The Afterman: Descension
1. Pretelethal
Lyrics:
We drift away with the dust
The light consumes the dark recluse
No time to waste in this mess
I will not retreat, no sins confessed
How did we get so lost? Away.
Who will repair this broken heart? x2
This world will miss none of us
The sick we cure, the bad we just.
Who will repair this broken heart? x2
So, we kick of Descension with, obviously the first song, Preteletal. I did some research into the name, however I didn't find much of any worth. I think however, this might be useful. In French, the prefix "prêt" means "ready". Pretelethal takes place at a point in The Afterman:Descension book, where Sirius is extremely physically weakened by his ordeals within the Keywork, and is coming to terms with how badly he has treated his wife throughout their marriage. In this sense, Pretelethal can be read is Sirius getting ready to die, both out of a sense of inevitability, and as punishment for how he has treated Meri.
The song comes in from silence. Soft blips that sound like a musical version of the Microsoft error tone chime in, with a soft descending (appropriate right?) guitar picked riff gently ebbing into the background. Claudio's voice whispers to us in gentle tones, before the guitar rises above all else in heavy blasts of music as Claudio belts "Who will repair this broken heart?". The song returns to it's gentle nature before returning to it's crescendoing chorus, and in the same manner that it began, fading up from silence, so too does it end, allowing silence to slowly take the music back within it's grasp as instruments slowly peel away into nothingness.
In the story, Sirius is in bad shape. His body is harrowed and in severe danger, the strain put on him by the entities Domino, Holly and Vic being too much for him to handle. Evagria has taken Sirius within her embrace, but now the souls of the Keywork, including those of the determined Domino, the insane Holly and the evil Vic, all converge on the protective barrier of light she's erected around him, and Evagria can't hold on for much longer. The entities chip away at Evagria's very being, all trying to reach Sirius, and as he feels life slowly chip away from him, he can only think "Who will repair this broken heart?"
The first verse encapsulates the voices of the souls of the Keywork. The first line “We drift away with the dust.” is the voice of the Keywork's souls lamenting their disappearance from life into the Keywork. “The light consumes this dark recluse” refers to Evagria's shield around Sirius. The next two lines “No time to waste in this mess, I will retreat, no sins confessed.” reflects the souls' desperation to break through Evagria's shield to possess Sirius to get back to earth. They don't want to confess their sins or atone for the wrong they did , they just want to get back to Earth. The line “How did we get so lost? Away” is the Keywork souls lamenting the fact that they are “lost” among everything else, no one remembers or recognises them for the work they do.
The phrase “Who will repair this broken heart”, can come from both Sirius and Evagria. Sirius referring to his own physically and mentally broken heart, as well as finally recognising that he has broken Meri's heart. When read from Evagria's point of view, it is Evagria concerned about the fact that she can't hold onto Sirius much longer, and if he doesn't get well soon, both of them probably won't make it.
The last two lines “This world will miss none of us” is the Keywork souls claiming that Heaven's Fence doesn't really need them to survive, with the final line “The sick we cured, the bad, we just” referring to how much work they have done for Heaven's Fence.
Claudio states:
2. Key Entity Extraction 5: Sentry the Defiant.
Lyrics:
Believer,
Your spotlights on the subject so incorrect.
And suggestion,
Suggests that I am someone you should not respect.
Oh you wear your facade so well,
Covered up in a plastic shell.
You're a liar.
To everyone around you just don't forget.
Chorus
Face the honest truth.
You were never you. Ooh.
Now be defiant. The lion.
Give them a fight that will open their eyes,
Hangman hooded. Softly swingin'.
Don't close the coffin yet,
I'm alive.
And it's homecoming x2
Can you remember,
When there was no wrong in what I could do?
So young.
Biting off way more than I could chew.
And then one day I grew too old,
And my cares were now their's to mould.
Please accept this.
As my resignation it's time to go.
Chorus
Oh, I'm alive.
I will now bleed, for what I believe in.
No more mistakes.
For them to make, for me so
Goodbye.
It's my time, for me,
To be me.
To be..
Chorus
This song is my favourite song from this album. It was the first Coheed and Cambria song to make me cry. I first stumbled on it when I was browsing youtube videos and found Claudio had uploaded an acoustic version of this song prior to the album's release. I remember watching him rock out with a GoPro on the end of his guitar in his home and I felt really touched. I admire celebrities who aren't afraid to be themselves with their fans, and who go the extra mile with their audience. Coheed and Cambria are famous for being generous with their time to the Children of the Fence, and we are thankful for it.
The song picks up from the silence left by Preteletal. Where Sirius' mind is flooded with a desperate plea for help, there is suddenly another presence announced by the gentle plucking of guitar strings. In charges Sentry, strong and bold announced by the heavy blasts of the guitar. The song is heavy and dramatic. As the guitar's riff changes from heavy and slammed to palm muted Claudio starts to sing. The introduction to the chorus brings with it a tremendous riff with a mix of falsetto and screaming which sends shivers down the spine of the listener. The song repeats the pattern, the bridge takes us through to the end chorus.
The song is a powerful representation of the corresponding chapter within The Afterman:Descension story. Sirius, barely clinging onto life in the arms of the quickly weakening Evagria, is suddenly saved, when out of nowhere Sentry bounds into the fray, coming between the souls of the Keywork and Evagria with Sirius.
Sentry was much like Vic, climbing up the chain of command with great skill and speed, though much differently. Sentry possessed a water-tight moral compass and was a brilliant tactician. The night he received the order from Vic to bomb innocents he refused, and told a junior officer what had transpired, knowing Vic's wrath wouldn't take long. However on seeing what happened to Sentry the officer was scared into submission, until Vic's trial where Sentry was granted a post-mortem medal of honour. However, Sentry is still bitter over Vic's treachery (understandably) and the two entities begin fighting, brutally beating into each other for control. Sirius uses his knowledge of the Keywork to backtrack into Sentry's memory and help him let go of the grudge keeping him within the Keywork's energy stream. Sentry transcends into the utopia of the Keywork. Evagria absorbs Sirius into her light and brings her into the utopia stage of the Keywork, and then shows him how to get out of it. Sirius tells the All-Mother to plot a course for home. She warns him that although to him he has only been gone a week, 547 days have passed on Heaven's Fence. Sirius comments he still wants to go home,
Something fans will know when dealing with The Amory Wars is that more often than not the term “believer” generally refers to Claudio, or someone who represents Claudio during a particular point in time. This originates with The Amory Wars: The Second Stage Turbine Blade, where Claudio Kilgannon's dying sister Josephine tells him “You'll make it if you believe.” - establishing Claudio Sanchez as the “believer”. The first line “Believer, your spotlight on the subject so incorrect” most likely refers to Sentry from the perspective of Vic. The song was written as a result of an argument between Claudio and the band manager, however Claudio can't remember what the argument was about. Therefore, in the song, Claudio gives the persona of Vic to the band manager, and Sentry to himself. The second line “And suggestion, suggests that I am someone you should not respect” seems to affirm this, with the first two lines relaying the argument between Claudio and Coheed and Cambria's manager. The band manager perceives Claudio's current perspective as “incorrect” and takes the argument as a move of disrespect from Claudio.
The song continues from Sentry's perspective “Oh you wear your facade so well, covered up in a plastic shell. You're a liar, to everyone around you just don't forget.”, which represents Claudio's frustration that the person who has the least creative input in the song writing process doubted Claudio's abilities.
The next part of the song “Face the honest truth, you were never you” is Sentry speaking directly to Vic, outlining that all of Vic's successes were due to the untimely deaths and injuries of others.
The chorus is one of the most powerful in the Coheed and Cambria discography. It speaks from the perspective of Claudio as the writer, serving as a sort of “outer voice” for Sentry, encouraging him to fight against Vic. “Now be defiant, the lion, give them a fight that will open their eyes” refers directly to Sentry's initial rebellion against Vic in life, refusing to follow Vic's cruel orders which was the first step in de-faming the villain. “Hangman hooded, softly swinging.” is a direct reference to Sentry's execution. The final line “Don't close the coffin yet, I'm alive” is a reference to The argument between Claudio and the band's manager, telling him not to give up on Coheed and Cambria, they are still alive.
The phrase “And it's homecoming” refers to the homecoming of Vic's troops, who were too afraid to speak up against Sentry's murder.
The next verse is a retroflexive verse regarding the things Coheed and Cambria and their manager had been through together. It says “Can you remember, when there was no wrong in what I could do? So young, biting off way more than I could chew. And then one day I grew too old, and my cares were now there's to mold. Please accept this, as my resignation it's time to go.” Refers to Coheed and Cambria's humble beginning in Nyack when they started out as Shabutie and changed to Coheed and Cambria before they got signed to Equal Vision Records. The band (still in their youth) was extremely successful and hired their manager during this period. The “One day I grew too old, and my cares were now there's to mold” refers to the band “growing up”, and having to meet the responsibilities of a home and a family by having to occasionally bend their creative process to suit the demands of fans. In other words this whole verse is pretty much saying to the manager “We compromise a lot.”
The bridge “I will now bleed, for what I believe in, No more mistakes for them to make for me, so goodbye, it's my time to be, me” is simply Claudio re-affirming that he puts himself into his work, blood and soul.
3. The Hard Sell
Lyrics:
I'm paranoid and sick of this
World's misconception of things I did
My language poured across this wrist
In a metaphoric disaster
My guess, I'm missing out the punch line
Unless this hanging noose
Is fitted to be all mine
Chorus
I stood by everything I loved
While you never understood me much
'Cause there's only one of me
And too many of you fighting over nothing
Oh, there's never enough cool for everyone
And before you know it you're selling out to be in
There's never enough cool
(Oh you're selling out to be in)
These eyes ungoverned are tearing us apart
Their ears forsaken have given up on art
Now, why believe in anything they praise
When one hand holds them the victor
While the other holds the shovel to their graves
Chorus
Oh, this ticket window has closed
Save your money, baby
The next show's about to start
Where else can you get to watch this talent fall?
One by one they drop
I stood by everything I loved
While you never understood me much
'Cause there's only one of me
And too many of you fighting over nothing
Oh, there's never enough cool for everyone
And before you know it you're selling out, you're selling.
'Cause there's only one of me
And too many of you fighting over nothing
Oh, there's never enough cool for everyone
And before you know it you're selling out to be in
I stood by everything I loved
(You're selling out to be in) x4
I'd like to take this chance to thank my readers for their patience. It's been a little over a week since my last post, and since then several people have spread the word and gotten me a truck-load of new readers. There was some flaming going on at the website's facebook page at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/874828469240361/878340458889162/?notif_t=like
Because (somehow) there was some confusion as to what the facebook page and website was for, so in case there's any more confusion, let me sort it out here once and for all. This website is my attempt at working out how the songs and music of Coheed and Cambria, correlate back to the story that Claudio tells through The Amory Wars, Good Apollo, Year of the Black Rainbow and The Afterman. The Facebook page is a way of getting updates to my readers, as I can no longer send newsletters to people who have subscribed. I'd like to thank the people that increased the amount of people reading this blog and to all the people who acted with maturity and kindness on the facebook page. You guys are awesome and I'm in the process of trying to work out something special I can do for you guys as a little "thank you" gift. We truly are one among the Fence. Anyway, onto the post! Ladies and Gents, The Hard Sell.
Electric tones drone into our ears, flooding the senses like water. Claudio's voice whines in the mono-tonal chaos that warbles
hauntingly as it slowly rises in volume. A beat on the drum announces a more solid and punchy guitar riff which brings in the song. It sounds almost funky with the electric warbling going on beneath it. Claudio's voice rings with an annunciation and phrasing that seems to hint at restrained anger and/or confusion being let out slowly. The chorus is broad and dramatic. Claudio almost screams the first few words before belting out long and dramatic notes to tell his tale, and in this song, it truly is his tale.
The Hard Sell is the most truthful song to the reality of Claudio I've seen so far. It does little reflection on the story, which at this point deals with the initial effects of Sirius' return to his home planet.
The end of the chapter leaves us with the fact that Meri has "made a discovery of her own."
Continuing along the same lines as Key Entity Extraction V: Sentry the Defiant, The Hard Sell is a song about being berated for doing what you do, only this time The Hard Sell is directed towards the fans of Coheed and Cambria, while paralleling the events within the story. Just as Sirius is coming under fire from many different angles regarding what to do with the knowledge of the Keywork, Claudio has – in recent years – come under fire from various Children of the Fence as a result of his recent experimentation with post-recording processes. Claudio highlights the frustration it causes when COTF don't understand what he tries to do “I'm paranoid and sick of this, world's misconception of things I did.” and directly references his creative works both through Coheed and Cambria and The Amory Wars “My language poured across this wrist, in a metaphoric disaster.”, the “metaphoric disaster” referring to how the songs are metaphors for the story, and the story a metaphor for the songs. Claudio goes on to say “My guess, I'm missing out the punch line, unless this hanging noose is fitted to be all mine.” which expresses Claudio's feelings of confusion at being berated by the very people who claimed to understand his music most. This is, however, a literal translation. Within the story, it follows very much the same kind of concept, although it is rather from Sirius Amory's perspective and regarding the instruction of his mentor and the Prise, who both tell him to keep his life-changing knowledge a secret.
The phrase “I stood by everything I loved, while you never understood me much.” reflects more Claudio's frustration. He has always stood by his music while numbers of COTF have failed to grasp what it is he is trying to do creatively.
The chorus begins with “'Cause there's only one of me, And too many of you fighting over nothing.” which reflects both Claudio and Sirius' frustrations at being continually bogged down for simply doing what they do. The line “There's never enough cool for everyone.” refers to the fact that neither Claudio or Sirius can satisfy everyone no matter what they do. Claudio will always be disappointing someone should he choose to experiment with a different musical direction, and Sirius will always be letting someone down whether he chooses to come out about what he knows regarding the Keywork or not. The final line “And before you know it, you're selling out to be in.” refers to Claudio bending his creative process to try and please everyone, while with regards to Sirius, it references his lie of what the Keywork is, which earns him a scientific award named after him.
The song continues “These eyes ungoverned are tearing us apart”. This refers to the scientific and spiritual communities within The Amory Wars, eagerly awaiting Sirius' conclusion of Heaven's Fence. “Their ears forsaken have given up on art.” reinforces this statement, referring to the event of Sirius substituting his findings for various algorithms and such that people can understand and accept, essentially “selling out”. The phrase “Now why believe in anything they praise, When one hand holds them the victor, While the other holds the shovel to their graves.” refers to the blind acceptance of Sirius' scientific lie behind the power of the Keywork, leaving the truth, the “art” behind the Keywork irrelevant and dead.
The final verse of the song drives home the message of The Hard Sell. Claudio says “Oh, this ticket window has closed, Save your money baby. The next show's about to start. Where else can you watch this talent fall? One by one they drop.” The first three lines refer to people who don't like the band (this ticket window has closed, save your money baby) simply talking down the band and everything they do without a second thought (The next show's about to start). It continues “Where else can you watch this talent fall? One by one they drop” Referring to fans of the band who stop supporting them because the band experiments with new styles. The “One by one they drop” refers to the band losing fans.
4. Number City
Lyrics:
Attention, we have got a medical emergency
The patient’s condition is critical and fading
Oh, I’ve got this under control, but there's no guarantee
Now should you question this professional opinion, its time we’ll spend wasting
And oh if you want to see
Go on and tear it out of me
This case is possibly the worst that I have ever seen
I see how vulnerable we as a people can truly be
And oh if you want to see
Go on and tear it out of me x2
Chorus
Honey, release my heart, if you
Honey, release my heart, you let me go
Release my heart, if you, Honey
Do not let me
Do not let me go
Defibrillate, Defibrillate
A radio transmission sent to get the heart to listen
This is love from a gurney
Chorus x2
Believe in Number City
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
I'm very happy today. Today is my Cambria's birthday. We had a little fight last night, both of us becoming increasingly frustrated. But I always marvel at how persistent we both are. Neither of us back down from having the argument out, and we give each other the chance to talk and that means we reach compromises that work for both of us. Why do I mention this? Because this song, even though it's from the point of view of a paramedic (or group of paramedics) reflects how bad it can be to lose someone you love, so right now I'm just going to show some appreciation. Cambria, you're the only one I'll ever love. Happy birthday my darling, love always xxx 30.
The song starts off with a gritty guitar drone, very similar to Here
We Are Juggernaut. Rapidly rising and falling scales of what I can only describe as electric bubbles popping ties into the drone. The vocals come in quietly and as though they are coming from a walkie-talkie. It's a very beat-driven,
funky sounding song. It's very jumpy. The small pre-chorus sections are very dramatically sung. Suddenly at the chorus we are introduced to a brass section, something which has remained foreign for Coheed until this album. The new Ska sound is refreshing, interesting and exciting. The song is very dramatic in the sense that it feels like something you'd see in a musical, much like Goodnight, Fair Lady.
Claudio really took my job as Detective of the Fence away from me with this one, as he just came out and told us what the song was all about in The Afterman book.
Following this lens, the entire first verse is extremely easy to understand, as it is, exactly, the thoughts of a group of paramedics tending to Sirius and Meri. The “Attention, we have got a medical emergency, The patient’s condition is critical and fading, Oh, I’ve got this under control, but there's no guarantee, Now should you question this professional opinion, its time we’ll spend wasting” is all a group of paramedics, rushing to assist Sirius and Meri in their critical conditions.
The pre-chorus “Oh and if you wanna see, just tear it out of me.” refers to Meri's pregnancy. However, this fact is covered more in Gravity's Union than Number City. However the phrase refers to the secret OF her pregnancy that Meri was keeping form Sirius, and revealed at the moment of the crash. The “it” is the secret, and it is now being physically torn from Meri as a result of the crash.
The next verse, which consists of the two lines “This case is possibly the worst I have seen, I see how vulnerable we as people can really be” is once again, a reflection of the paramedics tending Sirius and Meri.
The chorus reflects Meri's final wish. She wants Sirius to move on. Although she has every right to be, Meri does not strike me as bitter at all, and I doubt that she would be spending her final moments in life cursing her husband. She doesn't want him to shoulder the guilt for this for all is life, and tells him "honey, release my heart, you let me go." Sirius, however, clings to Meri passionately. He understandably doesn't want her to die, he has just gotten back from the Keywork, he wants to try to repair the life they had. He begs her "Do not let me go."
The only thing that can't be rightfully ascertained in this song is the reference to Number City. As of yet it is not a place that has been directly referenced in the book, but the name Number City can mean one of two things. Firstly, it can refer to a literal city that has just gone unmentioned in the text of the book. Second, it could be being used as the phrase "welcome to (insert sarcastic object/feeling here) city!". For example if someone is reading a book with a lot of metaphors someone might say "This book is metaphor city." I say that it can be used this way because when someone is dying, it's professional practise to give CPR, which involves counting, which involves...well...numbers. Not only that, but in the book it says that Sirius is processing the medical jargon as "calculations and numbers", hence, Sirius is in Number City, and must trust his life and the life of his wife to the paramedics.
5. Gravity's Union
Lyrics:
I flew head first into the light
Weightless, crisscrossing, precise
In a dream or was it life?
Inside this door all answers wait
So saddle up my steed
Where the lies live way beneath
Oh my, I think I’ve made a mess
This is all my fault it’s what I’ve wished
Chorus
And I was wrong to let you go
I accept my mistake, but you will never know
This is my love into a ten ton truck
Baby, please remember the better me
No time to change my life in the air before
Our maximum reach outweighed
Apart, pictureless retreat
The terror meets the truth, no longer who
We know what we must do
Shadow dancing through the roof
Contact the life you used to know
Gravity, the world in tow
Chorus
Driver may I sleep with you tonight
Numbered uncertainty
City limits, shoe strewn diary
The roar of the engine won’t cease
All of my love and heart spilled in this car
Picture me the perfect enemy
Our lives are one, colliding up and beyond
In this fatal possibility
I am your, I am your prize
We wave welcome aboard
We wave welcome aboard
In my eyes I drown you
He has forgotten his place
Bait the hook and let it sink
No cause for alarm
Enter the master, I am Dr. Straight
Scalpel keep that lung in place
Nurse, IV needs refilling
Now watch the brain
Responding quite normal
This life I can save
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?
We are only the meat
We understood the unmistakable
Two romantics on holiday and
How they stole our love
Caged
Locked in perpetual motion
Carving our wounds wide open
But you let the wrong one in
Ha, ha, ha, ha x4
The fifth track starts to close the story. Events start to come together with heart-breaking devastation on the lives of Sirius and Meri Amory. Gravity's Union is a tragic tale in a tragic tale.
A guitar strums in with a deep, distorted blocks of sound. Drums announce Claudio semi-singing semi-shouting the lyrics of Gravity's Union at us. There is violence and sadness in his voice. The guitar continues heavily under his voice. The song softens ever so slightly as the song continues. It continues the dramaticism of the other songs on Descension. Claudio occasionally brings out his screaming abilities to emphasise a few words and the effect is completely spine-chilling. The song sings of sadness and chaos. Nothing is certain within it's sound and after ending, the listener is left to ponder the happenings of the book while the pips of a heart rate monitor echo out.
This song gave me a lot of trouble, and with every bit of information I gained/analysed from it and the book, it just seemed to make more problems. The song is a reflection of Claudio's real-life fear of driving:
The first verse is quite a poetically literal interpretation of the event of the car crashing. Meri and Sirius both flew out of the cars' windshield, reflected in "I flew head first into the light, weightless, crisscrossing, precise." The surreal nature of the accident, and the event that caused Sirius to lose control, is reflected in the line "In a dream, or was it life?" The second verse seems to travel back in time, to just before the crash, and as a verse seems to refer to Meri telling Sirius about her relationship with Colton and the baby they are going to have. “Inside this door all answers wait” refers to Number City, with the paramedics wondering how Sirius and Meri crashed this badly, and the answers being inside the car. The line “So saddle up my steed, Where the lies live way beneath.” is a reference to Sirius' passionately angry reaction to Meri's news. The “steed” is the car, and through the crash he is forcibly riding “where lies live way beneath.”
“Oh my, I think I've made a mess, It's my fault this is what I've wished.” takes Sirius' perspective in the song as he comes down from his rage and realises the damage he's cause.
During the chorus Sirius looks back on the time before he left for the Keywork, where he made the fatal decision to go on his expedition, rather than stay with Meri, which would have spared them all this pain. He says "I was wrong to let you go" (meaning Meri) "I accept my mistake but you will never know.", meaning that
just as he is finally ready to accept responsibility for something, Meri isn't around to be with him anymore. "This is my love into a ten ton truck" references the event of the crash itself. Realising there's nothing he can do, Sirius cries “Baby please remember the better me.”
The verse continues on with the point of view of Meri. She says ironically "Driver may I sleep with you tonight", which references both the driver of the freighter Sirius crashed into as well as Sirius himself. The “sleeping” she refers to is her own death. "Numbered uncertainty, City limits" refers to the song Number City where despite best efforts, it is unclear as to whether she will die or not. “Shoe strewn diary” reflects an investigation into a crash, where a shoe that has flown off a victim might be used to determine contributing factors to a victim's death in a crash, effectively making the “strewn shoe” a “diary”. The line “The roar of the engine won't cease” reflects the last sound that Meri heard while she was alive.
The next verse, still from the point of view of Meri, reflects on exactly what it is she has lost in the crash. She says "All my love and heart spilled in this car" reflects that because of the crash, she has lost her child, her ex-husband who she admits she will always love, and the potential for a future with a man who can, and would have, give her all she's ever wanted. "Picture me the perfect enemy" refers to Sirius' initial frustration with Meri at not wanting
to stay with him, which caused the crash and ended Meri's life. This is significant because Sirius always denied Meri her desire for a family because of his work, and now that she has it finally he has killed her. "Our lives are one colliding up and beyond, in this fatal possibility" refers to how their lives have been leading up to this point, and how it makes everything before it meaningless. "I am your, I am your prize." refers to the Amory Award. Sirius and Meri were on their way home from the award ceremony. This line refers to the futility of the meaning of the award after the accident, and of Sirius' loss of Meri. "We wave welcome aboard" refers to Meri's passing on into the Keywork. It could also refer to Meri and Sirius "coming aboard" the ambulance. "In my eyes I drown you" I have only a very vague and not very justifiable idea, but I believe it could refer to the sadness of this incident from both character's perspectives. I think it refers to the act of crying, with the other person drowning in their tears, each one blaming themselves for the damage done to the other.
The next verse refers to the causality of the crash. The line “He has forgotten his place” refers to Sirius' rage just before the crash, which caused him to forget to concentrate on the road and drive into the freighter.. I believe the "bait the hook and let it sink" line, to be a poetical reference to the cause-and-effect nature of not just this chapter, but the story as well. Sirius leaving caused the Meriwell to be destroyed, so people believed him dead. Meri's belief that he was dead made her meet Colton. Sirius' return to his home planet made Meri decide it was for the best if they no longer continued their marriage. Meri telling Sirius this decision caused him to crash. The whole story is a series of cause-and-effect situations tied together in one whole. The "No cause for alarm, Enter the master I am Doctor Straight" is exactly what it is. It's an introductory line for the character of Dr Straight, who saw over Sirius and Meri's treatments.
The next verse “Scalpel keep that lung in place, Nurse IV needs refilling, Now watch the brain, Responding quite normal, this life I can safe.” is a direct reference to the surgery that Sirius undergoes, and takes Dr Straight's perspective within the story.
The verse “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? We are only the meat.” takes the perspective of the nurses and paramedics assisting Dr Straight in the surgery. They reflect on the physical fragility of human beings and the meaning of life as they struggle to save Sirius and Meri.
The second final line “We understood the unmistakable, Two romantics on holiday and how they stole our love.” refers to the paramedics' ignorance of what caused the crash. They believe it was simply an accident with a loving couple on holiday, and that the crash will be seen as a tragedy, where however it was quite the opposite that caused the crash. This is briefly touched on in the Number City chapter, which explains that no one can work out what caused a crash of this severity.
The final verse takes place from the perspective of Sirius and Meri. "Caged" refers to several things. This entire chapter takes place within something. The crash happened in a car, the miscarriage of Meri's child happened within her uterus, Sirius and Meri's treatments began within an ambulance. Everything within this chapter happens within some sort of cage where there is no escape to freedom. This one word reflects the powerlessness of the characters to change anything. "Locked in perpetual motion" once again is a reflection of all the happenings in the chapter. The fatal conversation took place in a moving car, when the car stopped moving Sirus and Meri flew out of the car, and their treatments took place in an ambulance that would have been rushing to get them to hospital. "Carving our wounds wide open" refers to the physical damage done by the crash, and to the wounds caused by Meri and Sirius' marriage, wounds which now have no chance to heal. "But you let the wrong one in" refers to the simple fact that Sirius, rather than recognising the situation for what it was and letting go of Meri, chose to be bitter and hold on and fight, letting in the wrong emotions and causing her death. The "Ha, ha, ha, ha" I think was just added as a little finisher to the song, because there's really nothing funny about this song, unless you think the sad irony of Meri finally having a family only to die before she can see he dream realised as funny, in which case it's probably Meri's soul bitterly laughing at that irony.
Claudio says this about the composition of the song in The Afterman coffee-table book:
6. Away We Go
Lyrics:
She is her own worst enemy
Her heart a landmine calamity
Waiting for someone to set her off
Morse code a clicking out an SOS
Life raft releasing her last breath
Tonight she's going to drown
Chorus
Without me, will she reach the great beyond?
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 years
Chorus
Here in our dreams, we'll reach a great beyond
Believe me, take my word, I'll never break your heart
And away we go
Sinking in this beautiful undertow, together with you
We're giving up
You can leave what little we believe
Our flaw, discard, come give me what I need
My thoughts won't go away, you are my holiday
Chorus
Together we'll receive and reach that great beyond
Believe me, take my word, I'll never break your heart
And away we go
My little Jersey girl x3
And FINALLY Away We Go. I've been putting off doing this song for a while. There have been several arising issues which have kept me away from this, but I'm desperate to finish it. I want to see DotF finished and I'm really enjoying interacting with all you awesome peeps. Thank you for your patience and support.
Hospital machines beep and chirp over the calmly plucked tune of guitar harmonics and continue until the main guitar and drums brings in the rhythm and "meat" of the song. It's quite a happy song and it's a refreshing burst from Descension's intensity. Claudio's voice sounds happy rather than sad, or beckoning like most of the songs on The Afterman double-album. The chorus is dramatic but there's a sense of freedom to it, and Away We Go closes softly with the sounds of chirping birds.
The song is difficult for me to interpret. Claudio says that the song is about how he and his wife met each other and how they got
together. He describes it as :
The first verse refers to a section in the Away We Go chapter, which states that in a memory of her meeting Sirius, she can hear her own heart beat. Since Claudio has defined this as a love song, it's fair to determine that this song focuses on this memory, and it explains the entire first verse as a poetic interpretation of the anticipation of seeing the one you love after an extended period of separation. “She is her own worst enemy, Her heart a landmine calamity, Waiting for someone to set her off, Morse code a clicking out an SOS, Life raft releasing her last breath.”. The line “Tonight she's going to drown” refers to Meri's death.
The first line in the chorus foreshadows events within the chapter 2's My Favourite 1, so I feel it would be inconsiderate of me to reveal those events, at this point. However the last three lines “Take my word, I'll never break your heart, And away we go, My little Jersey girl.” refer to the initial stages of Sirius and Meri's relationship (or of any relationship really, commonly known as “The honeymoon state”.
The verse “If we could escape this innocence, Trapped between the fears and the words we kept, We'll live out our later years” refers to the maturing of a relationship, and to the compromising nature of a healthy marriage, where both sides must leave behind their “innocence”, “fears” and secrets (words we kept) so that the relationship can thrive and allow the couple to “live out [our] later years.”
The first line of the second chorus “Here in our dreams, we'll reach a great beyond” refers, quite literally, to the shared dreams of a couple.
The line “Sinking in this beautiful undertow, together with you.” once again I believe refers to an event within 2's My Favourite 1, and so I can't reveal it, but in the post to that song I will cover the two lines I've not analysed yet.
The song starts to close with “We're giving up, You can leave what little we believe” which refers to Meri's death from Sirius' perspective as “leaving” the reality that he believes in. In the same breath he despairs for losing Meri and remembers the good times they had together: “Our flaw, discard, come give me what I need, My thoughts won't go away, you are my holiday”
The first two lines of the final chorus “Together we'll receive and reach that great beyond, Believe me, take my word, I'll never break your heart” Is a blend of all the promises Claudio makes to Chondra throughout the song.
6. Iron Fist.
Lyrics:
The wish you plead and the things you sought
We all think, we all thought
The things I've done, in the world I've seen,
Don't measure up to you my queen
Oh, I take one for the other, and work my way through this machine
God damn this cursed iron fist
When I lose control
Oh no
God damn this cursed iron fist
When I lose control
Oh no
The first train's out while the last one drones
We'll all sing; "We're going home"
As the curtain swings in to cover all, our secrets kept, our love enough
God damn this cursed iron fist
When I lose control
Give me the strength I know, and please believe me
Oh girl, this is what I've become
And I'm going to leave it up to you
What are you going to do?
Cause I don't want to lose your hold on me x2
God damn this cursed iron fist
When I lose control
Oh, give me the doubt oh no, please believe
Oh girl, this is what I've become
And I'm going to leave it up to you
What are you? What are you?
Just remember
Pay no attention to this iron... this iron fist
Just remember
Pay no attention to this iron... oh this iron fist
This iron... this iron fist
God damn... this cursed...
God damn... this cursed...
God damn...
I was thankful for this song. It's a relatively simple song analysis-wise and it was refreshing to have an "easy" job on this website, something I haven't had for a while since Gravity's Union, which I know was only two songs ago but external factors have been leaving me less present than usual. On with the analysis.
The song starts off quite gently. A nice acoustic picked riff brings the song in with the occasional strum of a distorted electric. Claudio's voice is gentle, soothing and terribly melancholy. The song sounds like a passionate lament.
At this point in the story, Sirius is out of the hospital 2 weeks after the accident, being driven home in a hired car. He reflects on the fact that Meri is gone and never coming back, and regrets that it was his loss of control that caused her death. He also recognises the fact that none of his scientific achievements means anything without her there with him.
The first verse takes the perspective of Sirius. Out of hospital and now dealing with the loss of the woman he loves most, he reflects on how he postponed Meri's desire to start a family, thinking that he would always be around for it to happen later. This is reflected in “The wish you plead, the things you sought, We all think, we all thought.” Sirius further reflects on the fact that he now views all his scientific exploits
as useless now that Meri is gone. It's all worthless without her saying “The things I've done in the world I've seen, don't measure up to you my queen.” The phrase “the world I've seen” referring to the Keywork. The line “I take one for the other, and work my way through this machine.” refers to Sirius' realisation that due to his actions, he must now live the rest of his life without the person that made life worth living.
The chorus “God damn this cursed iron fist, when I loose control.” refers to the crash that killed Meri caused by Sirius' anger.
The next verse “The first train out, while the last one drones, We'll all sing, "We're going home".” refers to the real-world inspiration of the story. Claudio uses The Afterman as a way of expressing his feelings about being a travelling musician, constantly on tour and away from family. This line relays something that Sirius will never have again, being able to go home to his family. The line “As the curtain swings to cover all our secrets kept, our love enough.” refers to the cost of doing what you love, at the expense of leaving the people you love behind, which is what caused Sirius' current predicament.
In the second chorus after the round of “God damn this cursed iron fist”, Claudio ads the “message” of the story, which is asking Chondra for forgiveness for his spouts of anger at times, leaving it to her regarding how she handles it “Oh girl, this is what I've become, I'm going to leave it up to you. What are you going to do?”, adding “Cause I don't want to lose your hold on me”, referring to the love he feels for Chondra, and the love she returns to him. This is also reflected in Sirius' regret of his past actions.
The song concludes with “Just remember, pay no attention to this iron fist.” which reflects that angry Claudio is not the real Claudio, who says that this song was written as an apology to Chondra for when he does let his emotions get the better of him:
8.The Dark Side of Me
Lyrics:
In those discouraging days,
I always missed the mark.
When we were comfort and close,
I would neglect to keep.
Ooh, you safe and unexposed,
A portrait of time repeats.
This moment I've replaced,
With an empty wish to give,
I give, I gave.
Chorus
I gave my everything.
For all the wrong things.
In this cold reality I've made,
This selfish war machine.
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 guilt,
Here in the dark side of me.
Here in the dark side of me, oh.
Now in your abscence I wade,
Through the coursing lonely lost.
And in this tragic dismay,
I never could believe what I became.
Chorus
I gave my everything,
For all the wrong things.
In this cold reality I've made,
This welcomed war machine.
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 guilt,
Here in the dark side of me.
Here in the dark side of me x 3
Ooh I couldn't give you what you needed,
It's all my fault.
Ooh too coward to believe
I lost it all.
Chorus
Here in the dark side of me x 3
All Mother:
You fought to withdraw from a location which has,
inside of it, severe quantifiable pain. I nearly terminated
the mission. Nearly terminated your life.
Yet, you desire to set a course back to it.
I am not equipped to comprehend human rational.
Sirius, is this what love is?
Sirius:
Yes.
This song was the first song Coheed and Cambria wrote that made me cry. Admittedly it wasn't many tears, but I resonated with the lyrics personally, and once I knew the story behind it, I cried once more.
The drums open up this song. It beats out a slow rhythm and then stops for a beat before the guitar chimes in, singing melancholy with the bass carrying it's mournful tune. Claudio's vocals come over the song almost silently, singing a sad story. The chorus is delivered heavily, with mournful passion enflaming Claudio's voice and the instruments of the band in melodic catharsis. The song ends with the guitar belting out some final riffs, before allowing the final stroke of the strings to fade out and takes us to a brief exchange between All Mother and Sirius.
The song isn't that difficult to analyse, and indeed it is the song I am most familiar with on this album. At this point in the story, Sirius reflects on his neglect of Meri, he realises he kept her at "arm's length" all his life because he was obsessed with being solitary, to be the man that understood things the way no one else could. Now that he has lost Meri, all of that is pointless now. Claudio speaks about Dark Side of Me as being a song that deals with the concept of being yourself in a relationship:
The song takes place from Sirius' point of view, opening “In those discouraging days, I always missed the mark, When we were comfort and close, I would neglect to keep, Ooh, you safe and unexposed.” which reflects Sirius thinking about his married life with Meri. The “discouraging days” refers directly to this period of their lives, when Sirius would constantly discourage Meri from having a family, relying on their immediate access to each other and comfortable lives (comfort and close) to see them through. Except now that Meri is dead, he is now acknowledging for the first time how much he neglected her. He reflects on the irony that she had found love in another, which Sirius similarly destroyed,
focusing on his own needs before Meri's. This is put forward in the lines “A portrait of time repeats, This moment now replaced, With an empty wish to give, I give, I gave”.
The chorus is Sirius' passionate lament for having spent more time cultivating his career rather than his marriage “I gave my everything, For all the wrong things”. He bitterly recognises how empty life is without Meri in the phrase “In this cold reality, and through Claudio even hints at the events of The Amory Wars in the line “I made, This selfish war machine” which reflects Wilhelm Ryan's use of the Keywork in the comics. Further lamenting his loneliness, he says “Oh, this has become hell, How can I share this life, With someone else?” realising that Meri was the only person that he would ever love, and life without her is a life not worth having. He concludes, begging for forgiveness “I promise you, there is no weight that could bury us, beneath the ghosts of all my guilt, here in the dark side of me.”
The second continues on Sirius' lonely tirade as he says “Now in your absence I wade, Through the coursing, lonely, lost.” reflecting on a new lonely life without Meri there for him. He marvels at his own heartlessness, realising just how badly he actually treated his wife in the line “And in this tragic dismay, I never could believe what I became.”
The chorus is largely the same, except that the word “selfish” is replaced by the word “welcomed”, reflecting that it was Sirius' choice to leave Meri to explore the Keywork, and as a result, welcomed the chaos he brought into his life as a result.
The bridge states “Oh, I couldn't give you what you needed. It's all my fault, Too coward to believe I lost it all.” reflecting the events of Gravity's Union, where because he was unwilling to let go of Meri and allow her to live a happy life where she could be loved and her dreams realised, he was a coward and fought against it, causing her death and the suffering he feels now.
The dialogue between All Mother and Sirius is a larger presentation of a dialogue that occurs in the final chapter 2's My Favourite 1.
9. 2's My Favourite 1
Lyrics:
Two hearts beat as one
Disguise your mind and feel the hum
This drone, the buzz of our love
In time we move
This churning factor, feel the groove
Release the touch that moves you
Chorus
Oh, this is her
No regrets
I embrace your defects to confess you were my every wish
I admit that I will never feel alone
Once I call you Home
Push towards the dance floor
And together we'll show them who's boss
We'll set a fire once more
Chorus
Maybe it's not now or later
'Til you save the best for last
I want to be everything you need
Chorus
No, I will never feel alone
Our sum in monotone
While the record spins around
Please turn me over, slide me into sleeve
Oh girl, please bring me home
And so finally we come to the last song of The Afterman: Descension. Writing on this album has been difficult for me as you know, what with time constraints and outside commitments I've been finding it difficult to get the time to write. But you guys were patient and supportive. I'm really glad that you're a part of this blog, website, thingy. I'm enjoying writing it and it's nice to know that the work is being received well. Thank you all.
An acoustic guitar strums in softly with a nice quiet tune shortly before electric guitars burst in with a dramatic, but happy introduction to the song. Claudio sings the lyrics with gentle melody. The song is very poppy and fun to listen to, which is a change from the dramaticism of Descension and it's a nice closer to the story.
At this point in the story, after a brief confrontation with Colton during the events of Dark Side of Me, Sirius re-connects and up-grades All-Mother, repairs his suit and gets a new ship.
He plots a course for the Keywork, determined to find Meri's soul and assist her in crossing over to the Samaritaine (the utopia beyond the "Mono", which is essentially purgatory with the Samaritaine serving as "heaven"). The story ends open endedly, without actually telling us whether Sirius' second venture into the Keywork served it's purpose, if he saved Meri from an endless co-existance with millions of dissatisfied souls, or whether he failed. However I believe the song provides an answer.
In the introductory passage to this chapter in The Afterman coffee-table book, Claudio says that this song brings the album "full circle" and is about the concept that there is an "innocence" to loving another human being, and that innocence cannot be simulated or mimicked through any other circumstance, feeling or situation. He states that it delivers a message of appreciating what you have instead of reaching for more. It also bears the message that "home" is an abstract concept. A home is where we make it, and Claudio offers up the heart-felt declaration "my wife is my home." What a guy eh?
And so in that introductory passage I believe is the true "ending" to The Afterman. I believe the song reveals (all be it in an abstract manner) that Sirius not only reached the Keywork a second time, but he found Meri and he delivered her to the Samaritaine, possibly even joining her there.
The first verse “Two hearts beat as one, Disguise your mind and feel the hum, This drone, the buzz of our love.” relates to the phenomenon of being in love. It is an all-encompassing emotion that causes two people to become one, that disguises the thoughts of the mind and causes total euphoria. It also refers to the title of the song, with the meaning being that their (Sirius and Claudio's) favourite way to be alone, is to be alone with the person they love (Meri and Chondra respectively).
The second verse relates back to the first in the sense that it is a continuation of the feelings relayed in the first. It crosses over into explicit feelings that are being had by someone, rather than the concept of being in a loving, intimate relationship. It refers to love's timelessness, with time continuing on while love remains (In time we move). It relays the concept of having butterflies in your stomach, either from excitement or nervousness, or just the general "giddy" feeling that comes from being in love, or being affectionate with someone (this churning factor, feel the groove). It also references the feeling of intimacy carried over into the physical, and of that being a beautiful thing (release the touch that moves you).
The chorus seems to bridge the gap between reality and the world of the story. It can be seen as either or both of these things:
To apply it to the story world:
1) It is Sirius within the Keywork. He finds Meri's soul in the Keywork (Oh this is her), he dies while in the Keywork (no regrets). Meri's soul acknowledges that although flawed, she will (and does) always love him (I embrace your defects to confess you were [Note the use of past-tense. Meri talking to a now dead Sirius] my every wish), and within the Keywork they let go of their earthly fears and grudges and pass on into the Samaritaine (I admit I'll never feel alone, Once I call you Home)
To apply it to reality:
2) Claudio announces to the world that he is proud of who his wife is and of their life together (Oh this is her). He acknowledges the rough patches in the past in their relationship and that they have moved on from those difficulties (No regrets). He references the message in Dark Side of Me and relays that they know the good and bad parts in each other, and love each other for them (I embrace your defects to confess you were my every wish), and Claudio affectionately declares that Chondra will always be his sanctuary, his home. (I admit I'll never feel alone, Once I call you Home).
The third verse opens with a confident tone, proclaiming “Push towards the dance floor, And together we'll show them who's boss, We'll set a fire once more.” and seems to be a metaphorical testament to the confidence gained from love. Claudio has said several times he isn't a good public speaker and unless he's performing he's quite nervous. There is a reddit forum somewhere where he was answering fan questions. Someone asked him how he handles overbearing fans and he said that he often doesn't and ends up "pointing to [my] wife". So we know he is a shy person, however seeing how relevant this song is to the relationship between him and his wife, it almost seems to be a testament to the confidence and bravery she inspires in him.
After the second chorus the third verse states “Maybe it's not now or later, 'Til you save the best for last”, reflecting the journey that Sirius and Meri have taken, and on the irony that now that they are dead is their love for each other fully realised. This is strengthened by the statement “I want to be everything you need.” - however this could just as well be a real-life reference promising Chondra that one day Claudio will be there entirely for Chondra, and she will see the truly “best” in him.
The final verse wraps up the story. Sirius says “Our sum in monotone”. A sum is an end-result. Because of Claudio's description of the Keywork, I'm inclined to believe that “monotone” here refers to the Mono, which means this phrase would mean that Sirius and Meri have found their way out of the Mono and made it to the Samaritaine together. The next few lines in the verse seem to be Claudio likening himself to an object that his wife owns. He says “While the record spins around, Please turn me over, slide me into sleeve, Oh girl, please bring me home.” This “record” serves as a metaphor for Claudio himself, with the record representing himself through music. He establishes Chondra as his custodian and guardian by imploring her to put him into a sleeve and bring him home, reflecting the affection and safety he feels with her. Claudio's heart is with his wife, therefore that is where his home is
The link to Away We Go within this song comes from the line “Without me will she reach the great beyond.” In Away We Go Sirius flashes forward to the scene in the 2's My Favourite 1 chapter, when Sirius is suiting up for a second expedition in the Keywork, to find Meri and assist her in reaching the Samaritaine.
The name of Sirius' new ship Saudade, is a Portugese and Galician word, which describes a deep emotional state of a nostalgic and/or melancholic longing for someone you love.
Thank you all for your patience with the edits being made to the page. You're all awesome!
Back to Album Selection