Coheed and Cambria - No World For Tomorrow Review

Coheed and Cambria

No World For Tommorrow Review

By: Victoria Anderson

After reviewing this album, I felt slightly sad that it may indeed be true that no original rock music is left to discover.  Perhaps recycling the best of the 70’s and 80’s and wrapping  it in an updated sound is the next musical wave.  Concept albums were a staple of the 70's and it appears that the genre is returning.  However, after repeated listening to Coheed and Cambria’s  No World for Tomorrow I would do my readers an injustice if I didn’t begin with some caveats.  

First and foremost, this is music best listened to in an altered state.  Example, My first listen was in a normal state and I found it to be a mediocre Rush or Queensryche album.  Then I listened again after adjusting my mood and found it to be much more complex and original.  So my first suggestion is do not listen to this album without drinking or smoking something first. 

Secondly, this is a concept album.  And that means it is a commitment. Not an album to casually listen to.  This is not casual music.  This music has a message, dammit, and it’s gonna be heard. No World for Tomorrow is the culmination of previous concept albums that created the characters of Coheed and Cambria.  Full Disclosure:  I had never heard of Coheed and Cambria before this review.  To you out there: Yes, I hate it too when someone who doesn’t know shit about an artist reviews an album of someone who I discovered when I was freaking 12.  Blame it on Tool.

Thirdly, this music must be listened to by someone who has affection or affinity for 80’s “metal.”  Coheed and Cambria definitely listened to it in their younger years and it shows on No World for Tomorrow.   

Finally, it’s an uneven concept album.  Look at it as two albums in one.  The first part is a pretty good rip off of some great 70’s and 80’s guitar driven rock.  The second is a series of complex and smoothly produced tracks that sound like they belong on their next concept album.

You are now ready for part one.  Having accomplished the mission of getting effed up for “listening of the concept album,” you will find No World for Tomorrow opens with “The Reaping,” a nice acoustic prelude that leads into the annoying mess also known as the title track.  An attempt to show the range and depth of the band instead produces a disjointed sound and lack of any leading melody.  True lyric enlightenment on this bloated effort is as unclear as the musical direction C and C wants to take the song. 

Each song has a message to be told.  Thankfully, it’s shrouded with catchy guitar riffs that sound familiar.  On the low end of the spectrum you will find “The Hound (of blood and rank)” Dull and completely forgettable filler with formulaic rhythms and cliché phrases more suitable for a garage band demo.

On the positive note, impressive harmonies are displayed on “The Running Free,” And the following song, “Mother Superior” has some highlights and dramatic moments.  The track “Feathers” sounds like fun but the lyrics hold a darker meaning.    I’m not sure what “hide your feathers on the back porch baby, he’s coming home for you” means, but it’s upbeat, and stays with the listener, which is a rare treat on this heavy album.  If you want to download a song just for the heck of it, this could be the one.  One may have to listen a couple of times to appreciate its energetic banality, but “Justice in Murder” is also a little gem. 

If this is your first time listening, the vocals of C and C are unusual and alternate between an annoying twang and front woman Raiana from the band the Khz (Debut album highly recommended by your reviewer) and that’s not a bad thing even if they are a testosterone only combination.  Coheed and Cambria at times have a cool sexuality in their vocals and can bend them to combine Indigenous and Celtic wailing that feels great to the senses. 

In a different time period, more than a couple of album tracks could have been radio hits had the artists been interested. But that leads to one of the flaws of C and C.  I haven’t noticed a movement for“epic rock” resurgence. I think they would have made a bigger impact had this been released in the 80’s or even late 70’s, thus the warning that one needs to have some respect for older rock to appreciate the shining moments of this uneven album.

The second part of No World for Tomorrow spins to the rock opera spectrum and just keeps going.  The final sounds on The End Complete are short and stunning, but contain screaming and chanting and beautiful guitar melodies.    

This is a band that takes itself and its lyrics too seriously.  The vocals seemed insistent to be heard and sometimes submerged the haunting guitar sessions that flow through the album.  The melodies and guitar licks are definite highlights.  Listening to C and C has been a journey these two hours.  It’s up, it’s down, it’s intense, it’s fluffy and it’s not really that bad.