So with the new year passing by and re-solutions starting to falter in the minds of, well everyone, I felt in only fitting to now assemble my top 5 list of albums from 2013. Now I know you be thinking, "But Decoder, you already did a top 5 last month! Were you lying to us? Why play with our emotions?" To that I say, hold on. My last top 5 was to congratulate albums that were lesser known or that I personally "missed" in my year of listening. This list is in fact my opinion of those albums that went above and beyond the normalcy we saw this year, crafting songs that were not only awe-inspiring, but also non-traditional in their execution. Now, before we get started there are a few ground rules we should cover
1. Albums must have been released between January '13 to December '13
Sadly, this means that we will not be seeing any nominations for bands like Fun or The Killers as their albums were released the year before the time frame.
2. I shall only be choosing from albums I have listened to completely.
This means that albums such as Common Courtesy by A Day To Remember, Yeezus by Kanye West, and Random Access Memories by Daft Punk will not be appearing as I have not listen to them in their entirety.
3. This is MY PERSONAL OPINION
If you disagree (which I'm sure a few of you may), please leave a comment stating what ones I may have list since this is a top 5 list of my own personal selection the amount of "axing off" albums has been tremendous.
With all of those out of the way let's begin with....
NUMBER 5: THE AFTERMAN: ASCENSION/DESCENSION by COHEED AND CAMBRIA
Now, I may be cheating just a little on this first entry as yes, Ascension was released in September of 2012 but, the main reason for it appearing is purely semantics. The first half of this two-part album is a necessary listen to fully grasp the amazing pay off in the second. I would have put this higher on the list had this not been the case as the tale of Sirius Amory is as tragic as it is mesmerizing, showing Coheed and Cam
bria show no signs of slowing down after "finishing" their long-running storyline between albums. For the curious, you can find the full in-depth review available here:
Ascension
Descension
Notable Songs Include: Key Entity Extraction V: Sentry the Defiant, The Hard Sell, Away We Go, Iron Fist, and Dark Side of Me
NUMBER 4: SWAY by BLUE OCTOBER
My 1st pick for the top albums missed only ranks 4th on the list sadly, which should tell you how wondrous the rest of the albums on this list are. It's always great to hear from Blue October, it's like that friend you never really noticed you missed until they walk back in the door and start telling stories of their amazing adventures. That is if these amazing adventures took you an emotional roller coaster take you from solemnly calm, to sad, then happy, and everything in between. When Blue October takes the time to write an album they nearly every time release something of wonder and this album is no exception.
Notable Song Include: Sway, Bleed Out, Fear, Hard Candy, Things We Do At night, and Not Broken Anymore.
NUMBER 3: NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND by HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD
This band and I have a rocky history. To be honest I was incredibly hesitant to listen to their work in the first place as Swan Songs did not resonant with me in the slightest and while I found American Tragedy to be a step in the right direction, it did not convince me they were worth a round three. But, do to some pestering from a friend I gave the album a listen, and then another, and another, and... Dear god have I not been album to set this album down. While I did not cover this album on the website I do feel it is worth mentioning that the direction taken in the album is miles better that what I had come to expect from these guys. Yes, they still have their silly songs where they talk about "getting fucked up, put on your helmet and knee pads" but after listening to the heart-wrenching slower songs, it just blows my mind it took me this long to listen to it. I humbly apologize to Hollywood Undead for doubting their ability to craft well written songs and writing them off as immature wannabe-gangsters as the maturity in the lyrics of this album know no bounds.
Notable Songs Include: From The Ground, Lion, Rain, Believe, Up In Smoke, Outside, Medicine
NUMBER 2: BECAUSE THE INTERNET by CHILDISH GAMBINO
Ah yes, this was the album we just covered a week ago by the "rich kid asshole" we should all "paint as a villian." Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) had a lot to prove after his first major release Camp back in 2011. Now for those fans that thoroughly enjoyed the sound of Camp I can sympathize that Because The Internet took you through a jumbled mess of emotions as it is not what a lot of people were expecting from full-time comedian Donald Glover. This though is what works in its favor as the album itself starts out quite arrogant in its sound, painting the picture of a person who would be cool to hang out with but really not too deep of a human being. That is until the midway point when Gambino spins not only the album, but his whole style on its head, delivering an album that is both deeply philosophical and experimental in its story telling. You can check out the full review here
Because The Internet
Notable Songs Include: The
Worst Guys, Telegraph ave, 3005, No Exit, Flight of the Navigator,
Zealots of Stockholm, Pink Toes, Earth: the Oldest Computer, and Life:
The Biggest Troll
NUMBER 1: VESSEL by TWENTY ONE PILOTS
Now the list is coming to an end (hoo-ooo-ooo-oo oh oh ooo). In all seriousness though, this album blew my mind upon first listen. From the dark atmospheric tones, to the real-world storytelling lyrics Tyler Joseph paints across every song he rights, this album is a masterpiece upon masterpieces. If you have not had the great pleasure of listening to this album in its entirety I urge you take a good long car ride and just listen to how every song builds off of another, never truly repeating itself in what it is offering to the listener. I knew this would be my number 1 album of the year off the of the first listen and I'm glad to say that was the truth as nothing has been on the same scale this year. This album has something for everyone from the pop music listeners all the way to the EDM scensters, there is not a single bad song on this whole album running time. Pick it up in stores or load it up on Spotify yourself to experience the wonder that has become Twenty One Pilots.
For those interested the full review is located in the link below
Vessel
Notable Songs Include: Ode To Sleep, Migraine, House Of Gold, Car Radio, Screen, Fake You Out, Guns for Hands, Trees, and Truce
Alright for now that will be the end of the 2013 talk as a new year is upon us and is promising quite the eclectic taste of amazing music. I hope you enjoyed the list and as stated if I missed any please inform me in the comments section below. Next time we'll be back-to-basics with a ROCK D3C0D3D review. Till next time, stay beautiful and have a wonderful time!
As always please like, share, and comment below!
All the music covered above is available on iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify for your listening pleasure.
*As with all things, the opinions expressed our purely that of the author and should be taken as such.
** All images, music, and information used are for entertainment/review purposes. No copyright infringement intended.
*I just would like to caution anyone who would like to read about The Amory Wars chapter entitled "The Afterman" that there is a possible for spoilers in this review and I do not feel like robbing anyone, that does not wish it, the opportunity of experiencing this album spoiler free. With that being said, here we go.
Luckily, last week we went through the history of Coheed and Cambria so that this week, we just catch you up with where the lead characters were at the end of Ascension before we move forward.. Our lead character is Sirius Amory who has currently been guided into a deep layer of "the keywork" by an entity known as "Evagria the Faithful." His ship was destroyed by a frequency shot out by another entity moments after landing in what is known as "the keywork." "The keywork," is thought to be a mysterious energy source that supplies energy to the 78 other planets in their cosmos. After finding "the keywork," with help by his companion AI the "All Mother," Sirius discovers that it is inhabited, and supplied of energy, by souls that have not passed on to the afterlife. Eventually, Sirius becomes taken over by these entities one by one as they depict their life and death through memories. Back on their home planet however, his wife Meri has received news that his ship has lost contact and it is assumed that Sirius is dead. In the deluxe edition there is a little more content offered by a storybook that tells of a character named Colten whom stops her from drinking an alcoholic beverage laced with bendzodiazepine, after she goes to a bar to deal with her emotions. During this time, there is foreshadowing that he will become her new romantic love interest. For more details on last week's review head on over here. Now for our main attraction, the conclusion of Coheed and Cambria's two part "The Afterman" saga entitled The Afterman: Descension. Let's see if the fall can be just as good, if not better than, the rise.
The album opens with the track "Pretelethal" which starts out slowly, with a very cool effect on the vocals making it sound like Claudio is in a cave-like structure. The song does eventually kick in with very big boomy drums and a wall of electric guitars, opening us to theme of the second act with the repeated, "Who will repair this broken heart?". That's right everyone, The Afterman: Descension becomes more of a tragic love story, slightly steering the focus away from the sci-fi afterlife as the first part did. After the introduction track comes down, it launches full force into the last entity on the double album entitled, "Key Entity V: Sentry The Defiant."
Gotta say I love the artwork on both of these albums. Quite surreal.
This song hits hard with a story about "Sentry the Defiant" whom, in his lifetime, was a hard worker that earned his way through the military ranks, until, being ordered to bomb an off-world structure that would result in many innocent casualties. By defying this order he is put on "Vic the Butcher's" blacklist before being hung for attempting to rise up against the tyrannical military general. This song is a stand out track on the album for hitting all the right notes from the dirty sound of the guitars, to Claudio's vocals depicting a good-willed man who is sick of seeing "Vic the Butcher's" malicious control and stands up for what he believes is right, hoping to inspire others to do the same. Inevitably, Sirius shows Sentry that his life is not defined by moment in time, allowing the entity and Sirius to move the plane on enlightenment known as the Samaritaine.
The album than does a jump to Sirius being home discovering what felt like a week in "the keywork" was actually 547 days on his planet. The follow-up entitled, "The Hard Sell" takes place right before Sirius is set to unveil his findings to the world. This is my favorite track on the album as the lyrics speak of what would happen if people were to discover that there was no true after life, just absorption into "the keywork." Strictly off of that, it garners five stars from me, making one delve deep into thought. That is until the pre-chorus has the instrumentation strike with every word as if it were piercing into you, leading into a chorus that just cranks it up to eleven in terms of energy. Major accolades go the solo though as I could see where this could easily turn into an overblown, straight out of the 80's solo, but, they keep it very confined and relaxed. This song ends with Sirius stepping in front of the crowd deciding to lie and say that he found nothing that would lead to believe it was an afterlife.
The next song "Number City" is shocking from the start as "Attention we have got a medical emergency," on and at first one can be rather confused with what was going on. This song takes place after the song following it so we discover that both Sirius and Meri have been in a car accident and Sirius is in critical condition though he is able to see Meri is in much worse condition and the paramedics find out that she is actually pregnant while testing her condition. This song is a fun ride as it jars you at the beginning with it's industrial rock mixed with 70's guitar sound. I must admit though this is probably my least favorite songs on the album though I do enjoy the chorus I find it falls a little flat after "The Hard Sell."
"Gravity's Union" takes place before the crash where we see the conversation between Meri and Sirius. Where in, she tells Sirius she is in love with Colten and pregnant with his child. She moved on because she felt she was always second to his work, resulting in Sirius losing control of the car and the ensuing crash from "Number City." This song jumps right back up there with both ghostly and the industrial rock sound backing vocals adding great depth as Claudio laments about losing Sirius losing the love of his life pleading her to remember the better days. This song really tugs at the heart strings as Sirius accepts that he was wrong but sadly, Meri has passed away and will never know. But let's talk about the instruments that just create a wall of energy surrounding this song, from the drums dancing around the simple beat, the rhythm guitars swelling throughout the song until the bridge where they palm-mute to show the tension of Dr. Straight's surgery to try and save Meri.
"...A beautiful album not just hitting the mark, but, blowing it out of the water..."
The next two songs "Away We Go" and "Iron Fist" signal the end of the second act and beginning of the final act of our story. As Meri's life flashes before her eyes, she eventually finds herself back in the Jersey City dunes and approaches a young Sirius Amory, a memory from one of their first dates. As she speaks to him her world around her is transformed as she finds herself encased in the limbo of "the Keywork" though she is unaware of where she is, she feels at peace. This song is very great as it's very pleasant sound considering the circumstances in the story, adds an inverse from the rest of the album's dark and sometimes dreary tones. "Iron Fist" takes place after Sirius is released from the hospital and admits internally that he was angry not at Meri, or Colten, but himself when he found out she could not be with him. The iron fist mentioned in the title relates to both him losing control of the car and his decision to go to "the Keywork" to find something great. He realizes though that none of it matter without her by his side, and my god does Claudio express this through his singing and the acoustic guitars with electric accompaniment make this track truly beautiful.
This brings us to the last two songs on the album entitled "Dark Side of Me" and "2's My Favorite" with the "Dark Side of Me" picking up where "Iron Fist" left off. This song has Sirius come across Colten who he wishes would either not notice him or end his life. Colten instead asks him why returned after so long instead of letting Meri going after knowing that it couldn't be so simple as to come back with open arms after abandoning her. Sirius eventually breaks down and contemplates suicide until eventually deciding on a new plan. This song is the only single as of now for the album and I can see why, it is a great tracks from it's composing to it's lyrics utilizing dynamics to fire on all cylinders in the chorus but being able to pull things down for a slow jazz feel in the verses. "2's My Favorite 1" is where Sirius decides to make a new ship and plot a course for "the Keywork" showing that all that is important to him is to help Meri pass over to the stage of enlightenment and find peace, regardless of how it things will end up for him. I'd like to think with its optimistic sound that he succeeds as this song really rounds out the album beautifully delivering an energy charged love song.
In all, The Afterman: Descension, is a beautiful album not just hitting the mark, but, blowing it out of the water with what has to be the best Coheed and Cambria album so far. These songs offer everything from the hard, and edgy , to the soft ballads. While I feel the only song to truly be "bad" on this album is "Number City" I suggest checking out, not only this album but, the whole The Afterman Saga. Next week, we'll see how much we can hold our Temper, with the new Bullet For My Valentine album!
As always please like, share and comment below!
BUY IT: Key Entity Extraction V: Sentry the Defiant, The Hard Sell, Gravity's Union, Iron Fist, Dark Side of Me, 2's My Favorite 1
HEAR IT: Pretelethal, Away We Go
TRASH IT: Number City
*As with all things the opinions expressed our purely that of the author and should be taken as such.
** All images, music, and information used are for entertainment purposes. No copyright infringement intended.
Now I know the band "Boys Like Girls" have been trying to blow up the twitter feeds with the #boyslikegirlsareback tags. But I'm here to say right now, in a very definitive manner.... That "Coheed and Cambria" is BACK! Yes, it has been a few short years since the release of Year of the Black Rainbow back in 2010 and while I enjoyed the snippets of the album I did hear, sadly I could never get into it as much as I did Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: No World For Tomorrow. So today, we're gonna take a look at their newest venture entitled The Afterman:Ascension, which is the first of a two part concept album by the New York quartet that was released on October 9,2012 via Fontana/INgrooves. But before we do that lets dive into some history.
The band originally called itself "Shabutie" and released the EP Delirium Trigger in 2000 using the lead vocalist's (Claudio Sanchez) science fiction comic series named "The Bag. On.Line Adventures" as inspiration for a few of their songs. Though the comic series started as a side project for Claudio, it later became a staple of the band when they change their name to the current "Coheed and Cambria," after the two lead protagonists, and dubbed the new story The Amory Wars. Using The Amory Wars as a backdrop all of their albums actually take place in the same universe. The main story following the characters Coheed Kilgannon, Cambria Kilgannon, and their son Claudio Kilgannon. To be honest with all of you, I'd like to explain the whole story entailed in The Amory Wars but, that would leave us with no space for a review so I suggest either listening to the other albums or going here for more information on that.
Another album without the band's name on it? Good thing it's pretty
Thankfully for today's review, The Afterman: Ascension actually takes place outside of the Kilgannon's storyline. Narrowing the focus on cosmonaut Sirius Amory, his investigation into "the keywork," whose source is thought to be a mysterious energy that gives nutrients to the galaxy they live in, Heaven's Fence, and the wife he leaves behind Meri. He is only accompanied by his computer system named "All Mother," that he refers to as mother throughout the concept album. With the stage set, characters paid, and a good steady metronome to keep us in time, let's dive into The Afterman: Ascension to see what it offers us!
The albums opening titled "The Hollow" is a lyric-less tune relying mostly on the atmospheric strings, sound effects, and occasional dialogue between Sirius and and All Mother. The music swells, growing louder and louder until eventually cutting down to dead air signaling the distorted guitar to launch into the lead single "Key Entity Extraction I: Domino the Destitute." This track has a very No World For Tomorrow "Coheed and Cambria" vibe from the overdriven guitar riffs, the roomy drums, and bright tone of Claudio's vocals it paints the picture of the life of "Domino the Destitute," a soul caught inside "the Keywork's" construct that takes control of Sirius. It is a very intense, pulse-pounding song, that is perfect for anyone's workout mix.
The next tracks on the album "The Afterman," "Mothers of Men," and "Goodnight, Fair Lady" all take place back with Sirius' wife Meri. The first is a detailing of how Meri reacts to the news that Sirius' ship has lost communication and is a very sad song as the lyrics repeat "If he's not here than where?" This song shows just how great the use of soft singing can be as Claudio never really raises up loudly leaving the dynamics for the instrumentation around him which is quite beautiful. "Mothers of Men" and "Goodnight, My Fair Lady" are your standard Coheed songs which to be honest isn't a bad thing as the formula they have done for songs like "Ten Speed(God's Blood and Burial)" and "The Suffering" all have worked out very well. But, in this case I felt it very distracting from the main sound of the album and after listening to the second part Descension I understand why we focused on Meri so much here but sadly I find her songs to be rather boring and with much to be desired.
Finally we get to the end of the 2nd act and "All Mother" comes on to say "Caution, second entity identified." From there it's the home stretch of great sounding songs Key Entity Extraction 2-4. "Holly Wood the Cracked" starts very hard and bass favoring which had a bit afraid to see where they would go with it but, Coheed pulls out all stops telling the story of a woman who wanted to be so much like a famous actress that eventually she was deformed by the surgery to do so. After which she decides the only way to truly be like her is to destroy the original one and wow does this song rock, from the chanting "Holly wood Holly Wood" in the pre-chorus to the tone shifting bridge this is definitely one of the better songs on the album.
I Don't know what I want more... His hair or his guitar? #firstworldproblems
The next two entities are that of "Vic the Butcher" and "Evagaria the Faithful" which start out jarringly opposite of each other. "Vic the Butcher" starts with a boom and heavy guitars, the chorus of "Vic the Butcher" will have you screaming "Hang your secrets, hang them up HANG THEM UP," by the third time listening. "Vic the Butcher" was a decorated military general who committed horrific war crimes but hid them by threatening soldiers and their families until one known as Sentry attempted to stand up for himself. Sadly, Sentry was hung for these actions but their will be more on him next week. "Evagria The Faithful" starts up with a guitar riff and triangle solo fading in as one of the only helpful spirits attempts to help Sirius. She shows him her life which is a very pleasant though slightly bittersweet sounding song as she lived a life helping everyone in need she could until her life was cut short by a rare and incurable disease. This song involves a very 70's esque background guitar in the pre-chorus and drums that help illustrate a very calm and happy portrait much different than the rest of the album.
The last song on the album named "Subtraction" is a very rare song in and of itself. The reason behind this is because Claudio Sanchez is actually singing in a deeper less bright register, which after hearing the beginning of this song it makes much more sense with the the digital tones, acoustic guitar, and light electronic drums. This is Sirius' moments of realizing that maybe he abandoned Meri back on their planet and should have never left for the venture to "The Keywork" ending with "Evagria the Faithful" taking him to the next stage of the afterlife and him being referred to than on as "The Afterman."
To sum it all up this a very well done concept album with a tremendous beginning a kinda flat middle ground leading to a beautifully brilliant ending. The amount of detail in the instrumentation is amazing with most tracks fine tuning the effects of every instruments to near perfection. From the distortion, to the reverb, to the equalization everything fits together quite well and it is a marvel that as a composer Claudio Sanchez hasn't done any soundtrack composing. Either way though if definitely deserves at the very least a round of a applause at the end. Sadly, this is only part one of the double part "The Afterman" album and next week we'll plunge head first into the second half to see if the DESCEND was as good as the climb.
As always please like, share and comment below!
BUY IT: Key Entity Extraction I: Domino The Destitute, The Afterman, Key Entity Extraction III: Vic The Butcher, Subtraction
HEAR IT: The Hollow, Mothers of Men, Key Entity Extraction II:Holly Wood the Cracked, Key Extraction I V: Evagria the Faithful
TRASH IT: Goodnight, Fair Lady
*As with all things the opinions expressed our purely that of the author and should be taken as such.
** All images, music, and information used are for entertainment purposes. No copyright infringement intended.
Now, I may be cheating just a little on this first entry as yes, Ascension was released in September of 2012 but, the main reason for it appearing is purely semantics. The first half of this two-part album is a necessary listen to fully grasp the amazing pay off in the second. I would have put this higher on the list had this not been the case as the tale of Sirius Amory is as tragic as it is mesmerizing, showing Coheed and Cam
My 1st pick for the top albums missed only ranks 4th on the list sadly, which should tell you how wondrous the rest of the albums on this list are. It's always great to hear from Blue October, it's like that friend you never really noticed you missed until they walk back in the door and start telling stories of their amazing adventures. That is if these amazing adventures took you an emotional roller coaster take you from solemnly calm, to sad, then happy, and everything in between. When Blue October takes the time to write an album they nearly every time release something of wonder and this album is no exception.
This band and I have a rocky history. To be honest I was incredibly hesitant to listen to their work in the first place as Swan Songs did not resonant with me in the slightest and while I found American Tragedy to be a step in the right direction, it did not convince me they were worth a round three. But, do to some pestering from a friend I gave the album a listen, and then another, and another, and... Dear god have I not been album to set this album down. While I did not cover this album on the website I do feel it is worth mentioning that the direction taken in the album is miles better that what I had come to expect from these guys. Yes, they still have their silly songs where they talk about "getting fucked up, put on your helmet and knee pads" but after listening to the heart-wrenching slower songs, it just blows my mind it took me this long to listen to it. I humbly apologize to Hollywood Undead for doubting their ability to craft well written songs and writing them off as immature wannabe-gangsters as the maturity in the lyrics of this album know no bounds.
Ah yes, this was the album we just covered a week ago by the "rich kid asshole" we should all "paint as a villian." Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) had a lot to prove after his first major release Camp back in 2011. Now for those fans that thoroughly enjoyed the sound of Camp I can sympathize that Because The Internet took you through a jumbled mess of emotions as it is not what a lot of people were expecting from full-time comedian Donald Glover. This though is what works in its favor as the album itself starts out quite arrogant in its sound, painting the picture of a person who would be cool to hang out with but really not too deep of a human being. That is until the midway point when Gambino spins not only the album, but his whole style on its head, delivering an album that is both deeply philosophical and experimental in its story telling. You can check out the full review here
Now the list is coming to an end (hoo-ooo-ooo-oo oh oh ooo). In all seriousness though, this album blew my mind upon first listen. From the dark atmospheric tones, to the real-world storytelling lyrics Tyler Joseph paints across every song he rights, this album is a masterpiece upon masterpieces. If you have not had the great pleasure of listening to this album in its entirety I urge you take a good long car ride and just listen to how every song builds off of another, never truly repeating itself in what it is offering to the listener. I knew this would be my number 1 album of the year off the of the first listen and I'm glad to say that was the truth as nothing has been on the same scale this year. This album has something for everyone from the pop music listeners all the way to the EDM scensters, there is not a single bad song on this whole album running time. Pick it up in stores or load it up on Spotify yourself to experience the wonder that has become Twenty One Pilots. 
