GOOD APOLLO, I'M BURNING STAR IV, VOLUME TWO - NO WORLD FOR TOMORROW

I've waited a while after the album was released to wait for the hype down, but even after these month I must say this is thus far the pinnacle of their careers, and the album they have had it in them to write, but they just hadn't done it yet. The punk/emo influences are almost gone, and when they do show up they just help out the song instead of taking over. No World for Tomorrow is the conclusion of the story that began with Second Stage Turbine Blade, and it is a fitting conclusion to the saga indeed, and the music has a sense of finality to it, particularly the End Complete suite, which I shall make a point of discussing later on. It begins with The Reaping, a departure from previous orchestral intros to an acoustic piece that sets the tone with some dark, foreboding lyrics. This is followed by the title track, a pseudo prog metal song with some great soloing. Another thing I forgot to mention is the presence of solos on this album, something I wish Coheed had done earlier in their career as these are some very talented guitarists. The album then moves on to three poppier tracks, which are still excellent. These being The Hound, Feathers, and the single, The Running Free, before moving onto the acoustic Mother Superior. Next is one of my favourites, the rocking, Gravemakers and Gunslingers, a guitar dominated hard rock track in the vein of Led Zeppelin. If you didn't listen to the lyrics it would seem quite upbeat, but I enjoy the darker lyrics Coheed has always written. Next is Justice in Murder, and then begins the highlight of the album, The End Complete, divided into five sections . The first is the short orchestral The Fall of House Atlantic, which sets the stage for the suite. This is followed by Radio Bye Bye, a short poppy song. The Next song is The End Complete, my favourite song Coheed has written. This song has everything, heavy riffs, a great hook, some mellow moments, and even some whoas thrown in for good measure. The Road and the Damned is another short number, which leads to the conclusion, On the Brink. This concludes the saga by beginning lightly, then just when you think it will end, it gets heavy with repeated shouts of hail!, followed by a bloodcurdling scream. This dies down and we are left with some jazz piano and then an epic guitar solo with some sci fi sounding synths to bring everything to a conclusion. An absolutely stunning release from this band, but I felt that some of the poppier songs were weaker and must resist the temptation to call it a masterpiece. 4.5 stars anyway. highlights: the end complete, on the brink, gravemakers and gunslingers.