especially noticeable in the title track, well "title track". Part II
Part III is the best by far, a full reprisal of The Writing Writer, extended with solos, extra sections, and some seriously crazy lead guitar work that really reminds me of Mars Volta. The lead sections are so thin and twangy, it's awesome.
This is something that's also really cool about this suite, you get a lot of really classic chord progressions that really reminded me of something like Dio or Iron Maiden. This kind of comes out of nowhere, it's not in any other songs in the album, but it is awesome.And then, we end with The Final Cut. Which as I've said before. Is pretty much just a giant solo section. And for an album so big and ambitious, it's a perfect ending.
These types of albums are really hit or miss for me. Most times they are just too long in my opinion. But when ambition meets the talent to match it, it is something amazing. This was near flawless.
Ranking
Welcome Home
The Willing Well III: Apollo II: The Telling Truth
Apollo I: The Writing Writer
Once Upon Your Dead Body
Wake Up
Ten Speed (Of God's Blood & Burial)
The Willing Well II: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness
The Willing Well I: Fuel For the Feeding End
Crossing The Frame
Mother May I
The Willing Well IV: The Final Cut
The Suffering
Always & Never
The Lying Lies & Dirty Secrets of Miss Erica Court
Keeping The Blade
Rating
9.5/10