Warthur OK, to give Coheed and Cambria full credit, repackaging what is fairly standard progressive metal fare and selling it to the alternative rock crowd quite as effectively as they did with this album is no mean feat. The post-hardcore and emo influences that informed the band's early works are now dialled way down, to the point where they are discernible less as fully expressed musical approaches and more as a certain touch to the production aesthetic; scratch the surface of the packaging, though, and what you have here is essentially a rather boisterous performance of material which wouldn't be entirely out of place on one of the edgier, heavier Dream Theater albums.

Kingcrimsonprog Good Apollo Tonight I’m Burning Star IV, Volume One: Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness was Coheed and Cambria’s third studio album and saw a huge increase in the band’s popularity when it was released back in 2005.

The album contains a few of the band’s best known songs, such as the grand `Welcome Home,’ the catchy `The Suffering,’ and of course `Ten Speed (Of God’s Blood and Burial)’

With this album; the band effortlessly mixes classic rock and prog influences into their music with modern attitudes and delivery, creating an eclectic, complex and melodic record full of surprise twists and turns. From quieter moments like `Always & Never,’ and `Wake Up,’ to loud and bombastic moments like the three aforementioned singles, the album contains a wealth of ideas.

Highlight moments include the amazing almost-title track `Apollo I: The Writing Writer,’ which is still one of my favourtie Coheed songs till this day, and the grand and bluesy guitar solo showcase `The Willing Well IV: The Final Cut.’

No fan of the band should be without this album, it stands up remarkably well today with an excellent production job, amazing musicianship and some of the band’s finest ever songwriting in addition to the penultimate lyrical part of the band’s multiple concept album, and cross platform media series The Amory Wars.

If you are new to the band, this is a fine album to make your first Coheed purchase.

arcane-beautiful Ok. I admit it. These guys are like one of my favourite bands of all time! And here's why:

At the tender age of 10, with music channels on Sky being my only real musical output and source, I had discovered this band, in quite a comical video and a very cathcy song. I liked them for that song (A Favour House Atlantic) and I think I might have heard and liked Blood Red Summer as well. Butabout a year later, completely forgetting about the band, I heard another one of their songs...one on this album, and seeing the video and hearing the track, I thought to myself "wow, this song kicks ass...I think I've seen that guys crazy hair before...and I was right, it was the exact same band, although they're very different now. So I decided to buy this album...and it completelty floored me.

In my opinion this is one of the greatest albums ever made. It really is. Their's incredibly catchy songs, amazing prog moments, great technical abillity and song writing abbilities that Gods would envy over. Also, the band make concept albums. And I mean linking concept albums. Now you don't need to know the concept to like these songs, but when you start thinking of it, it makes the songs even better. Now the concept is too grand and too detailed to go into, but all you need to know that it involves Sci fi, robots, an evil dicatator and THE END OF THE WORLD!!!...basically.

Now the production on this album is very different to their previous 2 efforts, and it really seems that alot of money and times was put into this album. Especially with the arrangements. Everytime you listen to this album, their's always something you'll end up missing. One of the highlights of this album was the production on the vocals. Now I'm a sucker for harmonies, and even the music I make, theirs always going to be harmony. But at times this a bit over the top, and it's not just basic 3rds and 5ths, theirs multi layering, question and answering, even just little atmospheres created by vocal harmonies.

The instrumentation is even fantastic, and one thing about this album that really stands out is that, besides the epics, the shorter catchier songs are only about 3-4 minutes, but theirs still a load in them.

Now I've listened to this album over and over again, I've sung these songs over and over again (I was in a band, and we were basically a Coheed cover band), I've played these songs over and over again, I know every lyric, every time change, every vocal harmony, every instrument used...IT'S THAT ADDICTIVE!!!

1. Keeping The Blade - An incredibly beautiful instrumental with piano and strings. Very haunting and incredibly well arranged. 10/10

2. Always & Never - Another beautiful song. I love the use of the childs voice adding a very innocent tone to the song. The vocals are beautifuly used in this song, yet theirs something very sinister about this song as well (it might be the last lyric of the song). 10/10

3. Welcome Home - This is the first song I heard from this album. Now this song is EPIC. I must have played this song a billion times when I used to play live in bands (I was 15 at the time too, so not too bad for a 15 year old). That guitar squeel is very noticable, but the song is way more. The ending solos are brilliant and very tricky to play. 10/10

4. 10 Speed (Of God's Blood & Burial) - I love the use of the question and answer vocals in the song. Just a very cathcy song, with an amazing guitar solo. The scream at the end is pretty cool too.

5. Crossing The Frame - Probabbly one of my favourite songs from these guys. It's just so damn catchy, but the main attraction for me is the vocal harmonies. Layered to an obscene point, but it only makes the song 1000 times better. 10/10

6. Apollo I: The Writing Writer - The intro is very atmospheric with the Jean Michele Jarre style synths. It's just such an epic song, but so inrcredibly cathcy as well. Great lyrics too. 10/10

7. Once Upon Your Dead Body - The guitar melody throughout is so pretty. Such a cathcy song, and the use of vocals again is pulled of really well. 10/10

8. Wake Up - The acoustic ballad of the album. Really beautiful and the isntrumentation is amazing, especially the use of lapsteel giving it a country esque feel to it. 10/10

9. The Suffering - I remember when I first got this album, I played this song over and over again. It really is a magical and addictive song, mainly cause it's so damn catchy. 10/10

10. The Lying Lies & Dirty Secrets Of Miss Erica Court - This song didn't stand out for me too much when I first got the album, but I have to admit it's one of my favourite songs of theirs now. It's inredibly catchy, and the lyrics are pretty cool too. 10/10

11. Mother May I - I never really liked this song too much, until now. I don't know, it just seems better now in my opinion. Great chorus and progression throughout, with some great melodies and some really catchy parts too. 10/10

The Willing Well

WARNING THIS MAY BE THE GREATEST HALF HOUR OF YOUR LIFE!

I. Fuel For The Feeding End - This is the most frantic part of this piece. Even though it's incredibly catchy. I think this is their best lyrical contribution. Again the vocals are used to even greater amounts in this song. It's just an absolute epic thrill ride. 10/10

II. From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness - This song really does put me in a good mood...well for the first few minutes, after that it drawns you in like a snake trapping a rat. Again, an incredible epic moment, still keeping the technical ability of Part 1, but making some very Rush like moments as well. 10/10

III. Apollo II: The Telling Truth - A development of the first part, still keeping alot of the ideas, but really building upon them, especially in the middle of the song. Great dramatic structure, again keeping you on your feet, and singing along. 10/10

IV. The Final Cut - The epic slow ending. Now this is epic. Especially the vocal parts followed by amazing guitar solos. The ending is really pretty too, and yes thats Bron-Y-Aur by Led Zeppelin at the end. 10/10

CONCLUSION: ONE OF THE BEST ALBUMS EVER!!! Thats all I need to say.

Conor Fynes 'From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness' - Coheed & Cambria (8/10)

This is the pinnacle of Coheed & Cambria's career. In a prudent move, they decided to shed their emo 'pull the trigger and the nightmare stops' shanadigans and make way for more of a Prog sound. Songs like 'Welcome Home' even verge on being considered progressive metal, which isn't something people would expect from a band that's lauded by the 'scene' crowd. While I love each of Coheed's albums respectively, this one holds the place of being my favourite from this band hailing from this New York band. The songwriting adopts a newfound maturity that really adds to the making of a really great album. There are so many great songs on this album, and even the weaker tracks ('Crossing The Frame' and 'The Lies And Dirty Secrets Of Miss Erica Court') bring something interesting to the table. This album would be somewhere in my top twenty favourite albums.

The best songs are obviously, the most progressive. 'Apollo' is a song that is divided into two parts/versions, which is very cool, despite the fact that the two parts are a bit too similar for their own good. Despite a very modern sound (Coheed & Cambria should be applauded for their attention to both the credible and commercial aspects of being an artist) there are obvious homages to their classical influences (Pink Floyd, Yes, Rush.) 'The Final Cut' has a solo in it that sounds like David Gilmour did a guest appearance.

As far as the concept or storyline for the album goes, I've always found 'The Amory Wars' concept to be far too complex to be followed and told faithfully through lyrics. It's nice to know that the lyrics tie together somehow, and perhaps at a later date I will analyze the lyrics, but a science fiction theme is always a plus in my books.

I can't promise everyone will fall in love with this album or band, but the fact that Coheed & Cambria is an extremely talented, able group is undeniable. An album that flows against the tide in an ocean of primarily disposable music.

Time Signature Welcome home...

Genre: progressively inclined alternative metal

As with the two preceding albums, Coheed and Cambria's style on this one is not easy to categorize, as they draw on progressive rock, emo rock, noise rock, alternative rock, and heavy metal, but I think that the metal influences on this one are much more prominent than on the two previous albums, and, for my money, this is essentially a metal album.

Tracks like "Welcome Home", "Ten Speed (of Good's Blood and Burial)", "The Suffering", "Crossing the Frame" and "The Willing Well I" are even bordering on traditional heavy metal, while songs like "Once Upon Your Dead Body", "The Lying Lies and Dirty Secrets of Miss Erica Court", and "The Willing Well II" are more in the alternative metal department. Other tracks like "Apollo I: The Writing Writer" and "The Willing Well III" paddle the waters between alternative rock/metal and progressive metal with their ambiguous rhythms and distorted guitars and occasional use of noise effects.

Personally, I consider this a metal album, and I think it's a great album which I'd recommend to any open-minded metalhead as well as fans of alternative rock and new progressive rock.

mlkpad14 Looking back at many reviews, it seems like this album is mostly getting an okay rep, but I think this album deserves 5 stars. I don't say that often at all, and I will explain just what led me to my decision.

Initially, actually, I didn't think much of the album. With each listen though, the album grew on me. While I'm sure that this album will disappear amongst my music list in the next month or so, every listen since I tried it 2 weeks ago has bounced this album to its essential ranking.

After my first listen, I was happy to give the album 3 stars as it really didn't do anything for me. However, by the 2nd listen and the 3rd listen, I was noticing epics such as the 4-part "The Willing Well" and the energy-filled "Welcome Home."

Then, by my 4th and 5th listen I was really digging more and more songs from the album. Particularly, "Always and Never" held high replay value for me. It reminded me of a short preview to Steven Wilson's song "Pariah." They both just felt like they should've been longer, but they weren't so I found myself replaying them over and over!

My 5th listen was mostly for the lyrics. The story seems exaggerated but valuable, though I'm partial as to whether I should buy the parallel graphic novels.

Finally, my next few 6th, 7th, and 8th listens were just really fun. The album isn't all that technical and it is very poppy. They move through concepts quickly, and all-in-all it makes the album very fun to listen to when looking for something to bounce around to. Very worth trying out!

progthrashheadbanger I bought this album on a whim at Barnes and Noble for only $7.99. The bold red on black packaging had caught my eye many times before, so I sampled the album, read the review, and was totally sold by the deserving comparisons to Rush and Queensryche. I got the album home, put it on, and had my mind blown for the next 70 minutes- though it feels like half that time.

Onto the music. The album starts out tranquil, with a classical overture and a gentle acoustic ballad with cryptic lyrics, but don't let that fool you. Together, these songs set the overall mood of the album. Next is "Welcome Home", arguably the best single song on IV:V1, and is flat-out epic, from the finger-picked intro to the haunting, heavy, strings-and-choir backed outro. The riff is absolutely gut-wrenching, and the lyrics are pissed off as hell. "Ten Speed" is a great follower, and is shorter and sweeter yet just as awesome as "Welcome Home". The next few songs pass by, but still leave a mark in your brain. "Wake Up" marks the halfway point of the album, and is a wonderful acoustic love ballad. The next half is just as awesome. "The Suffering" and "Lying Lies of Miss Erica Court" make a great hard rock one-two punch, and "Mother May I" is a perfect lyrical lead-in to the epic half-hour closing suite, "The Willing Well". It is an intense, musically diverse, and climactic ending to a heavy, loud, yet melodic album that warrants its own separate review. Bottom line: If you don't mind the occasional acoustic ballad or classical influences in your metal, if you like diverse, heavy, catchy songwriting, and don't mind a singer with a Geddy Lee-like vocal range, then do yourself a favor and check out Coheed and Cambria, starting with this album.