ALBUM REVIEW: Vaxis – Act I: The Unheavenly Creatures – Coheed and Cambria

Progressive heavyweights COHEED AND CAMBRIA have been making waves for years with iconic releases such as No World For Tomorrow and Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV. 2018 will see their latest addition Vaxis – Act I: The Unheavenly Creatures raise them in the ranks even higher and remind us that they are one of the goldmines we must not overlook.

Over the years, COHEED AND CAMBRIA have been building up on their The Amory Wars storyline in their releases. A lot of intricate moments have graced our ears, and whilst a short break from the concept was refreshing with The Color Before The Sun, it is comforting to back with a new arc. Unfortunately at over an hour long the story gets lost at times, something that is expected when there is so much to digest.

Easing into the album is Prologue, haunting piano notes and a spoken word intro build up suspense ready for the near eight-minute true opener for the album, The Dark Sentencer. Somehow the band have the ability to make something lengthy not feel dragged out, in fact the time on this song passes quickly with its galloping riffs and anthemic lyrics.

Unheavenly Creatures plays out in true COHEED AND CAMBRIA style, the vocals of Claudio Sanchez are as always on point and the music that surrounds is catchy, fun, and yet tells a sorrowful story. Toys continues with the fun feeling, and undeniably will become a fan-favourite especially in a live setting.

Black Sunday takes a darker approach to the sound, it unleashes a bad mood into the vibe and is a nice step back to show off the diversity of the band. Even with the harsher tones, Sanchez still has the ability to invoke emotion and create something powerful and catchy. Following forward is Queen of the Dark, the song is haunting and is one of the strongest points on the album. It brings in strong emotions and has a sense of power behind it.

Continuing on with the heavier aspects of the album is True Ugly which delivers crushing blows, whilst Love Protocol flashes back to the earlier sound of COHEED AND CAMBRIA. The Pavillion (A Long Way Back) is yet another standout song on the album, it builds up gradually with a stunning repetitive background riff and Sanchez’s vocals pouring out into another epic chorus before introducing subtle but attention-grabbing use of strings. The Pavillion is where you are really drawn into the story of the two lovers that this arc has shown to us.

Moving more towards the synth-sound on Night-Time Walkers, it begins with a slightly darker undertone before bringing the sound more upbeat with the chorus. The Gutter is where Sanchez displays a harsher side to his vocals and the sound becomes thicker, at some points during this song it feels like something is missing and perhaps it is down to the length of the album and it feels like it’s drawing to a close prematurely.

The Unheavenly Creatures is far from over though as All On Fire creeps in with soft and subtle piano notes before falling into a rather classic COHEED AND CAMBRIA sound. It Walks Among Us is possibly the best on the album, it is punchy and is essentially a fight song as Sanchez spits out every word. It’s full of energy, it’s got a catchy chorus and the lyrics are so well-written to work with the story. Old Flames yet again leads in with beautiful piano work, notes leading off from where Prologue ended before kicking back in with a true rock anthem. The chorus is one that is absolutely enchanting, it is so light yet powerful that it feels like the lyrics just roll off the tongue from Sanchez. The ending of the story is highlighted strongly, the fate of the lovers we have followed from the beginning is exposed and there’s no going back to change it. It’s a typical upbeat, catchy rock song but it really leaves a longing taste as it reels back into the piano notes of Prologue.

Elegantly closing the album is Lucky Stars. After such an upbeat song it does feel a bit of an odd placement considering this one is more down-tempo and solemn. Standing on its own, Lucky Stars is a beautiful piece of music with an excellent display of talent as strings work with the soft vocals and the acoustic guitar work, on top of that there is a stunning guitar solo that adds a bit of light into the sound. It’s almost as though Lucky Stars is a song that is putting the story to bed, and after the wild-ride COHEED AND CAMBRIA have taken us on a bit of calmness is needed.

The album captures the essence of the band faultlessly, and despite some thinking that it’s all been done before, the sound is nothing new, this is what COHEED AND CAMBRIA are about. They know their sound, they have refined it over the years and it is how they have gained love and loyalty from fans all across the globe. The Unheavenly Creatures is an album that in due time will be considered an iconic staple in their career, and rightly so.

Rating: 9/10

The Unheavenly Creatures is out now via Roadrunner Records. 

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