GOOD APOLLO, I'M BURNING STAR IV, VOLUME ONE - FROM FEAR THROUGH THE EYES OF MADNESS

So, this is a band I'm not as familiar with as I should be. This is so far, the only Coheed and Cambria album that I own, and I must say that I enjoy it to a certain extent. I know that their roots were in some kind of emo and punk combination, but I hear very little of that in this album. Instead, what you get is a very nice combination of progressiveness and some leanings towards a poppy sound at times. The most progressive parts are the best, but the poppier songs aren't really that bad either. When the band is good, they are really good. Tight playing, a complex concept based on a sci-fi story and some heavy passages that never get overbearing plus some very inventive songs mixed with a few lighter ones gives a good feeling of variety so that one doesn't get too tired of the sound. The concept is complex like I said before and actually spans several albums. I have no idea what the story is, but I plan on understanding it better because the music is good enough to merit several listens, and as I become more accustomed to the vocals, I think I might even decide that it deserves a better rating than what I give it here. The vocals....I do have a problem with them, but that problem has become a smaller and smaller problem the more I listen to this. They seem like they are not so believable because the vocalist does have a slightly immature sounding voice, but I know that when the music and the composition is as good as what this is, I have been able to adjust to vocals in the past with other bands, and I really think that will happen here. Ask me again in a year or so and I bet that they won't even bother me anymore.

Rhythms are complex and challenging at times, and simple and almost radio oriented at others. The band reaches a perfect balance here in my opinion. The album opens with a beautiful orchestrated instrumental which is followed by an impressive track "Always and Never" and then followed by a full on prog track called "Welcome Home". This is followed by a harder track with again a good amount of prog elements to is called "Ten Speed". After this, the middle of the album does tend to sag a little bit, especially in the first listenings because the songs tend to get a little more radio friendly for a while, and as a result, start to sound a little too much the same. The more you listen to this album though, the more you hear, and the songs to start to grow on you and you do notice each one has it's own personality. The beautiful slower track "Wake Up" breaks this sameness up a little bit, and is to me the best of the middle tracks, but the immaturity of the vocals really shows through here, even though the song is beautiful. After that, the songs build in progressiveness again until the more complex "Mother May I" and the excellent 4 part suite "The Willing Well" which is full blown progressive rock again. The songs are typically (but not always) vocally driven, the rhythms complex and changing. The only slight complaint here is I wish there were more instrumental passages here, but that complaint will fade as I get more familiar with the suite. There really is a great instrumental section that finally ends off the suite about half way through the last movement that is simply amazing and shows off the talent of the band. Then there is this very surprising coda that just comes out of nowhere....

Very good album, impressive compositions and instrumentation, I am more than willing to familiarize myself with the band better now that I have gotten to the point that I do enjoy this album. As of now, I have to give the album 4 stars because of the few complaints that I have, but as I get used to the sound, my feelings about this could very well change. My son loves this band, and so, with his encouragement, I will familiarize myself with the band better. For now, this is definitely an excellent album and a great addition to your prog collection.