If there was one band that consistently releases great albums time and time again, it’s Coheed and Cambria. 

Lucky number seven is on the table this time around, “The Afterman: Descension,” which continues off the science fiction storyline of “The Amory Wars”  that lead vocalist Claudio Sanchez created.

Sanchez’s story has been transcribed into a comic book series and he’s also written a full-length novel covering prequel events to many of the earlier albums.

Remaining a seemingly important theme to Coheed and Cambria is their opening track introductions. With every album there is a particular build up at the beginning that sets the tone and energy being expressed for the listeners to comprehend. 

Such is the case with “Pretelethal,” a track that begins with instrumentals leading into Sanchez’s lyrics sounding off in the distance in the form of an echo. 

The next track follows with a sequence of songs featured in “Ascension” with the title being, “Key Entity Extraction V: Sentry the Defiant” and is the second longest piece in this album. 

Stand out lyrics are featured in the chorus as Sanchez yells in vocalization, “Face the honest truth, / You were never you, / Now be defiant, the lion, / Give them a fight that will open their eyes.”

A surprising gem is “Number City,” which features a futuristic and funk-like baseline. It’s an extremely catchy and fun song to dance out to with multiple pace changes, surprising instrumentals and keyboard uses across its entirety.

The next three songs featured in “Descension” are all outstanding and worth checking out as well. They are titled, “Gravity’s Union,” “Away We Go” and “Iron Fist.”

Without question the album’s biggest achievement, which has taken the most notice for the band is titled, “Dark Side of Me.” 

The band manages to pull out so much energy and emotion through this song that it can really stands out as a piece that any listener could enjoy. 

The entire track features deep and captivating lyrics but if one were to select only few they would be, “I gave my everything for all the wrong things / In this cold reality, I made this selfish war machine, / Oh, this has become hell, How can I share this life with someone else?”

The album concludes with the track, “2’s My Favorite 1,” which is a great ending to a wonderfully crafted double album. For listeners that were expecting more songs, you need not worry. 

For the price of $11.99 it is undoubtedly a great choice for listening to some quality Coheed and Cambria.