The Afterman: Ascenion

Coheed and Cambria keep you guessing from start to finish in their latest installment of The Amory Wars, their sequence of concept albums centered on lead singer Claudio Sanchez’s comic book series. _The Afterman: Ascension_ is a ballsy record with an incredibly ambitious scope, once again showing that they aren’t afraid to get complicated.

You will find it hard to believe that the album is only 40 minutes long – Coheed’s typically epic and complex style is immersive rather than alienating, and by the end you could be forgiven for thinking the experience had lasted closer to their usual record length of over an hour. Indeed, the convolutedly named second track of the album ‘Key Entity Extraction I: Domino the Destitute’ has such a variety in sound-scope it feels like a whole record in itself.

You certainly feel like you get value for money as Coheed leave no stone unturned. There are so many different musical influences in the record that there is something for everyone, from the ultra-proggy ‘Mothers of Men’ to the string-aided ‘The Afterman’. Perhaps the brilliant thing about _The Afterman: Ascension_ is that people will like it for totally different reasons. No two songs sound the same, but then Coheed has never been one for convention or formula.

While their desire to experiment and constantly keep things fresh should be appreciated, naturally it means that a listener will not like every song on this album. The aforementioned ‘The Afterman’ is one of the more disappointing efforts — a three minute song that never really gets going, this track lives in the shadow of its predecessor, ‘Domino the Destitute’. The record’s closer, the relatively lifeless ‘Subtraction’, also adds very little. This listener may be left feeling that the record deserves a stronger conclusion.

Nonetheless, it should be noted that _The Afterman: Ascension_ is a real grower. On first listen, it feels as if something is lacking, but after a few more attempts, you will find yourself enjoying parts you previously dismissed. Coheed fans should be happy with the overall product, and will no doubt look forward to the release of the second part of this double album, due in January of next year.