Prog-metal band ends saga at beginning

Every end has a beginning.

That’s the tagline for Coheed and Cambria’s fifth studio album, Year of the Black Rainbow, and it fits. Serving as the prequel to the band’s series of concept albums — a five-part saga called “The Amory Wars” — Year of the Black Rainbow tells the story of the fictional universe of the Keywork and a grand war for control of it.

Although it is a concept album, Year of the Black Rainbow also features more accessible themes for casual listeners who aren’t necessarily familiar with Coheed and Cambria’s discography. If the band’s previous album, Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow, was driven by the loss of a loved one, Year of the Black Rainbow runs with the theme of a romance destroyed by self doubt and insecurity.

For fans of the band, the album is another great installment of what they have come to expect from Coheed and Cambria. Singer Claudio Sanchez combines his crooning falsetto with low choruses for each song, showing off his impressive range as a vocalist.

Dueling guitar lines between Sanchez and lead guitarist Travis Stever still impress, and the band continues to create some of the most unique and complex songs out there.

None of this is to say the new album is more of the same. Though Year of the Black Rainbow doesn’t necessarily represent a complete stylistic shift for the band, there is definitely a sense of progress.

Despite its clear status as a progressive rock album, the band’s previous release, No World for Tomorrow, had a very raw edge to its content and subject matter. Year of the Black Rainbow, however, features more experimentation and a stronger sense of influence from other genres. Elements of punk rock, acoustic and even some world music infiltrate Coheed and Cambria’s sound on the new album.

Starting with melodic chords and haunting background strains, the first track, fittingly called “One,” is another mood-setting album opener fans of the band have come to expect. The song builds slowly, eventually reaches a crescendo and segues into the second track “The Broken.” Like the band’s previous second tracks, the song’s epic tone elevates the lyrics to a grander scale.

The next track highlights some of the new sounds of the album. With a pacing unlike that of any other song on the rest of the album, “Guns of Summer” features an amazing guitar solo and a definite sense of evolution in Sanchez’s vocals.

The song “Far” shows off the band’s softer side. With apparent new wave sensibilities, “Far” quickly catches the listener’s attention and is definitely one of the highlights of Year of the Black Rainbow.

“World of Lines” is much more complex, but its in-your-face, almost punk rock pacing and catchy chorus make it one of the best songs on the album. It is slightly reminiscent of the end of their earlier song, “Blood Red Summer,” but with the greater complexity that generally characterizes Year of the Black Rainbow.

The album’s primary themes culminate in two songs near the end of the record. “Pearl of the Stars” is the requisite ballad on the album. A touching love song with a laid-back tempo and acoustic feels, “Pearl of the Stars” sums up the romantic angle of the album. Though soft, the song builds to a powerful final reprise, memorable enough to stick with listeners long after the song is over.

If “Pearl of the Stars” is the summation of the album’s love theme, “In the Flame of Error” is the climax of the self-destruction motif. Dark, passionate and filled with subtle but complex guitar lines, it’s a great complement to the previous song and is itself another highlight of the album.

The deluxe edition of Year of the Black Rainbow also comes with a DVD and a 352-page novel. The DVD features behind-the-scenes footage of the recording of the album and is filled with revealing interviews with the band. The novel, co-written by Sanchez and noted comic book writer and novelist Peter David, offers a prose retelling of the story already related in the album.

With only five albums to its name, Coheed and Cambria has already established a high standard for itself, not only meeting the quality of the previous installment but exceeding it.

Year of the Black Rainbow is a testament to the band’s growth and the members’ skills as musicians.