Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes of Madness
There's a lot to be said for continuity and high concept, and Coheed and Cambria have invented an elaborate geeky parallel sci-fi world that spread over four CDs. If you follow the story line, it unfolds like some punk Harry Potter series; equally ambitious and didactic and almost as tightly written as the Moody Blues' "Days of Future Passed." You can also listen to each of the albums without a thought about the story and marvel at the musicianship, the intricately layered guitars, Claudio Sanchez's overwrought and rather pinched vocals and the sheer imagination displayed by these four musicians whose idiosyncratic emo seamlessly flows into prog rock. Epic, surreal, bigger than life, and utterly unlike anything you've heard in decades--even Geddy Lee expounding on free will. --Jaan Uhelszki