The Afterman: Descension, with its accessible lyrics and eclectic bag of styles, goes a long way to reverse this slide into mediocrity.
Although there’s an undeniable sense of sameness throughout, repeated listenings reveal enough appealing and impressive nuances to make the record very worthwhile.
The Afterman: Descension will keep old fans happy, but it won’t be gaining new ones.
There’s nothing much astoundingly new in ‘The Afterman: Descension’. There are some incredible songs, and almost every one has a moment where the band show just why they have the fervent following they do.
By playing it safe and giving the fans exactly what they want, Coheed & Cambria have successfully delivered two of the most predictable, mundane albums I’ve ever heard.
Pretelethal- 7
Key Entity Extraction V: Sentry The Defiant- 9
The HardSell- 8
Number City- 7
Gravity's Union- 10
Away We Go- 8
Iron Fist- 7
Dark Side Of Me- 8
2's My Favorite- 7
Coming just three months off of Ascension, it’s absolutely bewildering that these tracks likely came out of the same sessions, as Descension is more of a mixed bag than its predecessor. You can see the band tapping into their post-hardcore roots here (at least more than on Ascension), on tracks like Sentry the Defiant and Gravity’s Union, whilst balancing them with more ballad-style tracks (especially towards the latter half of the album), and even experimenting with a jazzy sound ... read more
If Ascension was the blissful pop ballad filled brother to this record, then this is the angry, brooding, hateful and rage-filled other half, and my god is it fantastic. If your in the know with Coheed and Cambria, then you'll love this record, however if your new to the band, then this aint the place to start. It's exciting, fun and damned entertaining, with gloriously distorted riffs and some of Claudio Sanchez best vocal work. Strap yourself in and take a journey into the heart of the ... read more
1 | Pretelethal 3:21 | 85 |
2 | Key Entity Extraction V: Sentry the Defiant 5:45 | 100 |
3 | The Hard Sell 5:10 | 100 |
4 | Number City 3:49 | 90 |
5 | Gravity's Union 6:46 | 95 |
6 | Away We Go 3:55 | 95 |
7 | Iron Fist 4:46 | 80 |
8 | Dark Side of Me 5:03 | 95 |
9 | 2's My Favorite 1 4:55 | 95 |