The Afterman: Descension - Coheed and Cambria
User Score
8.3 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 24 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 24
  3. Negative: 1 out of 24

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  1. sirky004
    Apr 26, 2013
    9
    I hope I can hear songs the likes of Number City (The best counting song ever). It's very catchy and I'm sure you'll love it when you hear it. I also love the Sentry the Defiant, The Hard Sell and Gravity's Union. Those tracks will give you the feel of the band's early albums.
  2. lookeloo20
    Feb 7, 2013
    10
    Tracks to listen to on this: Pretelethal, Gravity's Union, Sentry The Defiant, The Hard Sell and Dark Side of me.

    Pretelethal: Haunting and enchanting. The vocals have a mysterious yet beautiful tone and then it explodes into a Led Zeppelin/Pink Floyd-like chorus with great vocal harmony. Josh Eppard's drumming on this are jaw dropping.

    Gravity's Union: This song changes tone an    d time signature about 6 times and has two seperate choruses (the latter chorus is so friggin' epic that you may envision a volcano with souls swarming around it as rain and lightening pour down). This is not only the best on this album, but probably the best Coheed and Cambria song ever (atleast in their top-10). It's very dramatic, theatric, poetic, inspiring, passionate, and powerful. A must listen for anyone who has ears.

    Dark Side Of Me: This is the albums barn-burner and rock ballad. Very introspective, powerful, and ballad. Great lyrics.

    The Hard Sell: The guitars in this song have a Van Halen groove to the guitar, Dio vocals, and a sweet Pink Floyd inspired guitar solo that all culminates into a chunky-metal chorus that has a Disturbed vibe to it. Coheed and Cambria is definitely a band that loves to be inspired and to use those inspirations to make great songs and this song is no exception.

    Sentry The Defiant: The thick yet coherent guitar work here is superb. It has a soaring chorus.

    Away We Go: The chorus to this song is so amazing sounding, it has a Thin Lizzies vibe to it and an overall classic-rock sound to the chorus.

    Number City: If you are a long time Coheed fan, you may hate this song at first (as I did). This song is a "grower", because it is so infectiously poppy that it gets stuck in your head and it becomes undeniable. Number City is a good song because it breaks up the doom and gloom from the first three songs for a couple minutes. Number City is Descension's comic relief and it is a brilliant piece of story telling.

    10/10, a must buy for anyone with ears.    … Expand
  3. MastaG
    Feb 6, 2013
    10
    Descension goes back to days of early Coheed, but with even more spark and originality. True rock, but with incredibe depth in lyricism that all relate to a beautiful story. Somehow this album bested its predecessor, Ascension (which was amazing), and has become possible the very best Coheed album of all-time, being only challenged by the three earliest works by this great band. Ascension 9.9, Descension 10, overall Afterman perfection. Check it out and Away We Go.… Expand
  4. Milespod
    Feb 6, 2013
    10
    I must admit, I was a tad disappointed with Ascension, but this...wow. The Hard Sell is a 5 star track and Number City is AWESOMELY FUNKY! Every other track is just...I'm speechless. This will easily be my album of the year.
  5. khaleesi
    Feb 6, 2013
    10
    If it was possible- this album is even better than Ascension. AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Coheed and Cambria churn out new music like its nobodies business. Its amazing that their huge catalog is so damn good.
  6. NSnake151
    Feb 5, 2013
    9
    Its simple really. This is another great Coheed album, and if you have liked their albums before (or loved as I have) you will like this one. If you have never heard of them, Descension is a damn good place to start.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
75 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 10
  3. Negative: 1 out of 10
  1. PopMatters
    Mar 5, 2013
    70
    It doesn’t quite measure up to its immediate predecessor, but it’s not far off, and taken as a whole, The Afterman is easily one of the best things the group has ever done.
    Read full review
  2. Kerrang!
    Feb 26, 2013
    80
    Like all good follow-ups, this album retains the qualities you loved about the first installment. [2 Feb 2013, p.54]
  3. Punknews.org (Staff)
    Feb 13, 2013
    70
    All in all, with bad songs few and far between, this was a pleasant surprise.
    Read full review
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