Year of the Black Rainbow (album)

Album Art by Bill Scoville.

***Year of the Black Rainbow*** is the fifth studio album by rock band Coheed and Cambria, released on April 13, 2010 through Columbia Records. The album is a prequel to the band's previous four concept albums, which comprise the main Amory Wars narrative. *Year of the Black Rainbow* marks drummer Chris Pennie's only studio appearance. It is the last album to feature Michael Todd on bass.

## Story

> Main article: Year of the Black Rainbow (novel)

This chapter of *The Amory Wars* series focuses on Leonard Hohenberger, a scientist, as he fights for revenge against Wilhelm Ryan who has only recently risen to power. In order to do this, he creates IRO-bots he calls Knowledge, Beast, and Inferno (KBI, for short).

## Editions

Special Edition

* The original CD with Bonus Tracks
* A 352-page novel of the same name
* A DVD documentary titled "Every End Has A Beginning" with bonus features
* Preorder bonus: "Black Card" which gives the owner:
	+ Early access to select shows
	+ Discounts on band merchandise
	+ Exclusive downloads and offers

## Tracklist

Deluxe Edition Only

iTunes Exclusive

## Critical Reception

The album has received generally positive reviews, garnering a 71/100 on Metacritic from 19 reviews. Rock Sound gave the record a 9 out of 10 and said the album, "is possibly their best record to date." *The A.V. Club*, who praised the album highly, remarked, "Reconciling its post-hardcore roots with the progressive-rock flourishes that have been eclipsing the band’s sound over the past couple albums, tracks like "Here We Are Juggernaut" and "World Of Lines" far outshine the recent output of Coheed’s closest peer, The Mars Volta..." Allmusic, who gave the record a 4 out of 5, concluded that "any fan of heavy progressive rock music may find this music to be of compelling interest, whether one buys into the conceptual nature of the Amory Wars or not." The NewReview rated the album a 4 out of 5 and said "A big portion of the songs on this album are slower in tempo and that makes the listener really analyze the music and appreciate the subtle nuances that this album has to offer." Paul Brannigan of *Kerrang!* gave the album four stars out of five and called it "a genuine career highpoint for this most idiosyncratic band." *Time Out New York* gave it a score of four stars out of five and said that "the band wisely refines a winning formula, sounding properly bombastic on 'The Broken,' and effortlessly hooky on 'Here We Are Juggernaut.'" Altsounds gave it 86% and called it "a pretty brilliant album."

*Alternative Press* gave the album four stars out of five and said it "feels every bit as massive as the world it sets up. It's not just the heaviest record in Coheed's arsenal; it's also one of the strongest." *The Boston Globe* gave it a favorable review and stated that "The record is further evidence of the quartet's easy chemistry. The band is both bold and geeky, creating a signature sound that typically triggers strong reaction; one man's progressive is another's pretentious." Melodic.net similarly gave the album four stars out of five and said, "Coheed and Cambria always find new ways to bring in their audience and give them all that they have (no pun intended). This is a great album and I think one of their best to date."

However, some reviews are average, mixed or negative: Drowned in Sound gave the album a score of six out of ten and said, "The adventurous nature of Coheed and Cambria was what made them so thrilling. And while this new tangent of popular method could win them a fair few new fans, it may leave some of the loyal wanting more from their next opus." *Q* gave it three stars out of five and called it "one space saga that's worth persevering with." On the other hand, BBC Music reported that the album "suffers just a little too much from its own grand, sprawling ambition." *Billboard* gave it a mixed review, stating that the album "lacks the grandiose thematic concepts of previous outings as well as an immediate single, like past songs 'A Favor House Atlantic' or 'The Suffering.'" *The Guardian* gave it two stars out of five and stated that "Beneath the veneer of baffling musicality, it's evident there's nothing new under the sun, no matter what galaxy you're in."

*Slant Magazine* lamented, "There's no trace of Coheed's oddball eclecticism here, or of their dynamic pop sensibilities; instead the emotionally and tonally monochrome Black Rainbow gives the impression of a typically humorless metal act." Slant also criticized the album for featuring an "oppressive production job by Atticus Ross and Joe Barressi" that creates "gloomy atmospherics that shroud each and every track". *Rolling Stone* met the album with lukewarm reception, commenting on "the same old mix of impressive musicianship and arena-size agita," and that "*Rainbow* feels both silly and retrograde."

### Charts

The album debuted at number 5 on the *Billboard* 200, and sold 51,000 copies in its first week. In addition, it was number 2 on the Rock Albums chart and the third most digitally downloaded album. In its second week, *Year of the Black Rainbow* charted at number 42 on the *Billboard* 200. The album descended to 73 during its third week on the *Billboard* 200.

## Trivia

* Sanchez has said that working with Atticus Ross was one of his favorite artist-producer relationships. He felt like it was an important moment of expanding Coheed's sound, especially with synthesis.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 https://www.allmusic.com/album/r1735946
2. ↑ https://itunes.apple.com/us/preorder/year-black-rainbow-deluxe/id359956667&partnerId=30&siteID=CTiugamq7cM-CGq9heyEki4spGPGKWmOhg
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 https://www.metacritic.com/music/year-of-the-black-rainbow/coheed-and-cambria/critic-reviews
4. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20100415162925/http://www.rocksound.tv/reviews/article/coheed-and-cambria-year-of-the-black-rainbow
5. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year\_of\_the\_Black\_Rainbow#cite\_note-av\_club-20
6. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20100416164308/http://thenewreview.net/reviews/coheed-and-cambria-year-of-the-black-rainbow
7. ↑ Brannigan, Paul. *Kerrang!* #1306, April 03, 2010. Albums. Claudio & Co Soar on album number five. pg 50.
8. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20100716165633/http://hangout.altsounds.com/reviews/116625-coheed-and-cambria-year-of-the-black-rainbow-album.html
9. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20100716165633/http://hangout.altsounds.com/reviews/116625-coheed-and-cambria-year-of-the-black-rainbow-album.html
10. ↑ https://www.boston.com/ae/music/cd\_reviews/articles/2010/04/12/coheed\_and\_cambria\_year\_of\_the\_black\_rainbow/
11. ↑ http://www.melodic.net/?page=review&id=8469
12. ↑ http://drownedinsound.com/releases/15285/reviews/4139689
13. ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/3jd3
14. ↑ https://www.billboard.com/articles/review/1069511/coheed-and-cambria-year-of-the-black-rainbow
15. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/apr/08/coheed-cambria-black-rainbow-review
16. ↑ https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/coheed-and-cambria-year-of-the-black-rainbow
17. ↑ https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/year-of-the-black-rainbow-20100412
18. ↑ https://www.billboard.com/music/coheed-and-cambria/chart-history/
19. ↑ https://www.billboard.com/music/coheed-and-cambria/chart-history/
20. ↑ Hickie, James. "Interview with Claudio Sanchez" AltPress (Issue #406.1; May 2022), 16 May 2022, pp. 60-67.