Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends

Oh lord, here comes a classic. ''Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends'' was a great album, I'd dare say a masterpiece. I can't praise enough the risky move that this whole record was, as it was a journey through the uncharted. Was it an enjoyable ride and a great piece of art? Oh yes. Under Eno's supervision, Coldplay had the playground to fulfill their highest potential, and god did they deliver.

If ''A Rush Of Blood To The Head'' is Coldplay's most melancholically-gripping album, ''Viva la Vida'' is their most ambitious and experimentally fruitful. Furthermore, ''A Rush Of Blood To The Head'' was to melancholy what ''Viva la Vida'' was to hope; a quintessential piece of emotional embodiment in sonic form.

This record cannot be put in a box as it is so special in itself but the closest comparisons that you could draw, even if those are still galaxies away, is the weird lyrical metaphorical essence of Radiohead coupled with the airy uncertainty and grandeur that emanates out of Pink Floyd's music. But none of the two previously cited bands really fit into this album's description because this album is something else, in and of itself; a beacon of experimentation and musical ascendance, an epitome.

Also, one can't ignore the absolute grandeur of the art-rock finale ''Death And All His Friends'' and its empyreal and almost transcendental guitar solo that makes you feel like the entire universe is shooting through your chest in a light beam; conjuring a state of absolute euphoria as your entire person is filled with the most potent form of hope. After all, is it a mere coincidence that the cover art features Eugène Delacroix's ''Liberty Leading the People'', a timeless symbol of hope? Not in the slightest bit since this album is the musical embodiment of this painting's very essence; to be hopeful and raise your fist amidst the chaos.

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*Post-script:
Baylen's Review Factors:
✔️ SOUND ⟶ 9.5/10
✔️ DESIGN ⟶ 9.3/10
✔️ THEME ⟶ 9.5/10
✔️ CONTENT ⟶ 9.7/10
✔️ TENSION ⟶ 9/10
✔️ SPIRIT ⟶ 10/10
✔️ SHARPNESS ⟶ 8.7/10
+Personal taste.
➖➖➖➖➖➖
Top 3 Tracks:
1🟢: Death and All His Friends.
2🟢: 42.
3🟢: Strawberry Swing.

[ This review is part of a bigger review series on Coldplay's entire discography. If you'd like to read the review for each one of Coldplay's albums, visit my profile, click on my lists and then go to ''Ranking of Coldplay's Albums (Top to Worst)'' and all my reviews will be there!😊 ]