It's been two years since New York's Coheed & Cambria released a studio album. In 2005, the progressive rock group released "Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV Volume 1: Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness." Now, they have finished what they began with their new release "Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV Volume 2: No World For Tomorrow." In the interim between Volume One and Volume Two, Coheed and Cambria underwent a huge change. Both the drummer and the bassist left the band to pursue opportunities with other projects. The two core members of the quartet remained, and they didn't miss a single beat by releasing one of the band's best albums to date. For those not acquainted with the deep world of Coheed & Cambria, every album documents part of a tetralogy known as The Amory Wars. Also aiding in telling the story is a comic book written by Coheed frontman Claudio Sanchez. The band released their first studio album, called "The Second Stage Turbine Blade," the second part of the tetralogy. The Amory Wars is, at its core, a science fiction story. It follows the happenings in a universe known as heavens fence. Two of the characters are actually named Coheed and Cambria. However, they die around the end of the first album. The albums then shift over to the trials of Claudio or "The Crowing," a messianic character. While the story itself can be difficult to understand, it is not at all helpful that Sanchez can be very tight-lipped about details involving The Amory Wars. What is not difficult to understand is why Coheed & Cambria have developed such an incredibly devoted following. Strongly influenced by classic rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Thin Lizzy, Coheed & Cambria have grinding guitars and slippery time signatures in spades on their newest album. From start to finish, "No World For Tomorrow" exudes classic rock elements. Absent from this album are the ornate flourishes that appear in most prog rock, and that's a good thing. The album opens with "The Reaping," as is typical with most Coheed albums, this is a short introduction into the album. After "The Reaping" is the album's title track "No World For Tomorrow," and it is here that the band grabs hold of you and doesn't let go. Retaining the edge from the previous album, Sanchez belts out the lyrics over the raging guitars. The first single is "The Running Free." It has a bit of a pop feel, with power chords evident throughout. The best achievement on the album is easily the song "Gravemakers and Gunslingers," a fantastic romp through the best that classic rock has to offer. Putting an end to The Amory Wars is the five-part finale called "The End Complete," which does a good job of finishing both the album and the series. Not everything is perfect. While the album has no true weak points musically, the packaging can be a bit of a put-off. It is a simple cardboard sleeve with the disc slipped inside. There is no booklet in sight. While this may seem trivial, it is disappointing to see a band that always puts so much into presentation put out their last album in a simple cardboard sleeve. A deluxe edition is available for fans to purchase that includes a bonus disc filled with demos and other features. It is recommended only for those who cannot get by with just the studio album. Those looking for more of what they love from Coheed & Cambria will not be disappointed with "No World for Tomorrow." This release has everything that fans of the band look for. It includes strong, guitar-driven riffs, choruses that beg to be played as loud as possible and sharp lyrical writing that's hard to find today. Whether you are Coheed & Cambria's biggest fan, or you simply want to listen to a great rock album, you would be an absolute fool not to give this disc a spin.
'Tomorrow' arrives for fans
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