The Afterman: Descension

Album Art by Heidi Taillefer.

***The Afterman: Descension*** is the seventh studio album by progressive rock band Coheed and Cambria. It is the second part of a double album, the first part of which is *The Afterman: Ascension*. The band took seven months to record the albums between 2011 and 2012, and announced a February 5, 2013 release date. Chondra Echert is featured throughout the album as the voice of All Mother.

## Story

> Main article: The Afterman

The two albums act as a prequel to even *Year of the Black Rainbow*, and concentrate on the character Sirius Amory, whom the series is named after. It is considered the earliest story in *The Amory Wars*. Sirius is a bold astronaut and scientist often called a kook, trying to uncover the secrets of the Keywork.

## Editions

The "Amory Award" Edition

* Four CDs with bonus tracks
	+ A blank CD labeled like the regular *Descension* CD to be loaded with the album upon its official release
	+ *The Afterman: Ascension*
	+ *The Afterman: Ascension* (Big Beige Demos)
	+ *The Afterman: Descension* (Big Beige Demos) CDR (blank CD)
* Documentary DVD
* A 78-page coffee-table book written by Claudio Sanchez and edited by Evil Ink Comics' Chondra Echert and Blaze James, intended to give a song-by-song experience of the concept album.
* Sirius Amory’s “Amory Award” with Metal Medallion and Certificate in a display book

The Limited Deluxe Edition

* Three CDs
	+ The Regular CD
	+ *The Afterman: Ascension*
	+ *The Afterman: Live*
* A 83-page book with the same content as the Amory Edition, including photos from the Live Tour

Vinyls Editions

* One gold and silver set of both albums
* Two standard vinyl disks and a CD

## Critical Reception

The album has received four out of five star ratings from AllMusic, *Alternative Press*, *Kerrang!* and musicOMH. The overall rating on Metacritic is 75/100.

### Charts

*Descension* debuted at No. 9 on the *Billboard* 200 albums chart on its release, selling around 41,000 copies in the United States in its first week. It also debuted at No. 3 on both the *Billboard'*s Top Rock Albums and Alternative Albums charts. The album has sold 91,600 copies in the United States as of October 2015.

The album debuted at number 64 on the UK Albums Chart and number 3 on the UK Rock Albums Chart.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/Coheed-And-Cambria-The-Afterman-Amory-Award-Edition/release/5635274
2. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/release/4931908-Coheed-And-Cambria-The-Afterman
3. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/Coheed-And-Cambria-The-Afterman/release/4332695
4. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/Coheed-And-Cambria-The-Afterman-Ascension/release/3940397
5. ↑ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/afterman-descension-deluxe/id585827464
6. ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-afterman-descension-mw0002473212
7. ↑ http://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/coheed-and-cambria-the-afterman-descension
8. ↑ Freeman, Paul (Feb 2013), "Coheed and Cambria: The Afterman: Descension", *Alternative Press*, no. 296, pg 87.
9. ↑ https://www.metacritic.com/music/the-afterman-descension/coheed-and-cambria
10. ↑ https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1538866/josh-groban-earns-third-no-1-album-on-billboard-200-chart
11. ↑ https://www.billboard.com/charts/rock-albums/2013-02-23
12. ↑ https://www.billboard.com/charts/alternative-albums/2013-02-23
13. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20151001003025/http://hitsdailydouble.com/new\_album\_releases
14. ↑ http://www.officialcharts.com/albums-chart/
15. ↑ https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/rock-and-metal-albums-chart/20130210/112/