Coheed and Cambria - Vaxis II: A Window of the Waking Mind (June 24, 2022) Album • Page 72

Yeah I really don't love it, haha. I appreciate Claudio trying something new with his vocal delivery but it just doesn't work for me personally.

I think I'll listen through Vaxis I this morning. I don't know if I've listened all the way through since Vaxis II came out.

 

With that said, I’m glad Claudio has leveled up and matured more a lyricist. I mean, there will always be some goofy lyrics on their albums because of the narrative he’s trying to convey, but there have been significantly less lyrics depicting violence towards women since GA1.

 

Pivoting over to the Vaxis 1 vs Vaxis 2 discussion, I have little complain about with Vaxis 1. My issues with Vaxis 2 are that I think Blood and Our Love are placed oddly in the sequencing of the album and they both kind of kill the momentum for me, even though I like both of those songs. I think I would feel differently if Blood came a bit earlier because there is not even eight minutes worth of songs separating the slow jams on the album.

My only other complaint, I mentioned before, is that the title track tries to do too much for my liking. I think when the piano melody comes in at 5:25 is when that song really hits its stride. I like various other parts of the songs, but the last three minutes of so is what I love about it and wish there was more of that.

 

Someone mentioned here or somewhere else to treat Our Love as the intro song for a 4 song suite to close the album, and it's made me appreciate it more.

 

Yeah I can see that. Like I said, I think it has more to do with where Blood is placed. Maybe if that fell between A Disappearing Act and Love Murder One then I’d feel differently.

Ultimately, it’s a small gripe, but I do find myself experiencing a bit of whiplash at times with gown the album flows. Not to mention that Shoulders and The Liars Club start so abruptly that it sounds like mere milliseconds of the riffs got cut off

 

We don't talk about Black Sunday enough. The flow harkens back to something they did a lot on IKS, where we get a vere/chorus/verse beginning, but once the bridge hits it's a totally different song, and we never come back to the chorus. I love that.

EDIT: Even though Queen of the Dark is pretty one note, I love it. Something about the chord progression/melody is just really pleasing to me, so I'm cool with them riding that the whole song.

EDIT 2: Love Protocol is such a massive song. All time great Coheed chorus, IMO. Pretty much the definition of a "soaring chorus".

EDIT 3: Guitar tone in The Gutter is just... so perfect.

EDIT 4: Starting to feel some slight fatigue around the time All On Fire kicks in. The song is far from bad, I really like it, but I start to look and think, "how many songs are left?" It feels like The Gutter, All On Fire, It Walks Amongs Us, and Old Flames could all fit the mold of a penultimate song.

EDIT 5: Old Flames borders too cheese for me, but the callback to it to open Vaxis II makes me like it more, and Zach is an absolute monster during the whole song, so that definitely makes up for it.

EDIT 6: Lucky Stars does nothing for me, same as Subtraction on Ascension, just not my favorite kind of Coheed song.

 

I shan't hear ill talk about Queen of the Dark, I agree that the chord progression/melody absolutely make it killer

 

S-Tier: Prologue/The Dark Sentencer, Black Sunday, Queen of the Dark, Love Protocol, The Gutter
A-Tier: The Pavilion, Night Time Walkers, All On Fire, It Walks Among Us
B-Tier: Toys, True Ugly, Old Flames
C-Tier: Unheavenly Creatures, Lucky Stars

The cornerstones of this album for me are The Dark Sentencer, Love Protocol, and The Gutter. All three were released as singles, and that combined with the ending kind of flaming out led to some of the slightest bit of letdown when it first came out. The band finally learned to not release the long, dark, epic as a single for Vaxis II, and it made Ladders of Supremacy hit a lot harder, and the first album listen be a lot more satisfying.

As is usually the case to look back on an album after it's follow up is out, the issues I have with Vaxis I are definitely less bothersome than they were when it was the newest album. My main issue is that while I like the vast majority of the songs, it's too long. Trimming just a little bit of fat would've gone a long way for me. Also the songs themselves are all just a little bit too long. Both of these issues were fixed for Vaxis II. Really feels like an album that was self produced, and the input of a producer for Vaxis II worked really well for them.

 

the "we're here, to catch, the BOMB" part in Black Sunday is one of the best in their whole discog

 

Real “Dear Ambellina…” vibes.

 

I really almost compared it directly to The Crowing because they have similar shifts. Once that song hits "I walk through the door..." it never comes back to the "but you, you were my favorite" part, which I guess is a chorus? Just as much as the "Hate, cause I am multiplying" part in Black Sunday is.

 

Black Sunday is easily the highlight of the whole record and top 10 Coheed... maddeningly overlooked. Legit recaptures the SSTB-IKS-GA "three prog songs in one pop song" magic for a fleeting moment.

 

Oh man, am I tiering songs on TUC?

Tier 1:
The Gutter
Love Protocol
Toys
All on Fire

Tier 2:
The Pavilion
It Walks Among Us
Old Flames
Prologue / The Dark Sentencer

Tier 3:
Black Sunday
Lucky Stars
Queen of the Dark

Tier 4:
The Unheavenly Creatures
True Ugly
Night-Time Walkers

 

Today, on July 3, 2023, I can confirm Vaxis I > Vaxis 2. Might change next week. Who knows.

 

T1:
Toys
The Pavilion
Dark Sentencer
The Gutter

T2:
All on Fire
Old Flames
It Walks Among Us
Lucky Stars

T3:
Black Sunday
Queen of the Dark
Love Protocol

T4:
The Unheavenly Creatures
True Ugly
Night-Time Walkers

I'm here for new rankings formats

 

Love Protocol in tier 3 is bonkers.

 

ok fine I'll revisit TUC

 

1
Black Sunday
It Walks Among Us
True Ugly

2
The Gutter
Toys
Dark Sentencer

3
Old Flames
Night Time Walkers
Queen of the Dark
All on Fire

4
Unheavenly Creatures
Love Protocol
The Pavilion

 

Love Protocol in tier 4 is reprehensible behavior

 

Love Protocol is top tier pop Coheed

 

This is my favorite version of the song. I'm so glad they sold bootlegs after the shows on this tour!

 

I get physically angry when I listen to Vaxis 1. I do not like that record that much. My least fav Coheed record. Sad but true.

However Vaxis 2........ I finally bought it on vinyl not 5 minutes ago. I 110% wish I would have preorder that record for some exclusive bundle or the webstore exclusive variant or something but I never jumped on it like I have Coheed preorders in the past. I adore it.

 

I don’t understand how it can be hated. It’s the first record that went back to the Secrets and Apollo days of long epic albums spanning genres from metal to pop. Seems like there would be something for everyone.

 

“Hate” is a strong word for sure. There are parts I like and or tolerate. But there’s no love there for any of it. I wish I liked it more than I do. The songs just are not that interesting to me. No “it” factor in most of it. Which is weird because, yes, it SHOULD be something I love.

 

Tier 1:
Love Protocol
The Pavilion
The Dark Sentencer
Night-Time Walkers

Tier 2:
The Gutter
Lucky Stars
The Unheavenly Creatures

Tier 3:
Toys
All on Fire
True Ugly
Old Flames
It Walks Among Us

Tier 4:
Black Sunday
Queen of the Dark