Coheed And Cambria – ‘The Color Before The Sun’ [Review]
When the first couple of tracks on an album carry “Explicit Lyrics” warnings, I consider that a good sign. After all, who wants to hear a band holding back?
After seven conceptually-themed Coheed And Cambria albums comes The Color Before The Sun, a collection of autobiographical tracks based on frontman Claudio Sanchez’s life. It’s a real right-angled creative direction change, but judging from the unmistakable passion that permeates its entire running time, it was clearly necessary.
Given its nature, this is not an album that can (or arguably even should) be compared to Coheed And Cambria’s previous efforts.
The question is: Does The Color Before The Sun work as an album in its own right?
The answer is a definite yes.
Make no mistake – for many listeners, The Color Before The Sun will be an acquired taste. But there’s nothing wrong with that. After all, we live in an age of digitally-enabled instant gratification, and it’s easy to forget that letting go of expectations and comfort zones and giving something unfamiliar a chance can lead to the deepest of passions.
Passion – in the sense of yearning for and achieving relief and release – is what The Color Before The Sun is all about. Its first half concerns Sanchez’s life pre-parenthood, while the second side kicks off with a song for his son. It’s a different kind of concept, but a concept nonetheless.
Before Atlas arrives, Island, Eraser, Colors, Here To Mars, and Ghost urge the curious to acclimatise themselves to this new side of Coheed And Cambria. As immersive and gripping songs, they work perfectly, merging often uplifting atmospheres with inimitably Coheed creativity.
At The Color Before The Sun‘s mid-point, the contrast between Ghost and Atlas is dramatic. It’s at this point that The Color Before The Sun comes into its own.
Atlas is a fucking terrific track. Fat, punchy, and crunchy, it’s an instant-classic Coheed And Cambria rock tune. Immense. From there, Young Love stumbles and sways with punch-drunk vitality; You’ve Got Spirit, Kid chugs its way into cathartic live-hit territory; The Audience acts as a pre-emptive strike against those eager to tear down any artist’s efforts to try something new; and Peace To The Mountain is an open, serene, and blissful way to end a tempestuous journey.
Overall, listening to The Color Before The Sun could do for you what it has for Coheed And Cambria. It could open your mind to new ideas, provide a breath of fresh air in the age of suffocating filter bubbles, and help you see the world from an entirely different perspective.
Let it. What’s the worst that could happen?
TMMP RATING: 93% (Essential Listening!)
Links / Listen
Coheed And Cambria official website.
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