Coheed and Cambria - Year of the Black Rainbow
Hairy proggers come up trumps again with concept album.
Coheed and Cambria’s latest release ‘Year of the Black Rainbow’ effectively tells the story of the beginning of their Amory wars cycle, as well as concluding it. It charts the prologue of the story of Coheed and Cambria (the characters – not the band) and their creation in response to the titular black rainbow.
The album itself, though, is all that we’ve come to know and love from the band, with enough to still interest anyone newly introduced to the band or ignorant of the story’s mythology. Instrumental opener ’One’ is all dramatic, cinematic noise and serves as a signpost into the album. First single from the album ‘The Broken’ kicks off things with its crunching riffs and typically impassioned lyrics from vocalist and band lynchpin Claudio Sanchez. Throughout the album there is a deftness of pacing and it feels as if the band have lightened up on the prog elements with this album and it plays to its strengths.
Forthcoming second single ‘Here We Are Juggernaut’ builds to its epic chorus and opens up the story. That’s the strength of the album as a whole: that those deeply into the story will relate to the songs on a different level to the uninitiated listener, and yet the lyrics and music don’t exclude those unfamiliar.
The album is no one-trick pony, as detailed by the variation of tracks on the album. ‘Far’ is a melodic track that still keeps a rock sensibility about it with its driving beat, whilst with ‘Pearl of The Stars’ the band strips the sound back to an almost acoustic feel and it serves as a beautiful ballad within the middle of the assured album.
‘The Black Rainbow’ concludes the album with its story of ‘the great unknown’ and that’s where we’re left as listeners of the album, hoping the abrupt end to the album does not mark the same for the band. Here’s hoping this is the beginning of another story for the band Coheed and Cambria, even if the characters' tale has been told.
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