Vaxis - Act I: The Unheavenly Creatures (album)

Album art by Chase Stone.

***Vaxis – Act I: The Unheavenly Creatures*** (often shortened to ***Vaxis 1***, ***Vaxis I***, ***Vaxis I: The Unheavenly Creatures***, or just ***The Unheavenly Creatures***) is the ninth studio album by progressive rock band Coheed and Cambria. It was released on October 5, 2018, continuing the band's *Amory Wars* concept.

## Story

> Main article: Vaxis - Act I: The Unheavenly Creatures (novella)

Set sometime after the events of *No World for Tomorrow*, the planets that formally made up Heaven's Fence are scarred and cracked after an event known as "The Great Crash." A group of elites known as the Five Houses of the Star Supremacy have converted these worlds into prison planets such as The Dark Sentencer. This chapter tells the tale of two new characters, Sister Spider and Creature as they struggle with being imprisoned in The Dark Sentencer and fight to secure the safety of their unborn son, Vaxis.

## Editions

Deluxe Box Set

* Two CDs
	+ The Regular CD
	+ *The Unheavenly Creatures* (Crown Heights Demos)
* A novella written by Claudio Sanchez and Chondra Echert that tells the album's concept within The *Amory Wars* mythos with illustrations by Chase Stone
* A certificate of authenticity signed by the entire band
* A replica of Creature's mask
* A foldout poster of the expanded album artwork
* The Unheavenly Creatures Black Card, which allowed fans early concert access
* Early fans who preordered the box set had their names included in the novella's "Prisoner Manifest" section at the back of the book

Vinyl Editions

* Red Marbled
	+ Indie Retail Only
* True Ugly Colored
	+ EU only
* Unheavenly Colorway Limited Edition
	+ Creatures Eye (Translucent Orange W/ Black Smoke)
	+ Sister Spider Pink (Pink Marbled)
	+ Single Sided, Etched, Colossus Grey (Clear W/ Black Smoke)
* Tiger's Eye
	+ Side F is etched

## Critical Reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, *Vaxis – Act I: The Unheavenly Creatures* generated a score of 75/100 from seven reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". This score includes a two and a half star review from *Classic Rock Matters* and, three out of five from *Kerrang!*. Other strong reviews include an eight out of 10 from *Dead Press*, four out of five stars from AllMusic, seven out of ten from *Exclaim!*, eight out of ten from *PopMatters*, and a four out of five from Sputnikmusic. Prog Magazine gave the album 4 out 5 stars calling the album, "Classic Coheed," and cited the "lulls" towards the end of the album as its only real downside.

### Charts

It peaked on the *Billboard* 200 at #14, #58 on the Canadian version, #36 on the UK Charts, #23 on the Scottish Chart, #49 on ARIA, #46 on the German Charts.

## Trivia

* This is the first album produced solely by the band alone.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/Coheed-And-Cambria-The-Unheavenly-Creatures/release/12643821
2. ↑ https://store.maniacsonline.com.au/products/vaxis-act-i-the-unheavenly-creatures-limited-edition-deluxe-box-set?intcmp=180622/coheed/rr/lan/s\_pr/but/ftr/ww/unheavenly-creatures-pre-order-deluxe-boxset
3. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/Coheed-And-Cambria-Vaxis-Act-I-The-Unheavenly-Creatures/release/12613202
4. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/Coheed-And-Cambria-Vaxis-Act-I-The-Unheavenly-Creatures/release/12677957
5. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/Coheed-And-Cambria-The-Unheavenly-Creatures/release/12613500
6. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/Coheed-And-Cambria-Vaxis-Act-I-The-Unheavenly-Creatures/release/12607350
7. ↑ https://www.revolvermag.com/music/coheed-and-cambria-detail-new-album-vaxis-%E2%80%94-act-i-unheavenly-creatures
8. ↑ https://www.metacritic.com/music/vaxis---act-i-the-unheavenly-creatures/coheed-and-cambria
9. ↑ http://www.deadpress.co.uk/album-review-coheed-and-cambria-vaxis-act-i-the-unheavenly-creatures
10. ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-unheavenly-creatures-mw0003188578
11. ↑ https://exclaim.ca/music/article/coheed\_and\_cambria-the\_unheavenly\_creatures
12. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20181010054721/https://www.popmatters.com/coheed-and-cambria-unheavenly-creatures-2609074105.html
13. ↑ https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/78119/Coheed-and-Cambria-Vaxis---Act-I-The-Unheavenly-Creatures/
14. ↑ https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/78122/Coheed-and-Cambria-Vaxis---Act-I-The-Unheavenly-Creatures/
15. ↑ https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/coheed-and-cambria-the-unheavenly-creatures-album-review
16. ↑ https://www.billboard.com/music/Coheed-and-Cambria/chart-history/TLP
17. ↑ https://www.billboard.com/music/Coheed-and-Cambria/chart-history/CNA
18. ↑ https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/albums-chart/20181012/7502/
19. ↑ https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/scottish-albums-chart/20181012/40/
20. ↑ http://www.ariacharts.com.au/charts/albums-chart
21. ↑ https://www.offiziellecharts.de/album-details-369111