Reporting back on Coheed and Cambria’s
The Afterman: Descension
With much speculation and condensing and editing way down, here we go… (Bear with me!)
The Story of Sirius and Meri
Sirius, the Afterman, the Cosmonaut, finding himself adrift in “The Keywork,” an energy source for all the planets, is brutally buffeted by dead souls who are the source of that energy. Each soul carries the personality of who they were in life and 3 evil ones overtake Sirius’ body in turn. Evagria, the Faithful, a selfless soul, comes in to protect Sirius from the onslaught and begins to heal his wounds. While in her control, Sirius contemplates on his own selfishness and regrets how he neglected his wife, because of his ambitions to explore “The Keywork.” And here the story begins…
Pretelethal: All is quiet in the protective care of Evagria, but her energy begins to wane and the other entities gain power again. Sirius fears all is lost,
"I will retreat, no sin confessed… Who will repair this broken heart?" Key Entity Extraction V: Sentry the Defiant: But wait! A new entity arrives to take up the fight. Sentry, a soldier who was killed for standing up to his superior officer’s secret evil plans (who is also one of the souls attacking Sirius), takes control of Sirius and in doing so reveals his own story.
“And suggestion, suggests that I'm someone you should not respect… Hangman hooded, softly swinging. Don't close the coffin yet…” Sentry is in a continual fight with this other entity and Sirius realizes that in order for Sentry to move on, he needs to let go of his horrible past. Sentry, convinced, rises to a higher plane with Evagria and Sirius. Then he sends Sirius back to his ship, but it has been destroyed so his computer system, called All Mother, which operates inside his space suit, guides him to a space station. Thinking he has only been gone a week, All Mother sets him straight,
“Approximate calculation, 547 days.”The Hard Sell: This song could be on two levels. Sirius coming back, knowing the bleak after world that’s in store for those that hold onto hate,
“And too many of you fighting over nothing” and the author, Claudio Sanchez, lamenting the loss of creativity of his two previous albums,
“Oh, there's never enough cool for everyone and before you know it you're selling out to be in.” Sirius, who everyone thought had perished, is lauded a hero.
Number City: After an awards ceremony, Sirius and Meri are in a devastating car crash where they are both ejected. Sirius is in serious condition, but his wife is much worse. Her heart stopping--
“Release my heart if you, honey, do not let me go.” Then CPR “1, 2, 3, 4, 5…” His heart breaking—
“And oh, if you wanted to see, go on and tear it out of me... Oh, this is love from a gurney.”Gravity's Union: (Can’t get enough of that crunchy distortion at the beginning!) Reliving the crash,
“I flew head first into the light. Weightless, crisscrossing, precise. In a dream or was it life?” Anguish over the cause of his crashing,
“This is my love into a ten ton truck.” He just found out that Meri has been in a relationship with someone and is pregnant and then he lost control of the car. Regret over his treatment of her, before his mission,
“And I was wrong to let you go. I accept my mistake, but you will never know.” Pleading,
“Baby, please remember the better me.” Despair,
“Caged, locked in perpetual motion, carving our wounds wide open,” Medical procedures… These are some of the best lyrics in the album:
Every man has a point
Where he breaks or conjoins
Among pressure that floods to complicate
Matters close to the heart
Will define who we are
Do we love? Do we hate? Away We Go: The music is amazing here. It starts out where Meri’s life is fading away and as it does, she’s transported back to a memory of her and Sirius meeting at the end of a dock on the Jersey Shore, where they embrace.
Believe me, take my word, I'll never break your heart
And away we go
My little Jersey girl
If we could escape this innocence
Trapped between the fears and the words we kept
We'll live out our later yearsIron Fist: As Sirius leaves the hospital, his drive home is full of profound regret for his ambition and temper. Here his anger is directed squarely at himself.
The wish you plead and the things you sought
We all think, we all thought
The things I've done, and the world I've seen
Don't measure up to my queen
God damn this cursed iron fist
When I lose control
Oh no
Oh girl, this is what I've becomeDark Side of Me:(Still my favorite!) Still thinking on his sorry state, he is confronted with Meri’s lover who wishes he had never returned or never expected her to endure all he put her through. Sirius realizes the man is right.
In those discouraging days
I always missed the mark
When we were comfort and close
I would neglect to keep
I gave my everything
For all the wrong things
In this cold reality I made
This selfish war machineEven knowing what he’s done, he still cannot let go.
Oh, this has become hell
How can I share this life
With someone else?
I promise you
There is no weight that can bury us
Beneath the ghosts of all my guiltSo Sirius sets out to find Meri, no matter the risk. All Mother asks the greatest of all questions,
“You fought to withdraw from a location which has incited severe quantifiable pain and nearly terminated the mission, nearly terminated your life, yet you desire to set a course back to it. I’m not equipped to comprehend human rationale. Sirius, is this what love is?” His answer,
“Yes.”2’s My Favorite 1: (Love the quiet music box ending to this song.) I’m going to quote
startstop here, a commenter on the comic book, because he says it so well, “He may not make it back home alive, but after everything that has happened, he does not care. His only desire, his prime mission, is to return to The Keywork to find Meri. He will help her ascend, as he did with Sentry, or he will die trying."
Oh this is her
No regrets
I embrace your defense
Took the best
You were my wish
I admit that I will never feel alone
Once I call, oh, you homeWhat an ending!
About the music: As much or more so than the lyrics, the music pushes the story forward and the power and myriad of emotions wash over me.
It’s that good. The only song that seems to have conflicting moods with the story, is
Number City and even that one hits a lot of perfect points. I wonder if the disconnect is intentional, like what shock might feel like. I didn’t look at any of the musical videos, because I think they would have only confused me more!
Such a fantastic experience! Thanks for sharing this music, colonel_mexico.
