Corvid's Corner - November 2023
The Afterman: Ascension by Coheed & Cambria:
Welcome to Corvid’s Corner! This is a place for me to geek out about whatever video game I’m playing or music I’m listening to, and write about it in a longer form than a staff pick. If you try this album on for size, please let me know! I’d love to hear your thoughts!
If you know me at all, you’ve probably heard me talk about my favorite band, Coheed and Cambria. I’ve listened to them since high school, and I have seen them in concert twice. Coheed and Cambria are a progressive rock band formed in 1995, and they have created ten albums over the years. Their most recent was released in 2022, but we are not here to talk about Vaxis – Act II today…We are here to discuss The Afterman: Ascension (2012). Ascension is the first part of a two-part concept album that completely rocked my world and changed the trajectory of my music taste forever. (Stay tuned; I will talk about The Afterman: Descension in the future.) Together, these albums are more than just good music, they chronicle a scientist’s journey into The Keywork, a beam of light connecting the 78 planets of Heaven’s Fence, which is part of the fictional universe of Claudio Sanchez’ creation.
I am a major fan of concept albums, where each song feeds a larger story. There was a coffee-table book released with this album that gives the story of each song, but these are also available on a Fandom wiki-powered web page. I can give you a little taste of some of these stories, but I highly recommend you make time to read it yourself. There are also graphic novels to read, but the Afterman stories are not in graphic novel form yet. The best we have so far is the coffee table book, and I will happily eat that up!
Sirius Amory is a researcher who enters The Keywork on a ship called the Meriwell, after his wife Meri, who believes his scientific work is a suicide mission. Inside The Keywork, a beautiful blue expanse of energy, Sirius realizes he is not alone. His body is entered by the essence of a man named Domino, and Sirius knows this is a life, long passed. This place is an afterlife for departed souls with a desire to right their wrongs. Domino and Sirius fight for control over his body, and our explorer is forced to relive the boxer’s memories of stardom in the ring, drug addiction, and working for a crime boss. Ultimately, Domino’s life of debauchery leads to decisions that get his brother killed, and that is his final regret. When the time comes for Sirius to pull the trigger and end Domino’s memories, it sends a massive shock through the Meriwell, damaging the ship. Sirius tries to collect a sample of Domino’s energy, but in his haste, he doesn’t notice that he is being followed by another entity vying for control.
Sirius is visited back to back by entities named Holly Wood, an obsessive wannabe starlet who kills her celebrity idol, and General Vic, a morally corrupt veteran with a murderous streak and gallons of blood on his hands. He walks through their memories and attempts to break free. When they try to take over Sirius, they do a number on his body, leaving him for dead. Meanwhile, in an unexplored region of The Keywork, another entity observes what is going on and notes that Sirius will surely die if she stands by. She shares her life with him, offering brief reprieve, but the desperately angry entities are closing in, and she can’t hold them off forever…
I will leave it here. There is more to the story that I will cover in the second part of this blog post. I highly recommend you go and read the stories as you listen to the songs, as it adds a layer of appreciation for the story in my experience. Claudio Sanchez, frontman and one of the credited songwriters, has a gorgeous voice that is unique and unlike any I’ve heard in other bands.
Must Listen: Key Entity Extraction I: Domino the Destitute, Goodnight Fair Lady, Key Entity Extraction IV: Evagria the Faithful.
For a proggy rock album rife with grit, grab your best headphones and enter The Keywork with The Afterman: Ascension.
