Coheed and Cambria Tell A Story In "The Unheavenly Creatures"

In the world of progressive rock, Coheed and Cambria has long been one of the most accessible outfits in the genre. Their blend of pop punk and alternative rock with grandiose themes has always been an effective approach, and that hasn’t changed yet. Coheed and Cambria tell a story in The Unheavenly Creatures, their newest record that continues to show the brilliance of their sound.

The Unheavenly Creatures is a dynamic story, often bouncing between darker moments and hopeful ones. The album kicks off ominously with the daunting ‘Prologue’ track before ‘The Dark Sentencer‘ rolls through with huge drive and a distinctly dark tonality. Songs that are more content-specific to the record tend to edge towards the darker side of things, like ‘Queen Of The Dark,’ which dominates the center of the record with its evil atmosphere. ‘True Ugly‘ follows with more anger, yet not without nice melodies to keep things moving forward. Closing track ‘Lucky Stars‘ is a bit of everything, ending the story silently with an acoustic track where things get intimate as Claudio Sanchez gently reflects above the acoustic guitar and orchestra, the chorus offering: “Thank your lucky stars that we can call this ours / We've had some bad ideas, yet we're still here in this life worth dreaming / I can be your heart, be your soul, just don't let me off easy, don't you let me go.“

The other side to this record shows that Coheed and Cambria haven’t lost steam just yet. The Unheavenly Creatures is dotted with big anthems that keep spirits high and add hope to the story. The vintage, 8-bit intro of title track ‘Unheavenly Creatures‘ paves the way for an awesome electronic anthem that’s full of punch and fun. Other tracks are more simple in terms of being anthemic, like ‘Toys‘ with its huge riffs and stadium presence, as well as in ‘Old Flames‘ which is like one final hurrah for the record. Other tracks, like ‘Black Sunday,’ are sweet yet tread neither to the dark or uplifting side. There’s plenty going on throughout The Unheavenly Creatures that’ll keep you engrossed with the record.

Coheed and Cambria tell a story in The Unheavenly Creatures, tying together all the core elements of their sound to make a dynamic and engaging record. All songs come together to build an intricate story while still sounding great as standalone tracks - that’s how Coheed and Cambria has always done it, and that’s how they keep on staying relevant.

Favorite Tracks: Lucky Stars, Unheavenly Creatures

Least Favorite Track: All On Fire

Rating: 76 / 100

Stream or buy The Unheavenly Creatures on Apple Music, and follow our 2018 Playlist on Spotify: